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Trackunit an innovator of telematics technology, has announced a partnership with United Rentals, the world’s largest equipment rental company, to provide premium telematics solutions for the United Rentals fleet. The two companies share a commitment to connecting the construction ecosystem through data-driven technology.

“Every investment we make in technology comes down to two criteria: delivering superior value for our customers today, and helping them build a successful future,” said Michael Bierschbach, director of fleet intelligence and technology for United Rentals.

Every investment we make in technology comes down to two criteria: delivering superior value for our customers today, and helping them build a successful future“Trackunit has developed a best-of-breed telematics solution with a global reputation for business intelligence. We’re working together to help United Rentals customers realize greater jobsite productivity, safety, cost management and informed decision-making.”

Trackunit will use its OEM relationships and aftermarket expertise to install Trackunit Manager technology on light and heavy equipment in the United Rentals fleet.

Trackunit Manager features keyless access control for user authentication, preventing unauthorized use of equipment. The software operates on their Iris platform and utilizes Trackunit Go and Trackunit On as mobile applications.

“Our partnership with United Rentals is focused on creating long-term value through a connected jobsite ecosystem,” said Tom Valbak Aardestrup, global vice president of business development for Trackunit. “There is a growing demand in construction for efficiency at every level. Machine connectivity and actionable data are the tools that will take the industry into the future.”

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AD Bly has achieved savings of £100,000 after an investment in technology helped to reduce maintenance bills, improve driver behaviour and slash mileage

The Knebworth-based construction firm has implemented a joint solution combining TomTom Telematics WEBFLEET and FleetCheck to help boost efficiency across its fleet, with consultancy support from TomTom reseller Auto Electrical Services.

The integration of WEBFLEET and FleetCheck means service schedules can be managed based on up-to-date information drawn from the vehicle, including odometer readings. This helps AD Bly to conduct proactive maintenance work, calling vehicles in immediately when work is required to prevent problems from developing.

Meanwhile, improved mileage reporting has also allowed the company to cut down on out-of-hours use of vehicles, helping to reduce the number of miles travelled by around 5,000 over the course of a year. Reports on driving time and mileage per day also help AD Bly take greater control over the safety of staff.

Bringing different data streams together in one place has helped to change the way we work and allow us to gain greater insights into the operation of our fleetAdam Gamlin, Fleet Manager at AD Bly said: “Bringing different data streams together in one place has helped to change the way we work and allow us to gain greater insights into the operation of our fleet. As a result, the transport department is better able to support the growth aims of the wider business.”

AD Bly also targeted driver behaviour as an area of focus across its fleet of two HGVs and 169 LCVs. OptiDrive 360 – a key component of WEBFLEET – provides managers with weekly reports detailing incidences of speeding, harsh steering and harsh braking. This allows them to conduct detailed driver debriefs allowing them to target any performance issues that may have a negative impact on fuel efficiency and safety.

Meanwhile, the drivers themselves receive in-trip feedback and predictive advice, empowering them with the information needed to make positive changes.

Gamlin added: “By unlocking a wealth of data on driving performance, we are now in an even better position to work with our drivers to improve their safety and help the business operate more efficiently. Our employees reacted well to the introduction of the technology and improvements to performance happened very quickly.

“Now, we are quickly able to identify the root causes of any performance issues and address these with individual drivers, providing the support, advice and training needed to help them improve.”

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Connected vehicle cameras are having a dramatic impact on the cost and lifecycle of insurance claims according to Intelligent Telematics and Plexus Law, so could save the commercial fleet sector many millions of pounds each year. Following the analysis of 4,000 vehicles fitted with the SureCam 3G forward-facing device, it was found that there was a 50% reduction in average claims costs and a 15% increase in the average speed of resolution when compared to vans and HGVs operating without a camera.

“The clear message to commercial fleet operators is that connected vehicle cameras are proven to make insurance claims cheaper and quicker to resolve,” explains Sam Footer, Partnerships & Marketing Director at Intelligent Telematics. “Understanding who was responsible can quickly be established with immediate access to video footage – avoiding costly 50/50, exaggerated and fraudulent claims – while at fault incidents can be identified and processed rapidly, keeping third-party costs to a minimum.”

The findings show that it is possible to take better control of the claims management process using connected vehicle camerasBy having access to video evidence with supporting vehicle data directly from the scene of a collision is helping insurance claims handlers to make a faster and more accurate liability decision. The findings show that it is possible to take better control of the claims management process using connected vehicle cameras, with rear-end shunts (55%) and collisions while emerging from junctions (43%) seeing the largest reductions in average claims costs.

