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According to a new research report from the analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of insurance telematics policies in force on the European market reached 5.3 million in Q4-2015 and 6.3m in North America. 

In Europe, annual growth rate (CAGR) is predicted to be 37.2 percent, with the number of policies expected to reach 25.8 million by 2020. In North America, the number of insurance telematics policies in force by 2020 is expected to grow at a CAGR of 45.8 percent to reach 42.1 million in 2020.

The European insurance telematics market is largely dominated by hardwired aftermarket black boxes while self-install OBD devices instead represent the vast majority of all active policies in North America. Several major US providers of UBI have recently shifted to solutions based on smartphones. Berg Insight now expects a rapid increase in the uptake of solutions based on smartphones and also embedded OEM telematics systems in all markets in the upcoming years.

The insurance telematics value chain spans multiple industries. Insurers with notable presence in the insurance telematics market include Progressive, UnipolSai, State Farm, Allstate, Generali, Allianz, Intact and Insure The Box.

 

Renowned telematics suppliers active in the insurance field for example include Octo Telematics, Vodafone Automotive and LexisNexis Risk Solutions. Intelligent Mechatronic Systems, Cambridge Mobile Telematics, Modus, Baseline Telematics, DriveFactor and The Floow are also notable players on the market. Automotive OEMs are increasingly taking an active part in the ecosystem. Examples include General Motors, Ford, Renault-Nissan, BMW, Daimler and Fiat. In addition, mobile operators such as Vodafone, Telefónica, Verizon and Sprint are offering insurance telematics solutions, commonly working with telematics partners.

The insurance telematics market is currently in a phase of strong growth in both North America and Europe. “Canada, the US and Italy in particular have seen a significant increase in the use of telematics-based auto insurance during 2015”, said Jonas Wennermark, IoT/M2M Analyst at Berg Insight.

He adds that the UK is also one of the front-runners and that uptake is expected to increase in a number of additional countries in the coming years. Telematics-based insurance has already been introduced in a number of European countries including Spain, Austria, France, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Differentiated telematics offerings are predicted for a broader range of segments, and insurers are increasingly expected to embrace usage-based pricing as well as claims-related insurance telematics and various value-added services. In North America, smartphone based solutions are growing rapidly whereas Europe still largely favours device-based solutions. “We are also seeing a growing involvement from OEMs. Progressive and OnStar are about to launch what might become the first major PHYD offer using OEM data. There are also recent attempts to share OEM data through intermediaries such as Verisk and the Floow”, concluded Mr. Wennerma

 

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Masternaut, a leading provider of fleet telematics and vehicle tracking services, has launched a maintenance module for Masternaut Connect, giving fleet managers the ability to adopt a proactive approach to vehicle maintenance.

Masternaut Maintenance is based on Masternaut’s patented non-intrusive CANbus technology to collect vehicle data. This provides automatic and real-time information on servicing and vehicle faults on cars and commercial vehicles. It can save time and improve operations for fleet managers by helping to proactively plan fleet maintenance operations, and gives an instant overview of a fleet’s condition, improving vehicle availability.

 

We wanted to offer a maintenance tool kit that gives an immediate overview of fleet compliance, with quick access to information and something that can help them save time and money through efficiency gains"        -Steve Towe, Masternaut

 

The Masternaut Maintenance dashboard provides users with a top down look of their fleet, highlighting the percentage of vehicles that are fully operational, the number of vehicles that need servicing now or in future, and the number of vehicles with faults. This enables fleet managers to reduce vehicle turnover and improve vehicle lifetime, with improved maintenance also helping to reduce fuel consumption.

This information helps fleet managers to keep vehicles and employees safe and ensures a high level of fleet compliance. Masternaut Maintenance keeps a complete record of service and fault history for each vehicle which can reduce breakdowns and improve safety on the road.

Steve Towe, Chief Commercial Office and UK Managing Director, Masternaut, commented “Masternaut Maintenance has been launched with our customers and partners in mind, and provides a deeper level of diagnostic solutions than available on the market today, which only identify engine and transmission related failures. We wanted to offer a maintenance tool kit that gives an immediate overview of fleet compliance, with quick access to information and something that can help them save time and money through efficiency gains. This will help fleet managers become more proactive when it comes to fleet maintenance operations, offering improved planning and vehicle turnaround time.”

