For Fleet Managers, Telematics Can Point The Way To Savings

Restrictions around coronavirus have shown additional value for telematics that track vehicle and machine location and utilisation. But unleashing the full potential to slash operating costs requires engaged fleet managers and a focus on driver training, explains Charles Azrak, GM of Location Solutions.

While telematics for commercial vehicles and construction equipment is not a new concept, lockdown-related restrictions on movement and a preference for digital information due to the coronavirus pandemic have heightened its utility.

Location Solutions, an established telematics service provider in the GCC, has seen a burst of requests during the lockdown period, such as existing users who wanted new user names and passwords created so that construction company staff working from home could access the platform and see how equipment was being utilised, including via smartphone app. Another client decided to integrate fleet tracking data with its main enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform for greater oversight of trucks and equipment, including location, activity and tracking of deliveries, says Charles Azrak, GM at Location Solutions. Despite the lockdowns, work continued at most construction sites, he notes.

Established in 2004, Location Solutions provides a wide range of sensors fitted to vehicles or construction equipment, measuring everything from location and idling time to fuel levels, and detecting theft. Key segments in construction include transit mixers, where the system can detect unauthorised concrete discharge, show trips in live time and provide alerts if there are any delays, as well as provide segment reports, cycle time and historical data so managers can perform analysis; heavy equipment, to monitor utilisation, fuel theft detection, trip delays or unauthorised loading; and logistics, where route planning and delivery status result in more efficient deliveries and provide transparency for clients; as well as specialised solutions in areas such as refrigerated transport and school buses.

Customers select from a variety of onboard sensors. For vehicles, these include advanced driver assistance systems to prevent driver distraction and detect driver fatigue, RFID systems for driver identification and authorised vehicle access control, weight sensors to measure a vehicle’s load and protect against overloading, and engine temperature and fuel level monitoring.

Around 80% of the firm’s products are currently installed on commercial vehicles – including trucks, buses and pickups – with the remaining 20% on construction equipment. That reflects the fact that vehicle fleets are generally more numerous, while construction equipment fleets are smaller, and typically more expensive on a per unit basis. Still, improving utilisation and reducing idling time for construction equipment can result in bigger cost savings than for commercial vehicles, explains Azrak. “Installing sensors on equipment is more important than for vehicles, because you can obtain a much higher return on investment, since idling costs – both fuel and wear and tear – are much higher on equipment than for commercial vehicles.”

In part, that comes down to how maintenance cycles and depreciation are calculated. When a machine is idling it is adding hours to the engine count, hastening the next maintenance interval and machine depreciation; however, vehicle idling time doesn’t contribute to these, since maintenance and depreciation are calculated based on distance travelled.

One study with a customer found that engines on equipment were kept idling around 35% of the time (the study was conducted in autumn, so operators weren’t keeping the engine running to use AC to keep the cab cool). Apart from burning fuel, that much additional idle time adds a proportional cost to the maintenance bill, says Azrak.

From a broader perspective, a large amount of equipment idle time also raises questions about overall fleet utilisation, and a telematics system is especially useful for larger construction sites, and for plant managers with kit across multiple sites or remote job-sites. Having a view into idling time and when machines are not in use at all may allow a plant manager to better allocate kit, or even reduce rental or leasing bills if they realise there is additional capacity within the existing fleet. “This is something we’ve seen. I had an initial order to install sensors on a thousand machines, but after seeing how the machines were being used once he had the sensors onboard, he returned 200 of the machines,” says Azrak.

Pressure sensors on booms to monitor load balancing, rotation sensors, power takeoff sensors to measure the working hours of hired equipment, GPS and fuel monitoring sensors are among the hardware that Location Solutions can install on a machine.

While construction equipment brands often deliver new machines with a variety of high-tech sensors onboard, many do not open up their protocols up to third-party providers. However, in the commercial vehicle segment, many OEMs do allow companies like Location Solutions to connect via the CAN bus. “Truck manufacturers understood that instead of competing with us, they could collaborate, and this results in better service for their customers,” says Azrak.

In some cases, OEMs focus on producing telematics applications for larger markets like the US or the EU, with less interest in localising their solution for the GCC, with language requirements also a factor. In these cases, Location Solutions’ product can be used to meet local market requirements, such as the use of RFID chips to provide information for authorisation when accessing a restricted facility such as in oil & gas.

Detailed overviews of vehicle journeys, idling time and other fleet metrics can help a fleet manager spot bottlenecks or inefficiencies amongst their drivers or processes. 

More than just monitoring

‘Data is the new oil’ is the phrase used to describe the potential benefits of being able to optimise businesses using data from connected devices (Internet of Things, IoT) or big data. But while the phrase may be simple, the truth is that fleet managers need to work hard and consistently improve their operations in order to get value out of a telematics system. Relatively cheap diesel, low labour costs and competitive prices for tires mean many fleet managers or owners can be complacent when it comes to inefficiency.

Fleet managers may look at a dashboard showing vehicle utilisation, with red bars for idle time and green bars showing a machine or vehicle being put to work, but improving performance levels requires them to take effective action. “Managers need to look at the data and penalise drivers who have excess idling or other mistakes, to get results,” says Azrak.

Location Solutions recently released an app for drivers to gamify the work process, such as awarding points for starting on time or fewer points for excessive idling. It’s designed to help fleets slash operating costs, Azrak explains. “You have to educate drivers, you have to put penalties in place in order to achieve better results,” he concludes.