An article on Field Technologies Online.com discusses the many ways fleet tracking can improve the bottom line for fleet operators. The article begins by discussing how fleet tracking makes drivers more accountable for costly behavior, such as unnecessarily idling, speeding, and performing personal errands on company time and with company resources.
From there, author Brian Albright discusses how companies needing a fleet management solution must know in advance what functionalities they wish their installed system to have, instead of simply seeing what is available on the market.
Albright then details how the most successful fleet implementations involve a cross-section of the entire company weighing in on what the system is needed to provide. Billing, accounting, drivers, driver safety, maintenance, management, dispatch and customer service should all be present when examining possible wireless solutions to ensure the solution provides the functionality they need.
Finally, Albright discusses how there are many hidden ROIs within a wireless solution: for example, more efficient vehicle management from computer-aided dispatch could prevent hiring a new worker and purchasing a new truck. Electronic record-keeping also makes the company much stronger to withstand a federal audit should the situation arise.
If you manage a fleet of vehicles, you’re going to spend a significant amount of money on gasoline. In fact, it might be one of your highest [figures]. When your vehicles pull up to the pump, chances are good your drivers will see something like this:
But what do the numbers mean? They’re what’s called the Research Octane Number (RON) or the Anti-Knock Index (AKI). They refer to the ratio of iso-octane versus heptane in the gasoline. For example, gasoline with an octane rating of 90 means the gas is 90% iso-octane and 10% heptane. That’s all well and good, but how does it affect your fleet?
There are two ways for gasoline to ignite. The first is with a flame or spark, which is what a spark plug does. But if you compress gasoline enough it will ignite spontaneously, without the need for a spark or flame. When you compress gasoline along with air, you get a much larger ignition than if you just compressed gasoline by itself. Adding air to your gasoline is the job of a vehicle’s carburetor or fuel injectors. Compressing the gasoline along with air is the job of a vehicle’s pistons.
When the piston in an engine compresses gasoline before a spark plug fires, there’s always the possibility that the gasoline will ignite prematurely. If this happens before an engine is ready, the exploding gasoline will drive the pistons backwards. It’s like trying to walk through a revolving door while every few seconds some jerk pushes the glass in the wrong direction. When this happens in an engine, you get a knocking sound as the engine fights against itself. Not only is this bad for fuel efficiency, this can cause serious damage.
Gasoline with a higher octane number require more compression before it explodes, meaning that it’s less likely to explode in a piston before the spark plug sets it off. Because the gasoline has a high octane rating, gas companies charge more money for it.
What most people don’t know is that modern vehicle engines include a knock sensor which detects knocking and compensates by adjusting the amount of air included with the gasoline to prevent it from igniting prematurely.
There are two types of vehicles which can benefit from high octane gasoline. The first is the forty year old clunker, which has no knock sensor. The second is the ultra high-end fantasy car – we’re talking Lamborghini here – which has an engine designed to withstand gasoline compressed to extremes and convert the larger ignition into faster speeds.
So what’s the point of spending more money on premium gasoline for your fleet?
There isn’t any. Unless your fleet has record players for stereos or can hit 250 miles per hour on the highway, there’s no reason to buy premium gas.
It is well known that cell phone use while driving is a leading cause of accidents. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, cell phone distractions cause 600,000 crashes and 3,000 deaths each year.[1] In addition, on-the-job crashes are very expensive for employers with average costs of $24,500 per crash, $150,000 per injury, and $3.6 million per fatality.[2]
An often overlooked aspect of distracted driving is a company’s liability when an employee causes an accident. Under the legal doctrine of vicarious liability, an employer is liable for actions of an employee if the employee was acting under the purview of his or her employment at the time of an accident.[3] In other words, if your employee causes injury to someone due to negligent conduct (i.e. distracted driving), the victim can sue your company directly for damages. ZoomSafer has written an excellent white paper delving further into the details of this issue and outlining the steps companies need to take to protect themselves from liability.