Alex Rothwell, Chief Technology Officer, Masternaut adds: “Our patented non-intrusive technology combined with Masternaut Connect is already providing our fleet customers and partners with the in latest telematics innovations, such as improved driver behaviour and fuel reduction. Masternaut Maintenance takes or our offering one step ahead to help strengthen and improve the services that we offer to European fleets, by  giving instant information on vehicle faults and servicing status."

 

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Road transport specialist Pentalver is saving more than £50,000 a year by improving driver behaviour across its 107-strong Cannock truck fleet.

Following the introduction of a performance improvement programme underpinned by WEBFLEET, a Software-as-a-Service solution for businesses to increase fleet efficiency, the company has seen fuel efficiency soar from an average of 8.5 mpg to 9.6 mpg per vehicle.

OptiDrive 360, a key component of WEBFLEET, scores drivers on a range of performance indicators from fuel consumption, speeding and idling to driving events, gear shifting and constant speed.

Pentalver has incentivised improvement with drivers receiving a quarterly bonus if they hit agreed performance targets.

“WEBFLEET has given us the tools to introduce the bonus scheme and has empowered our drivers to optimise their mpg by giving them real-time feedback and advice,” said Nick Matthews, Pentalver, General Manager.

 

 “Idling time, in particular, has been cut dramatically since we introduced the initiative and we have been able to offer driving training support for those employees that have most needed it.”

Pentalver has also integrated WEBFLEET with container transport management system TOPS, enabling more accurate job planning, scheduling and customer service with full fleet and journey time visibility.

Pentalver’s investment in WEBFLEET was supported by TomTom Telematics partner, Auto Electrical Services (AES).

 

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The telematics industry is going through rapid change as the technology underpinning it continues to evolve at pace. Sharon Clancy looks at the key considerations for companies to have in mind when selecting a telematics solution in 2016.....

Telematics: key features

Telematics can deliver a host of efficiencies to any service operation but historically has been neglected by field service organisations who have focused on other aspects of operations such as ensuring the technician is in the right place at the right time and has the right skill sets for the job.

The part of the day that involves travelling between jobs – the driving - has often received scant, if any, attention. After all, you are employing technicians not drivers. However, increasingly field service companies are aware that economical and safe driving is an important part of the technicians’ skillset.

Business intelligence

A single piece of mobile data can deliver intelligence about several aspects of the operation.

[quote float="left"]The more intelligence you have about your operations, the better equipped you are to be both proactive and reactive in making any changes to the business and the happier your customers will be.

Take electronic signature capture, for example: it eliminates paperwork and automates invoicing, but it is also a compliance tool, feeding data back into scheduling engines; by confirming real-time location, it enables CRM staff to be proactive in alerting customers a technician may be delayed. Today’s challenge is all about cutting-and-slicing data to improve performance. After all, the more intelligence you have about your operations, the better equipped you are to be both proactive and reactive in making any changes to the business and the happier your customers will be.

 

It can help you identify trends and patterns across all elements of the operation and discover where the bottlenecks and inefficiencies are, delivering insights into productivity, business process efficiencies, costs and customer service levels. Data has to be translated into actionable information to help make informed business decisions, of course.

Internet-based mobility platforms link vehicles and drivers to back-office systems and cut-and-slice all the available data.

Also newer pay-per-user software-as-a-service models make the tools available to SMEs, enhancing their competitiveness.

Distilled properly, information through GPS, telematics, fleet management and other tools provide concrete, actionable details, giving managers and dispatchers real-time visibility into operational activities.

Managers can further refine schedules with real-time traffic information.

Route analysis

Route analysis is one of those areas where analysis of telematics data can drive future monitoring by highlighting what actually happens against what was planned showing a planned versus actual comparison.

[quote float="right"]Integration between schedule optimisation software and real-time location is essential: it will help drill down the cause of late arrivals, route variances, jobs taking longer than planned, incomplete schedules and so on.

To do this, integration between schedule optimisation software and real-time location is essential: it will help drill down the cause of late arrivals, route variances, jobs taking longer than planned, incomplete schedules and so on.

 

With first-time fix rates having a significant impact on operational efficiency, investigating as to why any part of the planned scheduled fail is worth it.

Telematics reports can highlight exceptions, mitigating actions, call notes or emails can be seamlessly linked back to any performance reporting.

