The move follows the organic and successful implementation of Wheely-Safe sensors into a handful of telematics companies to-date. Now, with the formation of a separate business to focus on this activity, Wheely-Safe Sensors Ltd will directly enable more buses, coaches, trucks and trailers to be protected by the brand’s award-winning tyre and wheel safety technologies, which already feature on more than 30,000 vehicles.
Gary Broadfield, joint-founder of Wheely-Safe, and now managing director of Wheely-Safe Sensors, said: “Our primary focus from day one has been to protect as many road users as possible from the risk of wheel loss. By making our sensors available for integration with more third party systems, we’re opening the door to deployment on a scale we couldn’t achieve purely as a systems manufacturer.
“The fact so many telematics solutions include a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) has meant some fleets didn’t want to put two black boxes on the same vehicle. Now, those fleets can ask their telematics provider to add our unique wheel loss sensors into their solution – with or without our TPMS sensors. Integration is quick and easy, and no other Wheely-Safe hardware is required on the asset.”
Wheely-Safe uses two sets of sensors, with those for wheel loss acting as a final control measure to protect vehicle operators from the potentially catastrophic result of a wheel detaching from a vehicle in motion. This sees robust sensors mounted in a bracket straddling two wheel nuts, with a pair of sensors fitted per wheel – and alerts raised at the first sign of a nut starting to loosen.
The same sensors also monitor temperatures from the area around the brakes and hub, to warn of potential fire risks at the first sign of temperatures rising, which is often due to sticking brakes or hub failure. They also provide an extra layer of security to safeguard tyres and wheels from theft, by notifying the transport office if a wheel is being removed outside of a designated maintenance depot.
Wheely-Safe’s TPMS sensors screw onto the valve stem and can be integrated with the vehicle’s existing telematics installation where required. These help to guard against the one third of roadside breakdowns which are due to tyre incidents, of which research shows 90 per cent are for pressure-related issues.
Gary Thomas, joint-founder of Wheely-Safe and now business development director for Wheely-Safe Sensors, explained: “Further opening access to our sensor technology is a huge step for Wheely-Safe, but one which will benefit telematics providers, fleets and wider road users. We’ve spent years developing and refining the product; this is an exciting opportunity to continue the journey, but on a much bigger scale.”
Wheely-Safe’s existing business has been re-branded as Wheely-Safe Systems Ltd and will continue to offer fleets a comprehensive tyre and wheel safety solution, including both standalone and cloud-connected devices.