As discussed in the white paper, in the past ten years a wide variety of cases have resulted in companies paying restitution to victims injured by the negligent driving of an employee distracted by a cell phone. With settlements and verdicts ranging from $1.5 to $21 million[4] employees who use cell phones while driving are a costly risk for your company. Here are a few examples:
- Tiburzi v. Holmes Transport Inc. (2009) – $18 million judgment: The plaintiff was left in a permanent vegetative state from brain injuries caused by a collision with an 18-wheel truck driven by an employee of the defendant. During the trial, the judge found that at the time of the accident the truck driver had flipped open his cell phone and was checking for text messages. Holmes Transport was found vicariously liable for the plaintiff’s injuries and ordered to pay $18 million in restitution. Trials are still underway for three other people killed in the accident.[5]
- Bustos v. Leiva & Dyke Industries (2001) – $21 million judgment: An elderly woman was seriously injured after a collision with a truck driven by an employee of Dyke Industries. Though he claimed he was not distracted, the employee’s cell phone records proved he was using his cell phone at the time of the accident. Because the employee was working at the time of the accident, and in a company truck, Dyke Industries was held vicariously liable and subsequently settled for $16.2 million.[6]
- Smith v. Beers Skansksa, Inc. (2005) – $5 million settlement: The plaintiff was injured when a truck driven by an employee of Beers Skansksa, Inc. collided with his car. At the time of the crash, the employee was dialing his cell phone and checking his voicemail. Because the employee was on-duty and using a work-issued cell phone, Beers Skansksa, Inc. was held vicariously liable. The case settled for $5 million just before it was set to go to trial.[7]
To address this problem, many companies have instituted paper policies outlining acceptable cell phone use by employees. However, having a paper policy does not prevent a company from being held liable in the event of an accident, as seen in the case of Ford v. McGrogan & International Paper. In 2008, an employee of International Paper rear-ended another car while using a cell phone. The victim, whose arm had to be amputated, sued International Paper. Even though the company had a cell phone policy in place, management recognized they would likely be held vicariously responsible for the accident because the policy had not been enforced. They settled for $5.2 million dollars.[8]
Paper policies are inherently difficult to implement as their success relies on self-enforcement from employees. Fleet management technologies, such as mobile computers, enable companies to directly manage an employee’s cell phone or computer use while driving. Mobile computers can be programmed to disable functionality and display a blank screen while a vehicle is in motion. Once the vehicle is stopped, two-way messaging and cell phone capabilities allow drivers to communicate with the office safely and efficiently. These technologies eliminate the possibility of an employee using a company cell phone or mobile computer while driving and are one of the few ways to protect your company from liability in the case of an accident.
There is a continuing debate surrounding the best type of device for use in field service or enterprise businesses: BlackBerry smartphones or rugged devices? This article, from Mobile Enterprise Magazine, looks at the merit of both, and suggests that rugged devices still have the upper hand in the industry. Here are some advantages rugged devices offer over smartphones:
While the BlackBerry’s versatility is an attractive feature, rugged devices are designed specifically for the needs of the job and don’t blur the lines between business and personal use.
For large field forces that have a large inventory of devices used by employees on a daily basis, the ability to personalize a BlackBerry offers no particular advantage; rugged devices, in this case, are more desirable.
Rugged devices stand up to harsh environments, such as construction sites. BlackBerry smartphones are more susceptible to damage and have a shorter life cycle.
If your company is looking to develop a best-in-class scheduling plan, check out this article from the Aberdeen Group. Their report provides important steps to take when developing new scheduling processes or reorganizing existing ones. Also, you will find some interesting comparative statistics between Best-in-Class and Laggard organizations. Here is a brief summary of the key points:
1. Map the entire service delivery process
Mapping out the overall process and required resources at every stage will help identify which areas of the process need the most attention and investment.
