Smarter cold chain: Fleet telematics create predictive advantages

Reducing fleet downtime through the Remote Operating Center

For refrigerated fleets, growth is a double-edged sword. Expanding into new regions and scaling to hundreds of trailer units offers opportunities but also introduces complexity, higher costs and the risk of fleet downtime. One North American carrier moving perishable goods across the United States and Mexico learned this firsthand.

When the company launched operations in 2016, it managed only a handful of trucks. In less than a decade, that number grew to more than 250 tractors and 500 trailers. With the rapid expansion came new challenges: ensuring equipment integrity across long-haul, cross-border routes; protecting loads of fresh produce, dairy and meat; and keeping shop teams trained and ready to maintain assets in peak condition.

Challenges and fleet downtime risks on the road

Before deploying advanced fleet intelligence, the carrier faced common but costly issues:

• Lack of predictive maintenance: Repairs were often reactive, with little visibility into underlying problems.
• Over-the-road expenses: Each battery failure incident can cost more than $1,200 in roadside service.
• Drop-trailer blind spots: With trailers frequently staged across the Midwest, service teams struggled to diagnose problems until they escalated.
• Technician training gaps: Limited visibility meant shop staff were guessing at root causes, leading to longer fleet downtime and missed opportunities to train mechanics effectively.

From guesswork to predictive maintenance clarity

That dynamic shifted with the adoption of Thermo King’s Remote Operating Center (ROC), part of Thermo King’s telematics portfolio and a key element of its broader lifecycle management solutions. ROC combines 24/7 remote fleet monitoring, hands-on response and a cutting-edge algorithm that can predict failures before they occur. Instead of reacting to breakdowns, the fleet began receiving predictive alerts and guided diagnostic scripts. These scripts provided step-by-step checks for technicians—whether examining alternators, belts or fuel filters—turning what used to be guesswork into clear, actionable repair paths.

By embedding ROC within a comprehensive lifecycle management strategy, the carrier could do more than prevent individual breakdowns. They gained the ability to view asset health in the context of the fleet’s full lifecycle.

The impact was immediate. Maintenance teams reported saving up to 30 minutes per refrigerated trailer by using ROC dashboards to identify red-alarm reefer units and prioritize inspections. Predictive alerts allowed repairs to be scheduled in-house rather than handled as emergency roadside events, which led to increased uptime and more profitable fleets.

Strengthening the workforce with technician training

The ROC also addressed a challenge every fleet faces at some point: technician training and retention. With scripts and real-time data in hand, shop teams no longer relied on a single expert for unit knowledge. Instead, predictive insights were spread across the workforce, empowering less-experienced technicians to diagnose and repair with confidence.

“Without the ROC and TracKing® [telematics], our techs would be guessing and sending a unit into a shop for diagnosis when it could just be a door open,” noted one operations leader. With the technology, even newer techs can walk through scripts and ultimately, allow the shop teams to keep more work in-house.

Adoption was not instantaneous. ROC integration required planning, biweekly review meetings and constant collaboration between the fleet and Thermo King specialists. The journey from four trucks to more than 500 trailers has been defined by growth and by the willingness to embrace technology that keeps goods fresh, fleet operations efficient and technicians empowered.