A few years ago, log books, service histories and subjective evaluation of the fleet drivers were about the limit of the information the manager had to hand, and corrective action to fix problems was almost entirely curative rather than preventative. The closest most companies ever came to realtime feedback was the occasional irate phone call responding to a 'How is my driving?' sign on the back of one of their vehicles.
In the meantime, fuel costs, vehicle maintenance, insurance and wages are rising faster than inflation and more sophisticated vehicles represent higher capital costs. Managers of these mobile assets have a lot on their minds!
The rapid growth of GPS as a personal convenience tool is something most motorists will at least be aware of today, but GPS, and especially GPS linked to mobile data, is now far more than a convenience to the fleet manager: it is a vital asset management resource. Interactive navigation links between a control centre and the fleet vehicles are turning fleet management into a realtime optimisation and problem-avoidance undertaking.
In a typical modern fleet management application personal navigation devices (PNDs) are installed in each vehicle, coupled with in-vehicle data sensors. Sensors and the GPS let the control centre track location, speed and direction, elapsed time, fuel level, distance travelled, idle times, battery voltage, coolant temperatures, number of stops, cargo door status, cargo temperature and more. The PNDs will usually serve both as navigators and messaging devices, making the communication two-way. This transforms the approach to optimising use of resources and preventing problems before they happen.
Vehicles can be dynamically re-routed without any fear of the driver getting lost. Incipient problems with the vehicle (such as overheating) can be detected and the driver instructed to take preventative action. An unlatched cargo door and rising temperature in a refrigerator van can be detected before it becomes a disaster. Fuel consumption, and fuel pilfering, can be monitored in realtime. Unauthorised driver 'detours' can be picked up immediately (whether it is a private excursion or a hijacking), and hours worked can be recorded and tallied on the fly.
Managers no longer have to rely on faded, semi-legible 'How is my driving?' signs, as engine speed, road speed and braking can be continually recorded and correlated with physical location - no more guessing as to whether the driver is risking speeding fines or courting accidents.
Jason Theunissen is executive director Avnic Trading - exclusive distributors of Garmin GPS solutions.
For more information contact Avnic Trading, +27 (0)11 704 6147, [email protected], www.garmin.co.za
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