2. Include the right stakeholders
Involving all the impacted stakeholders in the development of an optimal service delivery process is an essential step. Appointing a service executive to provide valuable oversight and accountability adds a comprehensive view of the desired result.
3. Increase visibility
Raising your company’s visibility can be considered a strategic action in addressing resource management and customer satisfaction pressures.
4. Centralize the scheduling process
This is an important step to take in order to allocate resources appropriately and ensure improved performance.
5. Eliminate paper-based and manual scheduling
This reduces the margin for error and supplements organizational shift.
Using fuel cost-effectively can be a challenge for fleet-based organizations. Fuel is responsible for one of the highest operating costs of transportation businesses, and managing this expense is even more important when prices are fluctuating. BUS Ride has a useful article on fuel management systems. Read it here.
Understanding the basics of the technology used is important for any person working in fleet management. Simply put, much of the technology used in fleet management can be described as “machine-to-machine,” or “M2M” for short. Essentially what this means is that two or more machines communicate to one another. If you plug an iPod into a USB slot on your stereo to control the iPod via the stereo and listen to music through different speakers, you are employing M2M technology.
In the world of fleet management, M2M technology connects machines of various different types together, and most often by a wireless connection. For example, a vehicle can have a sensor embedded into its engine to monitor gas usage, speeds, idling, and excessive braking. As the information is collected, the sensor transmits it over a wireless data network. The information is received in a separate office where it is stored and analyzed.
Collecting this information is highly beneficial to a company because it saves both time and money: if, for example, a vehicle has engine trouble the company will be automatically informed and can repair the vehicle before it falls into disrepair. There is also no need to service a vehicle when it does not need work done, saving time (vehicle downtime), money (the cost of servicing) and fuel (bringing a vehicle in from the field).
Getting the Most Out of an M2M System
There are various ways of wirelessly connecting two machines, and they all have pros and cons. A reputable vendor will assist you in setting up, running, and trouble-shooting problems. Knowing which system will best provide the functionality you need, at an affordable price will take research, but is worth the time invested. M2M solutions can bestow multiple benefits on a user, including improved customer service, more efficient processes, reduced operating costs and a sharpened competitive edge.
M + 2 + M = Success
Industries of all kinds are filled with success stories from implementing M2M technology. To learn how real-world businesses have applied M2M technology, click here to read the full article from Integrated Solutions: For Wireless, Mobility and RFID. Also included is a useful glossary of terms common to the M2M industry.
As an increasing number of fleet-based operations employ mobile computers to manage their mobile workers, managing the mobile computers themselves becomes an increasingly high priority. This is known as an MDM (Mobile Device Management) solution. Many enterprise or government mobility solutions consider a mobile device management solution to be critical, with “minimizing device downtime” being the primary concern to achieve a return on their investment. In addition, “the scope of device management solutions continues to expand. Key capabilities include not only remote maintenance and troubleshooting…but [also] software provisioning and increasingly security management.”
VDC Research Group, a technology market research and strategy consulting firm, conducted a study to examine the cost of running mobile computers. They estimate that the cost of a fully-burdened staff to support a mobile device without mobile device management works out to $39.40 per hour. Furthermore, the use of a mobile device management solution saves an organization over $230 per device, per year, in support costs. While this might seem insignificant, the numbers quickly spiral upward when time and multiple units are factored into the equation. VDC’s research found that a company with 1,000 units will save in excess of $1.1 million over a five year period with an MDM solution.
While including a mobile device management solution along with the implementation of mobile computers may seem an unnecessary additional expense, including an MDM solution will both easily pay for itself and save a company even more money in the long run.
[1] Krebs, David. “Total Cost of Ownership Models,” Track 1, Volume 3: Mobile Device Management Software – An Executive Brief. VDC Research Group, Inc., 2010. p. 3.