Tim Short, Head of Motor Practice at Plexus Law commented: “When you consider that the reported average cost of motor property damage and personal injury claims last year was almost £3,000 and £10,000 respectively, there are clear benefits to be had from adopting connected vehicle cameras. By taking advantage of first notification of loss (FNOL) and proactive claims management a commercial fleet operator can make dramatic savings, which will go straight to the bottom line of their business.”

Intelligent Telematics’ SureCam 3G devices are the leading single, dual and multi-camera solutions for vehicle operations, providing increased protection against fraudulent insurance claims, false driving allegations and disputed liability. They use the most sophisticated 3G and 4G technology so that HD footage of any collision, near miss or harsh driving incident is captured and automatically transmitted within moments of it happening. Unlike other systems in the marketplace, the videos and supporting data are uploaded to a secure server network with no user intervention required, making them the only truly effective 3G vehicle cameras for First Notification of Loss (FNOL).

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The field service sector could see huge benefits from self-driving cars so the recent announcement from Byton should be of interest to field service organisations everywhere...

BYTON, an innovator of smart, premium electric vehicles, announced a partnership with Aurora, a leading self-driving technology company.

The partnership will help BYTON incorporate Level 4 (L4) autonomous-driving vehicle capabilities into BYTON vehicles and enable BYTON to become among the very first group of carmakers to bring L4 and eventually Level 5 (L5) cars to market.

In the next two years, BYTON and Aurora will jointly conduct pilot deployment of Aurora’s L4 autonomous driving systems on BYTON vehiclesIn the next two years, BYTON and Aurora will jointly conduct pilot deployment of Aurora’s L4 autonomous driving systems on BYTON vehicles. Additionally, BYTON and Aurora will explore the use of Aurora’s self-driving system in BYTON's series production vehicles. According to the Society of Automotive Engineers, L4 autonomous vehicles can drive independently in most environments, with the expectations that humans may need or choose to drive in some conditions.

"BYTON is designed for the age of autonomous driving. We are pleased to partner with Aurora, as Aurora is supremely focused on a mission to deliver the benefits of self-driving vehicles safely, quickly, and globally," said Dr. Carsten Breitfeld, CEO and Co-Founder of BYTON.

Dr. Daniel Kirchert, President and Co-Founder at BYTON, added, "I'm confident that Aurora will be instrumental in helping BYTON achieve its objectives as an innovator of smart, premium electric cars with Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous driving."

Chris Urmson, CEO at Aurora, said “We are excited to partner with BYTON, an innovator in the electric vehicle industry, to further advance our goal of delivering self-driving vehicles quickly, broadly and safely. We look forward to piloting this technology in California.”

Earlier this month at CES 2018 in Las Vegas, BYTON premiered its BYTON Concept and announced plans to design and build smart premium electric cars for the Chinese, U.S. and European markets. Sales are set to begin in China in 2019, and sales in the United States and Europe to start in 2020.

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Verizon Communications Inc. has announced the acquisition of Movildata Internacional, a Murcia, Spain-based provider of commercial fleet management solutions. Terms of the transaction, which closed on Jan. 19, 2018, have not been disclosed.

Verizon Telematics is an established leader across Europe with a strong presence in the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Poland. Movildata, an established industry leader in Spain, complements Verizon Telematics’ expanding operations in southern Europe, specifically Portugal and Italy. “We see Movildata as a natural fit and highly synergistic with our European business,” said Andrés Irlando, CEO of Verizon Telematics. “This strategic acquisition strengthens Verizon Telematics’ market position, accelerates growth and allows us to expand the footprint of our market-leading solutions and services.”

With more than five million commercial vehicles, Spain represents the second largest market for commercial vehicles in Western EuropeWith more than five million commercial vehicles, Spain represents the second largest market for commercial vehicles in Western Europe according to leading industry analyst firm Berg Insight.¹ Furthermore, the market for fleet management solutions is significantly underpenetrated compared to other major markets in Europe, creating opportunities for growth.

Movildata employees have joined the Verizon Telematics team and will continue to drive sales and support for its current fleet management products. In addition, Verizon Telematics plans to add Fleetmatics’ REVEAL™ to the portfolio of software solutions available to Spanish fleet operators. Verizon Telematics provides world-class vehicle tracking and business intelligence solutions designed to help generate cost savings, improve productivity and help monitor driver safety for virtually any mobile workforce.

“We are proud of what the company has accomplished in this market, and we know that with this transaction our success will continue,” said Luis Enrique Rodrigo, CEO of Movildata. “Verizon Telematics’ expansive global reach and robust portfolio of technologies and solutions will allow us to grow the business in Spain and expand our customer service to the next level.”

