Dana Inc.

Jul 26, 2018 | Success Stories

Dana Inc. is a leader in engineered solutions for improving the efficiency, performance, and sustainability of powered vehicles and machinery. They supply their solutions to nearly every vehicle and engine manufacturer in the world.

The Challenge: Competing in the automotive digital marketplace

While Dana is already a recognized Tier 1 automotive supplier, they also wanted to strengthen their position as a leader in developing intelligent digital solutions. Two value drivers were to build a better product using real-time data from assets in the field, and to monetize data and align it to key customer metrics for Asset Uptime, Fuel Efficiency and Tire Lifespan. Key to positioning Dana in the digital space was connected Optimal Tire Maintenance application from its Driveline Product Engineering group. Initially termed the Tire Optimization Maintenance System (TOMS), the application is now marketed as the Spicer® OpTiMaTM tire-pressure management system.

The Solution: RealTimeIQ data aggregation, storage and processing via Google Cloud

ClearObject worked with the product engineering group’s VP and other stakeholders to structure an incubation environment known as RealTimeIQ for OpTiMa’s development. ClearObject’s team created a Google Cloud Platform solution to acquire the data needed to support the RealTimeIQ application, which enabled data collection from telematics service providers (TSPs) and made all data available to the product engineering group. Once OpTiMa’s functionality and business value were verified, Dana took the pilot to a successful Minimal Viable Product (MVP) that also included data from the company’s connected driveline. The product engineering group now uses the RealTimeIQ environment to continue aggregating field data to support and improve the OpTiMa offering.

The Result

ClearObject’s Google Cloud, IoT and digital analytics solution gave Dana’s Driveline Product Engineering group the platform and development environment they needed to launch OpTiMa. Here’s how the RealTimeIQ and OpTiMa technology works. Dana engineers obtain a data feed from their devices via a TSP and land it in Google Cloud Storage; data is sent and processed every hour Data is decoded and presented on an associated OpTiMa map, where alerts are automatically distributed per defined conditions: % Seal Heal for Truck Population, Performance Metrics vs. Mileage, Avg Temp over Ambient by Model; geofencing and points of interest identify tires requiring repair as data is captured and stored, it builds the first data lake for Dana engineers; analytics also provide details to alert customers to new product offerings and collaboration with other OEMs.

15% OpTiMa extends tire life up to 15%.

$2,500 Per vehicle, save $2,500+ in maintenance costs annually

*Statistics per Dana Inc., Spicer® OpTiMaTM brochure

Going Forward

Dana remains focused on solutions that use data to detect tire issues before they occur. To plot the process for tire maintenance, a latest solution release includes warranty reporting for specific tire makes and models; alerts that subscribe, configure, and define notifications; a mobile app that simplifies inspection workflow; and self-service capability for fleet-level solution configuration. The release further includes an administration tool for customer support and a dedicated services team.