Curious about engine diagnostics monitoring and data collection, but unsure how it will benefit your company? One of Mentor Engineering’s Senior Project Managers, Shubh Sidhu, sat down to talk with us about the many possibilities engine diagnostics brings to fleets. Here’s what he had to say:
Q: What is engine diagnostics exactly?
A: Basically, engine diagnostics is the ability to pull information from the vehicle’s built-in on-board computer. This real-time data lets you diagnose vehicle issues. The data collected can supplement your vehicle monitoring program or it can be standalone data. Another important piece of information that engine diagnostics delivers is engine hours, or the amount of time the engine has been running. This data is crucial for things like maintenance and repairs.
To sum it up, engine diagnostics is the interface to your vehicle’s built-in computer that gives you access to vehicle monitoring and maintenance data that you couldn’t ordinarily get.
Q: What are the benefits of engine diagnostics monitoring?
A: The ability to monitor engine diagnostics remotely saves staff time and company resources. You can collect all the engine diagnostic information, pull it out of whichever back-end software application you are using, and you now have direct access to mileage reports, or hours run, whenever you want them. This allows you to better schedule vehicle maintenance, and gives you a clear view of what vehicles are up to.
From a cost standpoint, the maintenance piece is a big advantage. By integrating engine diagnostics monitoring with your maintenance program, you can collect vehicle Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs), which can greatly improve the efficiency of maintenance staff. For example, if your maintenance team knows there is a faulty component on a vehicle in advance, they can have the parts ready when that vehicle comes into the shop. Downtime is significantly reduced and the vehicle is back on the road a lot quicker. In addition, the ability to know that there’s something wrong with one of your vehicles before it becomes a major problem equalsbig savings.
There is also a safety benefit. Engine diagnostics can send certain pieces of information to show the safe or unsafe use of a vehicle, like airbag sensors, or seatbelts being fastened/unfastened. You have the necessary information to let drivers know when equipment on their vehicle isn’t properly fastened.
Q: Do you have any real-life examples to help illustrate the benefits?
A: Let’s look at American Electric Power (AEP). One of the diagnostic pieces AEP collects is Boom Up/Down status.
With engine diagnostics, they know Boom and PTO (Power Take Off) activity relative to the total mileage of their trucks. A truck might have half a million miles on it and need to be replaced, but the boom has only been used twice. They can just take the boom off the old vehicle and put it on the new vehicle. A lot of money is saved by not replacing lightly used equipment.
Q: Are there any challenges that go along with engine diagnostics monitoring?
A: Regular commercial vehicles, pickup trucks, and even paratransit vehicles all use an interface called OBDII, or On-Board Diagnostics, which makes it relatively easy to collect engine diagnostics. Heavier duty vehicles and transit buses, on the other hand, use two interfaces: J1708 and J1939. The information on the interfaces of this latter group is more detailed. There are literally hundreds of pieces of information that can be retrieved, from the hydraulic oil temperature to the oil pressure. It’s challenging because it’s harder to predict what pieces of information you can get from your fleet as it changes based on vehicle make, model and year.
Q: Without engine diagnostics monitoring, what kind of business problems might companies run into?
A: Well, they would definitely experience more vehicle downtime, their maintenance department won’t be able to use their resources as efficiently, and if they do run into situations where a vehicle breaks down because the maintenance data wasn’t available, they’ll likely see money lost in both repair costs and lost productivity.
This fun animated demo explains how speed and idling monitoring works, how it saves you money, and illustrates what kind of ROI you can expect. Click here to check it out.
A blog for those of us who live and work in fleet management. Topics include engine diagnostics, driver safety, mobile workforce management, CAD/AVL, vehicle maintenance, truck distribution, global computing, work order management, and field services.
Free White Paper: Decreasing Driver Distraction
With driver distraction being a leading cause of vehicle accidents, selecting an in-vehicle computer for your fleet that lets you control when drivers/device interaction is crucial to your fleet’s safety, as well as your bottom line.