1Source: Berg Insight “Fleet Management in Europe, M2M Research Series” (2017)

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Earlier this year Telogis launched a new mobile application 'Spotlight' at the CV Show. Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News, caught up with Sergio Barata, Telogis, General Manager, EMEA to see find out more about the application and to see how it has been received in the initial months after launch.

Telogis can often be a somewhat confusing organisation to pin down in terms of where their offering sits exactly. The easiest place to pigeon-hole them for many is simply alongside other telematics software solutions such as Microlise or their new(ish) stable mates Fleetmatics. But when you scratch the surface there is a lot, lot more to the Telogis platform that resembles much of the capabilities of field service centric solutions. Then there is the big, and growing focus on mobile.

This is something that Barata confirms when we speak commenting that the general trend for Telogis in terms of innovation in their solution across the last few years has seen "a big, big drive towards mobility enablement."

And this is really where Spotlight, the latest app from Telogis sits. As Barata explains:

"We started with some simple things [in terms of mobile applications] like vehicle inspection apps and driver behaviour coaching apps etc but what we have seen is that companies want to drive mobile adoption not just on those tactical business initiatives, we are actually seeing our customers wanting to engage less and less with most applications on a computer and they actually prefer to engage with a mobile app."

"I've certainly had this experience myself, I used to log onto my online banking on my computer all the time and now I rarely do it - maybe occasionally, for something very specific, but a mobile app will get me through about 80% of my requirement and it is just so much more convenient - and in my opinion secure because of technologies like fingerprint identifications etc."

"Our customers are going through those same experiences and creating their own similar expectations of our technologies. Spotlight really brings us a big step closer to delivering that experience."

So what exactly is Spotlight?

Barata describes it as "a mobile app that essentially brings all of the key metrics and key data for any fleet manager or operations manager into a single mobile experience." The application experience itself can split up the information it presents into all of the key areas of interest whether it be safety, efficiency, job execution, productivity, fleet utilisation etc. Which could certainly give handy at a glance insight to field service managers, especially those that are often on the road themselves. As Barata comments 'it is almost replacing the need to create automated reports and alerts and having to log into to web browsers each time you want to review some aspect of your operations."

Whilst having this information easily to hand could be of use, there is a danger that it could be useless unless configurable not only to specific organisations needs but also to specific needs based on the job function of who is using it. So how configurable is Spotlight and does it have the   same full functionality as a browser based dashboard type of tool we have become accustomed to? Is it configurable from the app or does it need to be set up online?

"Data metrics that come out of these systems can be overwhelming, there is a lot of data these days" Barata comments "therefore the key to the app being impactful and simple is that you go into the web portal and set up the configuration and essentially define the experience you are looking for on the mobile in the back end."

"A lot of the key users of our systems are typically quite operational themselves. There may be a field line manager who himself is managing 20 service techs, but has to physically be in the field himself, so is in that mobile state all the time."

 

"Having the ability for him to identify that job execution i.e knowing his engineers have hit there jobs and there planned schedules for the day, is a top priority whilst having things like driver safety, speeding or vehicle efficiency etc as a secondary priority and then having the app set up so they can the metrics that are important to them immediately as they log into the app - that is what makes it the data valuable for them. With that in mind the web portals and the solutions that we have for all our dashboards are very configurable, we have very comprehensive hierarchies and all the typical options you would expect allowing you to carve out the data for the right person. Spotlight is then a natural extension of that, that takes the concept of putting the right data directly onto the right persons mobile device."

Of course it could be argued that this is nothing particularly new and that many companies have offered such reporting in a mobile experience for a while now, Telogis are just playing catch up here rather than innovating.

 

"A lot of other companies are able to providing similar applications that are providing that sort of information, I think that is certainly true," replies Barata when our conversation turns to this point, "there are some solutions out there that offer similar capabilities, but the way we have always geared our proposition, as a full platform, means we are not just offering a vehicle centric view of the business. We have got scheduling, planning, planned-versus-actual capabilities and that similar operationally focussed metrics as well. So yes, whilst on the one hand we are providing our clients with the core vehicle metrics if that's what they are looking for, which some other companies may also do, I think the real value for someone in the operational world is more around questions like 'are we hitting our plan, are we hitting our jobs, our customer service metrics' and only with a full platform you gain that sort of insight and get that sort of view."

