Digital transformation is on every enterprise’s agenda for a long time now. Businesses are now adopting technology to remain competitive, be agile and maximize people efficiency and revenue. Trucking is no different.
Resultantly, the global vehicle telematics market is expected to be sized at around 103 billion U.S. dollars by 2020.
However, some of the businesses still struggle to understand the value of telematics. To help them out, we have outline best 8 ways in which telematics can transform your fleet management systems.
What is Telematics?
Telematics systems offer comprehensive fleet management solutions for businesses of various sizes. It is a combination of a GPS receiver, telematics device, and communication systems. The devices constantly monitor and relay important information on vehicle use.
By integrating state-of-the-art telematics systems into internal systems, businesses can open doorways to a more profitable business by streamlining various aspects such as vehicle maintenance, tracking, and more. Not just this, organizations have been counting on telematics systems to boost customer services, improved efficiency, lower operational costs, and a safer environment.
1. Track the Fleet with Real-time Vehicle Tracking using GPS
In enterprise fleet, you can easily lose the fleet resources. Not only are they large in number, but also are widely spread across global geography. Given such condition, you may not be able to pinpoint where are your fleet is, at a give point of time. It’s easier to mislocate assets, leaving some idle, while some overworked.
Telematics makes it easier for the business to have real-time visibility of the entire fleet.
It works via an onboard GPS unit attached to a compatible adapter under the driver’s seat, which tracks the vehicle in real-time and shares it across the nodes. This information includes coordinates, speed, and other performance metrics. The device depends on high-speed internet connections and tools to push this information across the cloud.
Authorized users can connect to the cloud, regardless of time and geography, to get a real-time view of the fleet. These cloud-enabled statistics are also available via mobile apps that keep the management updated with vehicle and performance alerts.
With geofencing capabilities, you can be alerted when an asset is moved from its designated area. This means you can alert authorities to a theft in progress or prevent unauthorized use of your vehicles and equipment.
2. ‘Big Data’ Brings Control to You
Telematics store a great amont of vital data to cloud that enables businesses to apply analytics and make valuable deductions. By deploying big data capabilities, you can utilize the robust rewporting capabilities to have broader view of the fleet. Some of the innate reports include gas usage to idle time, emissions, instances of overspeeding, fleet activity and more.
These reports enable enhanced analysis and policymaking by letting the fleet administrators to set-up and manage the data in ways that meet their particular fleet management requirements.
For instance, they can:
- Filter reports to a particular vehicle, asset, or a performance parameter
- Schedule reports on a daily, biweekly, weekly or once-a-month basis
- Set report parameters to contain from 1 to 365 days of data
- View comprehensive reports on engine diagnostics, speediness, position, and other discrete vehicle performance metrics
- View inclusive reports to evaluate lasting trends and categorize prospects to improve total fleet performance
3. Facilitate Better Fleet Communication
With dozens and hundreds of vehicles on the road daily, tracking can be daunting. This is specifically where telematics come in. But that’s not it.
One can also facilitate better communication within robust telematics systems in place. They offer the ability for fleet managers to communicate with drivers directly while they are in the field. This means your fleet can be more flexible. They can change routes and update schedules on the fly to handle problems that may arise. If something urgent comes up, it’s a simple process to add a stop to a driver’s route or reroute drivers in the area to avoid a problem spot.
4. Reduce Fleet Vehicle Downtime
Downtimes can adversely affect your profits, team productivity, and efficiency. They can either be due to mechanical problems, accidents or even bad routing. The affects are more severe for busy fleet.
Businesses can avoid these problems by deploying tematics.
The integrated dashboards not only get all the information for predictive maintenance which leads to fewer breakdowns, but when you need to get details of previous diagnostic codes, you can get them handy anytime. Therefore, you can make sure parts are ready even before the vehicle is back to your hub, optimizing the on-road time.
Telematics also help you reduce the number of accidents significantly. Apart from this, dashboards also bring all the information required to file insurance claims at the fingertips. This means less time spent dealing with documentation in the aftermath of an accident and a quicker return to the road.
5. Safety Reporting for Securer Fleet
42% have seen fewer safety incidents since using fleet tracking software to monitor driver behavior.
Telematics can do a lot more than just tracking your fleet. They get you insights on driving behavio so that businesses can minimize the incidents of poor driving habits.
Apart from monitoring the driving behavior, there are multiple features that help you boost safety. For example, devices that prevent driving distractions, collision avoidance systems, and lone worker safety solutions all improve safety.
Telematics solutions are also useful in increasing productivity and safety in large industrial vehicles. It is also good to remember that bad driving habits don’t just put other road users at risk. They also shorten the life cycle of the car by placing the vehicle under unnecessary wear and tear. Fast acceleration and harsh braking also negatively impact on fuel efficiency.
In the event of an accident, GPS telematics devices, and dash cams can provide accurate data to reconstruct the event. This can help to save money on falsified insurance claims. What’s more, by installing telematics devices on fleet cars, companies may save money on insurance premiums.
6. Risk Management Handled Well
With telematics, managers can see all drivers’ complete profile, including their past driving records and current driving habits. Drivers are scored according to performance, making it easy to identify which drivers may need additional safety training.
Drivers with habitual speeding records or habits such as braking too harshly, accelerating too quickly, or turning too sharply can be easily identified, and targeted driver training can be recommended to improve their safety and performance. The result is better fuel economy, fewer crashes, and lower maintenance costs overall.
7. Crash Notification to Help You Stay on Top of Your Fleet Status
Managers receive instant notification when a crash has occurred, and the telematics device will capture the vehicle’s last 30 seconds of dynamics so that it can be thoroughly investigated. A second-by-second reconstruction of the activity before a crash is recorded, including essential data such as the driver’s stopping speed and brake force.
This data is an invaluable form of documentation for insurance claim investigations, including “no-fault” claims when a company vehicle is hit and damaged while parked.
8. Stay ahead with smart maintenance
For small fleets, taking even one truck out of rotation can lead to a scheduling disaster that results in loss of productivity, which in turn affects your customers and your bottom line. When it comes to managing the health of all fleet vehicles, preventive fleet maintenance is the most crucial step.
Telematics as a fleet management solution, can help streamline maintenance processes for routine updates, such as tire rotations and oil changes and more significant fixes. This helps to decrease expenses and keep all vehicles in safe operating condition. Managers of small fleets have the additional burden of keeping track of maintenance schedules. This process can take away this added pressure and help them focus on other productive activities.
From generating vehicle maintenance alerts to improving preventative maintenance program accuracy to controlling costs, here are some of the maintenance benefits of fleet tracking technology:
- Engine diagnostics: Access current battery voltage, coolant temperature, powertrain malfunctions, intake valve issues, oxygen sensor problems, and more. Monitoring all of these diagnostics helps to identify the problems before they result in major breakdowns.
- Engine hour tracking and driver behavior data: With engine-hour tracking and driver behavior data, you can get a better picture of your vehicle’s health. Telematics also enables you to detect behaviors that accelerate vehicle wear and tear, such as hard cornering and rapid acceleration.
- Service records tracking: Receive proactive reminders for routine maintenance and automatically track vehicle service and completion dates. This allowed for greater control in scheduling and improved data-driven decisions.
Do You Want to Implement Telematics for Your Fleet Business?
Time to start is NOW!
Not sure how and from where? Matellio can help you!
Not only do we have the right team of technology consultants to guide you, but also own our very own white label Vehicle Management Solution that brings right telematics platform at your fingertips. Book a free 30-minute consultation right away and get started right away!