Historical analysis of trips can identify congestion hotspots and avoidable delays at customer sites which rerouting or retiming an appointment might eliminate.

Analysis also confirms visits are being made most economically in terms of miles, fuel and timing.

It will also highlight any slack in the schedule that could be filled by slotting in a routine service visit

Driver monitoring

Driver performance monitoring is a key feature of many telematics systems, but until recently has not been a focus area for many field service companies.

However, that attitude is changing.

[quote float="left"]Field service organisations are looking to reduce their overall carbon footprint and the fuel used in company vehicles contributes a significant amount to the total.

Field service organisations are looking to reduce their overall carbon footprint and the fuel used in company vehicles contributes a significant amount to the total.

 

Another is awareness that technicians can have driving styles which are not just uneconomic but unsafe – there is a Duty of Care to ensure employee drive safely while on company business.

Telematics reports can identify harsh braking, excessive acceleration, even harsh cornering.

If you aren’t measuring how your drivers and vehicles are doing, you don’t know if they could be doing even better.

Even a small improvement can translate into thousands saved on your annual fuel bill.

Safer driver habits can translate into saving in those minor knocks and dents service vans in urban environments are particularly prone to.

Are your fleet vehicles in a safe condition? Telematics can confirm that. Give drivers an app to do a quick safety check before they set off for the day.

Data overload

Capturing data is no longer the technical challenge it once was.

A lot of telematics data relates to a specific part of the operation - on-time arrival information, signature capture, location, driving behaviour, to name but a few.

Try to do too much too soon, though, and the risk is you’ll get overwhelmed with the sheer volume of information telematics can deliver about your operation. Experts advise taking small, gradual, manageable steps.

[quote float="left"]While deeper integration may be desirable to improve the business, there are two technology challenges if it is to become a reality: the legacy systems already in place and data security levels on servers.

As businesses examine where further efficiencies might be gained and how they can satisfy their customers’ demand for up-to-the-minute information, it’s being recognised that greater integration between databases may be required and made available in real-time so staff have a complete overview of the operation.

 

While deeper integration may be desirable to improve the business, there are two technology challenges if it is to become a reality: the legacy systems already in place and data security levels on servers.

A legacy system might be an outdated programming language or application software which is not longer supported, or old processes. Problems can arise due to compatibility issues with newer applications.

Telematics for incident management

Consequential costs from accidents are rising: determining fault is time-consuming and costly, so often accidents are dealt with on a no-fault basis especially if there is lack of reliable evidence.

So forward-facing CCTV cameras have become a useful item in the telematics toolbox.

[quote float="right"]The latest development is that video footage can now be uploaded in real-time - either via a link with the existing telematics black box on the vehicle or via a dedicated SIM card in the camera

They record video of what is happening on the road ahead in a continuous loop, saving the clip when triggered by G-force or manually.

 

They are proving invaluable in helping police and insurers determine fault - suppliers say cameras can reduce motor fleet claims by between 30 to 70 per cent simply by helping establish your own drivers are not at fault.

The video data captured by the cameras can be integrated into driver training programmes.

They already capture data on risky driving behaviour such as harsh braking, acceleration and there is anecdotal evidence that drivers will adopt a more gentle driving style once they know that any risky behaviour is likely to be caught one camera.

The latest development is that video footage can now be uploaded in real-time - either via a link with the existing telematics black box on the vehicle or via a dedicated SIM card in the camera.

The clip is also highly compressed to minimise the size of the data file being transferred.

Some systems send an alert that an event has been registered while others will send either still images or the video clip.

Security

Data security is moving up the agenda for many companies, so ask about security certification.

Confirm that the server is running the latest version of Windows, encrypts data to a known standard and check what layers of encryption are used.

Buyer beware

Telematics has a somewhat chequered history when it comes to reputable suppliers.

The supplier market is a lot more stable now but caution should still be your byword.

Check what the contract includes and that any warranty is valid for the length of the contract.

Check the creditworthiness of potential providers and be especially wary of suppliers who bundle the communications airtime package with the lease for the telematics equipment.

Consider pay-as-you-go options which don’t tie you in to a longterm commitment.

[quote float="left"]The golden rule when considering any purchase for mission critical systems, whether they be telematics, field service management or a mobility solution is to do your homework.

