Gaining control of your fleet through telematics
Best Practice Guide
TELEMATICS
Telematics is being widely adopted by fleets, providing businesses with journey and driving information that enables better decision-making to make the most efficient use of the costly transport resource Written by John Curtis
Running a fleet can be an enormous performance, and more. However, all the challenge, never more so than when vehicles vehicle data in the world is utterly useless are doing what they should be – being driven. unless it is used to inform better decision However, this is when vehicles can be at their making. How the data is analysed, and most expensive, either through wear and tear, the subsequent decisions it informs are fuel use or even accidents, and this is the key to a successful implementation. point at which the fleet manager Telematics devices are unobtrusive, has the least control. passive observers that are located Telematics is being out of the way of the vehicle All widely adopted by controls and the drivers the veh fleets, of all sizes, sight line. These monitors i c providing the collect information and data in le business with transmit it back to a data world i the s journey and driving collection point, usually u t ter useless information that back at the office. unless ly it is used to enables decisions The devices themselves to be made to make come in a number of better d inform the most efficient forms, allowing fleet ecision use of the costly managers to use what is making transport resource. best for them. Much of it depends on how the data will be What is telematics? collected, and the available budget. Vehicle telematics is based Mobile only and Bluetooth Assist on the idea of gathering, storing, and telematics are cost-effective but are lacking in transmitting information about the capabilities. Along with 12V connectors, they vehicle for monitoring purposes. This can be easily transferred from one vehicle information can be used to analyse vehicle to another, so they can be kept with drivers performance, vehicle conditions, driver if users are regularly switching vehicles.
Onboard Diagnostic (OBD) devices plug into the OBD port on the underside of the steering column. They will have Bluetooth or even cellular capabilities and will be able to collect a richer set of data to be used. They can be moved from one vehicle to another, but it is a little more difficult than with mobile-only systems and 12V connectors. They are generally the best route for most fleets. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) products are very capable, but are also the most expensive, and are permanently fixed to the vehicle. The benefits of telematics One key question to answer in the quest for telematics success is why the need for a telematics system? The answer will vary depending on whether the question comes from the finance department, HR, the fleet manager, drivers or even a union representative. However, in most cases, the issues covered fall into four broad themes, all of which are interlinked: mileage and time management, fuel and emissions, safety and security and financial benefits. E
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