The 3G Shutdown Is Coming – Is Your Fleet Prepared or in the Dark?
Telematics as a field has been around a while, but it is the ever more sophisticated developments in this field related to vehicle and truck gps tracking that are delivering a goldmine of data to fleet managers.
The Basics
Telematics is the blending of computers and wireless telecommunications technologies, to efficiently transmit vast amounts of data over networks to optimise business functions. It encompasses telecommunications, vehicular technologies, road transportation and safety, electrical engineering (sensors, instrumentation, wireless communications etc.), and computer science (multimedia, internet, etc.).
There are a number of key areas where telematics delivers a massive advantage.
Asset Utilisation
Accurate asset utilisation data puts you in the driver's seat in terms of getting more work out of your vehicles and trucks. Many benefits flow directly from utilisation-related telematics reports. These include at-a-glance identification of underutilised vehicles, and maintenance scheduling based on actual vehicle usage rather than by pre-set intervals that may lead to under- or over-servicing.
Jobsite Utilisation
Take it one step further with systems that also offer jobsite-based asset utilisation reporting – based on geofencing – and you unlock a powerful new array of fleet optimisation opportunities. These advanced telematics systems can automatically break down vehicle use by project as assets move from job to job. The resultant reports can facilitate better cost accounting, reduce write-offs for unallocated asset hours, improve asset management on individual projects, and track subcontractor hours.
Machine run time data
Telematics systems capture engine hours electronically by connecting the alternator or equipment computer to any machine equipped with a GPS tracking unit. With no manual transcription errors or data entry mistakes, this strategy provides a level of accuracy and efficiency that cannot be achieved with manual hour-meter reading.
There are other accounting benefits as well. First, fleet managers can see the true costs of vehicle usage for each job. Second, neither job supervisors nor customers can challenge the numbers. If a vehicle worked on three different jobs during a given reporting period, no one can claim that their own job was overcharged. Finally, the telematics data on jobsite utilisation can be integrated into the businesses back-office software, significantly reducing clerical work for internal chargebacks, rental hours calculation, customer billing and asset depreciation.
Advanced fuel management
Every telematics system can help trim fuel consumption with features like idling reports, but the ability to measure actual fuel burn is a new development that can help detect fuel theft and fuel-related equipment problems, and eliminate unnecessary refuelling trips. Data collected in the field with the telematics system and partner hardware can generate fuel reports by asset, jobsite, fuelling event, fuelling vehicle and more – replacing algorithm calculations with actual measurements including fuel burn rate in litres per hour.
Telematics systems source, organise and make sense of the massive amount of data available to fleet operators – who wouldn't want the commercial benefits of fully optimising their fleet?