Mack Trucks Enhances Mack® GuardDog® Connect with Advanced Analytics and AI from SAS

10-29-2018 
AUSTIN, TX (Oct. 29, 2018) – Mack Trucks is now delivering even more benefits to customers from its Mack® GuardDog® Connect telematics-based solution with help from analytics leader SAS. The partnership with SAS allows Mack to more effectively analyze the data flowing from GuardDog Connect that guides the uptime decision-making.

“With SAS solutions, we’re able to see patterns in our data that we were not seeing previously, allowing us to even more efficiently and effectively maximize uptime for our customers,” said David Pardue, Mack vice president of connected vehicles and uptime solutions.

SAS helps customers transform volumes of data into intelligence that lead to better decision making. With a proven track record of working with industry-leading companies, SAS is providing Mack cutting-edge tools to develop an advanced analytics approach to managing customer uptime.

“SAS helped Mack build a scalable, flexible, enterprise-wide analytics system that enables the company to act upon signals from the telematics system in ways that exceed the expectations of Mack’s end customers: trucking companies,” said Bill Roberts, SAS director of IoT. “The system uses analytical techniques including visualization, machine learning and artificial intelligence to interpret streaming GuardDog Connect data and drive action when specific conditions arise.”

The enhancement of GuardDog Connect with SAS is just one of many updates Mack has made to increase uptime for customers. Mack Over The Air, rolled out earlier this year, enables remote software updates for powertrain components and vehicle parameters on trucks equipped with Mack 2017 or newer engines.

In addition, Mack continues to expand its network of Mack Certified Uptime Centers. Featuring dedicated “uptime bays” for vehicles requiring shorter repairs, Mack Certified Uptime Centers help streamline the repair process, resulting in a 50 percent reduction in repair times that are four hours or less. Mack currently has 132 Certified Uptime Centers across North America.

Unplanned downtime is one of the single largest costs heavy-duty trucking customers face, reaching upwards of $2,000 per day a truck is down. Mack GuardDog Connect helps reduce downtime by proactively monitoring fault codes that could potentially shut down a truck or lead to an unplanned visit to the dealer.

When GuardDog Connect detects an issue, it notifies Mack OneCall™ agents at Mack’s 24/7 Uptime Center even before a driver realizes there is a potential problem. The OneCall team quickly diagnoses the issue to determine the best course of action. If a repair is needed, proactive repair scheduling and parts confirmation is done, all while the truck remains on the road.

Mack GuardDog Connect is standard on all Mack Anthem®, Pinnacle™, Granite®, LR and TerraPro® models. Mack currently has more than 70,000 connected vehicles on the road today.

Mack Trucks is improving its approach to customer uptime by enhancing Mack® GuardDog® Connect with help from analytics leader SAS. SAS enables Mack to more accurately analyze Internet of Things (IoT) data flowing from its GuardDog Connect telematics solution to improve and expand uptime decision-making.



Dedicated to durability, reliability and meeting the needs of customers, Mack Trucks has provided purpose-built transportation solutions for more than a century. Today, Mack is one of North America’s largest producers of heavy-duty trucks, and Mack® trucks are sold and serviced through an extensive distribution network in more than 45 countries. Mack trucks, diesel engines and transmissions sold in North America are assembled in the United States. Mack manufacturing locations are certified to the internationally recognized ISO 9001 standard for quality, ISO 14001 standard for environmental management systems and OHSAS 18001 standard for health and safety management systems. Mack is also a proud sponsor of Share the Road, an American Trucking Associations public information campaign aimed at enhancing the safety of our nation's roadways.

Mack Trucks is part of the Volvo Group, which is driving prosperity through transport and infrastructure solutions, offering trucks, buses, construction equipment, power solutions for marine and industrial applications, financing and services that increase customer uptime and productivity. Founded in 1927, the Volvo Group is committed to shaping the future landscape of sustainable transport and infrastructure solutions. The Volvo Group is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, employs almost 100,000 people and serves customers in more than 190 markets. In 2022, net sales amounted to about $47 billion. For more information, please visit www.volvogroup.com.