Published on February 18th, 2016 | by Guest

Fleet management: technology on the road

Efficiency and effectiveness is probably one of the most important factors for successful business. Transportation and logistics are the areas which are difficult to manage and run smoothly as well as effectively. A couple decades ago logistics was a lot about the trust as well as communication and it used to be a real challenge for business to supervise and manage hundreds of vehicles as well as people. However, during the last ten years transport telematics technologies improved so much, sometimes it is even hard to imagine what can be tracked, calculated and measured by the computer.

The first hands free car gateways were introduced in 1998, two years after in 2000 GSM & GPS systems were brought to market. However, it was not even close to what current technology can provide. Now it can provide a lot of control. Is it good? Yes – for businesses, but probably not as much for employees. The newest telematics technologies can help to track a lot of different kind of information about the vehicle. Trip history, speed, route, mileage, fuel level and consumption – all of this information can be tracked and seen by the managers.

How does it work?

Many of you may be wondering how transport telematics work. Yes, computers are involved in it, but lets be more specific. To track information about a number of vehicles, you need an advanced GPS tracker as well as management software. Different tracking devices such as GPS trackers and fuel level sensors are being attached to the vehicles which then send all the necessary information to the management system. This allows logistic companies’ to ensure that drivers are being efficient, does not leave the planned route and are not driving more hours than they are allowed.

Safety

Driving hundreds of miles across a few different countries or states is definitely not the safest job on earth. Therefore, even if drivers may feel closely monitored (or even too much monitored), up to date transport telematics systems ensures safety in way it registers and identifies the driver and tracks vehicles route. In case of unauthorised use of the vehicle, Engine Relay Block allows to block the engine of the vehicle from the control center. If a driver gets to an extreme situation panic buttons can also be installed into the vehicle letting the driver to send an emergency signal to the control center. Hence, transport telematics is definitely not only about monitoring the drivers to ensure that they are not cheating or tries somehow to benefit from the company, it is also a great way to ensure drivers safety and current situation.

Changes in the industry

Transport telematics is not only a great way for logistic companies to ensure efficiency as well as drivers safety. In a way it also shifted entire delivery industry into another level. Being able to accurately track delivery of the products also allows logistic companies’ to inform businesses about the delivery status. This helps businesses to control their stock and make strategic decisions depending on the delivery status. For instance, postpone advertising or promotion campaigns in case the product will be delivered two days later than planned. Tracking system can also make delivery processes smoother as drivers can be informed in advance about the road works, traffic jams, bad weather conditions and alternative routes or actions can be suggested.

During the last decade transportation industry has changed quite significantly and definitely in a good way. Improving transport telematics does not only benefit logistic companies making them more efficient and profitable, but also makes long-distance drivers profession safer. Nonetheless, accuracy as well as improved communication also significantly helps businesses/clients as they can now be sure of their product location and status. Transport telematics is a great example of how technology can ensure more secure environment for businesses as well as employees and bring the industry to the entirely new standards.

References:

Dale Willis, Director of Product Marketing, Ensuring fleet and driver safety: how technology helps service business adhere to regulations and protect employees.

Ruptela, 2016-02-02, 4 common myths about fleet management

Fleetnews.co.uk, 2012-07-10, Telematics: The science of vehicle tracking

Author bio:

James Wondenar: I am a BSc transport management student from Liverpool. My passion is new technologies which help to track and manage large amounts of vechicles. I am also interested in efficiency as well as productivity in transport and logistics industry. By analysing and evaluating current fleet management systems I hope one day to come up with my own software.

Tags: fleet, management, road, technology