FMS STANDARD
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The FMS-standard (Fleet Management Standard) is an agreed set of rules for accessing telemetry data stored in a vehicle's various Electronic Control Units (ECUs) for servicing.
It covers what types of data should be available and how it should be stored so that it can be read by any diagnostic software configured to capture it. The last update took effect in October 2009. when more data items were incorporated.
All the main truck manufacturers support the standard, partly because they want to avoid diagnostic equipment firms having to directly connect to the vehicle Controlled Area Network data bus (CANbus) to get servicing information. The CANbus is the electronic spine of the vehicle. It allows the various ECUs to talk to each other. The last thing the manufacturers want is technicians inadvertently altering a key vehicle control parameter The data is accessed by plugging the diagnostic tool into the FMS-standard port, also called the J1939 diagnostic port. which is the US Society of Automotive Engineer's standard on which it is based. The FMS-standard port is not a compulsory item, but when fitted, it now has a common connector for the FMS port, which will alleviate the problem of technicians having to carry a set of cables to cover all truck makes.