"The goal is to give the field management a holistic perspective of what is going on in their businesses. I doubt many are looking at safety and and speeding metrics all day, every day, I think they would take a weekly view on that, look back across the week and see who may need some additional coaching based on that insight. But the real time, angry customer, or strong customer expectation stuff where a company is deploying all of their resources, they're going to be looking at that 24/7 because that is their primary objective for everyday success."

 

The question I mentioned in the opening of this article was just how do we view Telogis? Should we see them as a provider of a fleet management tool with some field service management capabilities or a field service management tool with advanced fleet management capabilities?

Perhaps with Spotlight Telogis have answered in some way that question - as the tool allows the Telogis platform to be a useful vehicle maintenance tool (especially when aligned to vehicles provided by OEMs Telogis have partnered with) for the fleet manager, whilst simultaneously surfacing the right operational data that is important for the field service manager. Could the answer be simply that the Telogis platform is capable of being both fleet management and field service management and doing both well?

 

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As the availability of vehicle tracking equipment continues to improve, it's not just transport operators who are interested in the information it provides, but increasingly their customers too - especially at the blue-chip end of the market.

 

That's exactly what happened for Reading-based waste management and disposal specialists, A Better Service, when as part of their continuing growth, they won a contract to serve public water supplier Thames Water.

“We're a family-run business” Director and Transport Manager Darren Bicknell says. “My father started it 36 years ago, then my brother and I came on board, growing it vehicle by vehicle up to the 33 trucks we now operate.” The company's main occupation is tanker services, including gully-emptying, the servicing of septic tanks and cesspools, dealing with blocked drains and sewage disposal.

 

We used another system before going over to AGM routeMASTER but as our fleet grew, ease of use became a much bigger consideration and that's what won us over

 

“We used another system before going over to AGM routeMASTER but as our fleet grew, ease of use became a much bigger consideration and that's what won us over” Bicknell adds.

 

Periodically, Thames Water audit their suppliers, asking for tracker reports for a certain vehicle covering a certain period and it's this which he now finds so much easier to do. “Visually AGM's system is brilliant” Bicknell explains. “You just have to look at it and everything's there and easy to use, which is one of the reasons why we went with them. We needed next to no training either – it's simple from the off.”

Now the cloud-based routeMASTER system is up and running, Bicknell and his staff can use it as a failsafe record of just where their vehicles were at any given time, and because it also shows when the PTO on the tankers is engaged, he can prove what they were doing too. “As well as enabling us to periodically double-check the hours our drivers are booking and thereby avoid costly discrepancies, Thames Water also need the loading and disposal times entering on their tickets” he explains. No human is perfect, however, and every now and again a driver may miss one of these. “Now I can just check it and put it in myself, which is really handy” Bicknell says.

Add to all that the ability to advise customers of ETAs at a glance and you really can't go wrong, especially not, he says, when AGM also provide good, solid back up. “We're really pleased with the routeMASTER system and the AGM team” Bicknell concludes. “I can't fault them!”

 

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Social enterprise organisation First Ark has saved £210,000 by collaborating with Fleet Operations on a series of fleet initiatives, aimed at increasing value for money. These savings contribute to the commitment First Ark makes as a social enterprise to re-invest back into the local community.

First Ark’s partnership with Fleet Operations has helped to eliminate vehicle ‘spot hiring’ and has led to significant lease and insurance cost efficiencies across the company’s facilities management and refurbishment services division, Vivark.

[quote float="left"]Operational efficiency is paramount for First Ark as we strive to maximise our investment in local community initiatives

“Operational efficiency is paramount for First Ark as we strive to maximise our investment in local community initiatives,” said Angela Coffey, First Ark Value for Money and Procurement Manager.

 

“With Fleet Operations, we have exceeded expectations in terms of our fleet performance and have seen significant gains related to value for money.”

Following a reduction in the size and profile of Vivark’s fleet, from 176 to 132 vehicles, an internal widespread communications campaign was delivered to promote the new value for money initiatives and address vehicle ‘spot hiring’.

“The success of this campaign, which included one-to-one briefings with contract managers, was remarkable with efficient vehicle utilisation realised within just three months,” added Coffey.

“Our mobile Vivark staff now have access to a dedicated ‘helpdesk’ number for Fleet Operations, who now communicate regularly with them. Considerable time and financial and savings have been realised as a result.”

In addition, Vivark’s fleet risk policies have been reviewed by the fleet specialist and risk assessments have been carried out to ensure the organisation remains compliant with the latest health and safety regulations. A ‘permit to drive’ scheme, involving regular licence checks, has been rolled out across all grey fleet drivers while driver risk profiling, using telematics data, is set to deliver further improvements in road safety standards.

 

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