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Optimizing fleets wirelessly
Ashish Gulati, Country Manager, India Operations,
Telit Communications SPA writes that M2M-based telematics solutions can help
fleet operators manage things in a cost-efficient manner
 Logistics
companies or, for that matter, large corporations that operate large fleets
of vehicles for their employees often face multiple challenges in managing their
fleets. The challenges become more prominent if the company engages vehicles
as tool-of-trade assets because effective fleet management has a direct bearing
on competitiveness and profitability.
The core concerns of such companies are to remove or minimize
the risks associated with vehicle investment, improving efficiency, productivity
and reducing their overall transportation and staff costs, providing 100% compliance
with government legislation and many more.
Many companies world over are turning to technology to provide them with ways
and means to mitigate the day-to-day challenges that they face. Machine2Machine
(M2M) based telematics solutions are fast emerging as one of the technologies
of choice for fleet operators that help them manage their fleets in an efficient
and cost-effective manner.
M2M-based telematics is based on GSM/GPRS/GPS protocols and they offer a great
variety of solutions that address most of the concerns of fleet operators and
provide real time monitoring capabilities.
For instance, one of the key concerns of fleet operators is with regard to managing
unforeseen budgeting risks arising out of unscheduled maintenance of vehicles.
M2M technologies enable operators to provide real time event monitoring providing
real time information pertaining to transmission, engine performance and other
pertinent vehicle health parameters. Visibility into these aspects allows operators
to foresee probable maintenance events early on and helps them budget maintenance
costs. Besides this, many drivers in the Indian scenarios do not adhere to committed
schedules blaming unforeseen breakdowns. Putting a vehicle monitoring system
in place which provides information on engine performance, tire pressure or
health, etc. help eliminate unaccounted for breakdown causes based on information
provided by the drivers. Such systems can help eliminate shipment penalties
levied on transport companies due to delays in reaching the destination.
M2M systems also provide visibility into driver behavior by helping fleet management
understand drivers’ performance based on various parameters. This may include
start and end of work-day, stops control, private activity time, etc. For instance,
dispatchers with visibility into real-time telematics data can spot drivers
who are speeding, shifting improperly, allowing the vehicle to idle for an extended
period of time and more—all in real time. This overview of driving behavior
permits dispatchers to correct driver performance, improve safety, reduce vehicle
wear and tear and protect against unnecessary fuel usage. This also may include
digital tachograph information that provides visibility into the vehicle’s
speed and distance.
M2M-based telematics also provides location-based services that enable the ability
to track the truck and provide real-time load status to customers. This capability
also helps companies enable dynamic routing, route optimization and real-time
navigation to help ensure that deliveries are received on-time every time, while
reducing mileage and associated fuel costs. Besides a combination of a data
cum voice based telematics solution not only increases route optimization it
can also ensure on-time pickup and delivery. Dispatch can instantly identify
trucks in the vicinity of a new call for pickup, enabling the business to achieve
cost-efficient routing as well as to meet customer service expectations. The
need and cost associated with purchasing and maintaining cell phones for drivers
is also eliminated. Further, M2M technologies offer geo-fencing capabilities
enabling corporations that operate fleets to alert drivers if the person or
the vehicle goes off limits geographically making delivery more productive.
Apart from that other advanced applications of M2M-based telematics solutions
enable over-the-air security and control over a company’s vehicular assets.
In the event that a vehicle is stolen or has turned rogue, fleet operators can
remotely control the vehicle helping them safely disable a vehicle while it
is in motion. In this way, fleet managers can recover stolen vehicles and cargo
thereby reducing losses significantly. Remote disabling allows a dispatcher
or other authorized personnel to gradually decelerate a vehicle by downshifting,
limiting the throttle capability, or bleeding air from the braking system from
a remote location. In more advanced systems, after a vehicle is remotely disabled,
systems will lock the vehicle's brakes or will not allow the vehicle's engine
to be restarted within a certain timeframe. Aside of this, such systems can
be integrated into a remote panic and emergency notification system which allows
the driver to send out an emergency alert that allows the fleet and dispatch
teams to take appropriate action.
While M2M-based telematics applications may directly benefit fleet operators,
with four million commercial vehicles plying on the Indian roads, the optimization
of these fleets will bring tremendous benefits to the economy as whole. One
of the key areas where the economy will benefit would be in terms of diesel
fuel savings. The cost burden on the government due to the subsidy provided
on diesel fuel can be significantly reduced by the efficient use of telematics
technology in commercial vehicles. M2M-based telematics technologies can also
be used to monitor cargo abuse and pilferage in a public distribution system,
something that costs the country’s exchequer considerably.
Many fleet operators have started adopting such telematics solutions (such as
the radio taxi cabs that operate in the metro cities) and this trend is showing
upward movement. In the near future, telematics will find a lot of applications
on Indian roads.
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