In effective fleet management, nothing is more important than fleet efficiency; that is to say, optimising productivity and cutting costs. Whether you are managing a delivery or a worker fleet, an airport transfer or a city passenger transport, you are likely to be thinking about how to make enhancements to productivity or savings on a daily basis.
This article looks into what Telematics is, how it operates, as well as how this technological invention can help improve the efficiency of vehicle fleets across the world.
What is Telematics?
The word, derived from the combination of two terms, telecommunications and informatics, essentially represents a technology that revolves around the collection, transmission and processing of diverse types of vehicles-centric data, ranging from GPS location to diagnostic vehicle data. At its most basic, telematics is the act of analysis that turns raw data into information, and it is this power that allows a fleet manager to make more informed decisions.
How Does Telematics Work?
The intricacies of telematics are a symphony of the most advanced instrumentation So, telematics – how does that work? First, your fleet vehicles need to be installed with telematics equipment – this is the brain or central nerve of your system. The equipment will transmit data to a ‘back-end server’ through satellite and cellular networks. Data will be processed and streamed to user-friendly inter feeds at their fingertips all day long.
Telematics – The Core Components
It is important to grasp the components of telematics to foresee it benefits:
- GPS tracking: The pivot point around which telematics functions is the Global Positioning System (GPS), which keeps track of the location of every vehicle you own.
- Telematics: Part of what’s coming back is about the vehicle itself. It can interface with the onboard diagnostics system, which provides a diagnostic trouble code, information about engine performance and maintenance needs.
- Driver Behaviour Monitoring: Telematics allows you to monitor driver behaviour.
- Communication: Using telemetric technology ensures that all two-ways communication between the managers and drivers are carried out promptly and efficiently so that the information does not get delayed.
- Geofencing: Create virtual shapes (geofencing in the map) and the system notifies the fleet manager as soon as a vehicle confirms entering or leaving a defined area.
Benefits of Telematics for Fleet Efficiency
The advantages of Telematics are manifold and extend to various industries:
- Logistics and Transport: Telematics enables logistics and transport companies to track their vehicles. Other applications include predictive maintenance.
- Construction: Telematics monitors the geo-location and performance of construction machinery and equipment onsite.
- Delivery Services: Telematics is used by courier and delivery companies to track live vehicles and offer precise delivery time estimates.
- Public Transportation Agencies: Telematics also allows public transit agencies to know where their vehicles are at all times, track the location of school buses, improve schedules and other such things.
- Agriculture: Telematics permits tracking of farm machinery involved in crop management and resource allocation.
Tips and Best Practices for Boosting Fleet Efficiency with Telematics
- Pick The Right Telematics Solution: pick a Telematics solution suitable to your fleet that works within your company expectations and business targets, providing those feature sets that were relevantly selected as most proper for your industry.
- Data Management Strategy: Devise a strategy for your data. How long will you need to keep it – and who in your organisation will need access to it?
- Use telematic data: leverage the telematics data into your regular day-to-day monitoring and analysis. Review it regularly with an eye for predictive trends and ways to improve.
Incorporating Telematics into Your Fleet Efficiency Strategy
Telematics doesn’t fix every problem. But if it makes sense for your business, it can complement a more thorough fleet management practice. Here’s how:
Assess What Your Fleet Needs To Improve: Begin with a thorough evaluation of your fleet’s needs, identifying areas where Telematics can make the biggest positive differences.
Choose a Telematics provider: Selecting a Telematics provider such as Radius is important. You should consult with at least two providers, discuss their business and technological model. Also get in touch with some existing customers to get their feedback on the service.
Work for installation and configuration: Simply selecting a Telematics provider does not complete the installation of the system. You have to work with your chosen provider to install and configure the Telematics systems on the vehicles you want to monitor.
Data Management: Have a clear data strategy. Where will the data be stored, for how long, who can access it, how will it be used for decisions?
Report and act: Give feedback to your clients and act on their actions according to the feedback you receive.
Review and Revise: Periodically fine-tune your Telematics strategy to targets. As your fleet and business change, evolve or grow, so could your Telematics needs.
Summary
If you are not tracking your fleet with telematics, it is not being managed properly at all. If your competitors are tracking, they have real data about their fleet. If you have your fingers on the pulse of your fleet, it is the right size and productive. It’s axiomatic. A logistics fleet serving multiple customers every day, and a snow removal fleet installed on trucks for the winter, require different types of fleets. However, they can both benefit from telematics, as they both should be managed optimally. Hopefully, after reading this article, you will choose to manage your fleet the optimal way, with access to actual data and practices of telematics.