Ask about ongoing customer service and support - some telematics providers will have designed their own telematics system, including the unit to be installed in the vehicle, and will also own the intellectual property rights; others are pure resellers of air time or of black boxes and will offer very little if any support beyond the sale which could be critical.

 

Some resellers, however, do understand that mission-critical operations require high levels of support services and offer those.

However the golden rule when considering any purchase for mission critical systems, whether they be telematics, field service management or a mobility solution is to do your homework.

Ask a potential supplier to demonstrate a significant and satisfied customer base, and most reputable companies will publish a list of some of their existing clients.

You’ll find that many of your peers in the companies on these lists are often more than happy to help out with a genuine request for information - so give them a call and ask them about the solution, warts and all.

When searching for a solution that can potentially deliver huge benefits, but on the flip side could potentially damage your ability to deliver high quality service if it doesn’t deliver, there can be no stone unturned.

Finally, remember this technology is going to be with you for some time, ask your provider what their roadmap is. The last thing you want is to invest in a solution only to find out it is obsolete or unsupported.

 

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TomTom Telematics has been identified as Europe’s largest, and fastest-growing, provider of commercial vehicle fleet management solutions by Berg Insight, the M2M/IoT market analyst firm.

Berg Insight has just published the tenth edition of its Fleet Management Europe report. CEO Johan Fagerberg commented: “Our report shows that the European fleet management market has entered a growth period that looks set to last for several years. The number of fleet management systems in active use is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15.1 percent from 4.40 million units at the end of 2014 to 8.90 million by 2019. TomTom Telematics was the fastest growing vendor in 2014 and has now emerged as the clear leader in the European fleet management market.”

Official statistics from 2011 reveal that of the 36.1m commercial vehicles on European roads, 29.5 million are  light commercial vehicles (LCV) used by mobile workers for activities such as service management and deliveries.

A group of international aftermarket solution providers have emerged as the leaders on the European fleet management market, says Berg. TomTom Telematics was the fastest growing vendor also in 2014 and has climbed to the number one spot in Europe ahead of Masternaut. Other significant players include European companies such as Trakm8, Transics, Microlise, Quartix, Tantalum Corporation, Orange Business Services, Vehco and Finder and international players like Trimble and Navman Wireless from the US, Astrata Europe from Singapore and the South African telematics providers DigiCore and MiX Telematics.

TomTom Telematics services more than 520,000 vehicles worldwide 60 countries, giving it the largest installed base of subscriptions for fleet management services in Europe. At the same time, it is one of the world’s leading telematics solution providers.

“We believe firmly in the power of leadership in combination with continuous innovation,” said Thomas Schmidt, Managing Director at TomTom Telematics. “Our open telematics service platform WEBFLEET lies at the heart of this success, offering high performance and efficiency gains, security and quick return on investment for our customers.” WEBFLEET includes ISO 27001:2013 certification - one of the most stringent certifications for information security controls.

The Berg report also highlights the vendor consolidation trend in the fleet management sector, noting  numerous M&A activities in 2015. Fleetmatics acquired Ornicar in February 2015 – a local FM solution provider in France adding around 15,000 vehicle subscriptions. In March 2015, a decision was made to merge the two Danaher Corporation owned companies Navman Wireless and Teletrac. Later in April, Orange Business Services acquired OCEAN that now operates as a subsidiary with the OCEAN brand name. Novatel Wireless announced a bid to acquire Digicore in June in a deal worth US$ 87 million. In the same month, Viasat announced to have acquired a controlling interest in Cefin Systems. Goldman Sachs Merchant Banking Division and GRO Capital announced the acquisition of Trackunit from the founders of the company in July. Thermo King acquired Celtrak in October. The latest transaction was done in November when Fleetmatics acquired Visirun in Italy adding 28,000 subscriptions amd 3,000 clients.

TomTom Telematics has also been named Best Vehicle System Integrator by TU-Automotive in recognition of its open platform which now has more than 350 partners. Available third-party software solutions and apps include those for CRM and ERP, planning and scheduling, route optimisation, temperature control, mobile printing and lone worker safety.

 

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It’s time the importance of vans to the UK economy was more widely recognised and that all companies, including service organisations, paid more attention to safety, quality and compliance, says Mark Cartwright, head of the Van Excellence programme at the UK’s Freight Transport Association.

The economic and social value of van LCVs, or van fleets, in delivering both GDP and essential services, and the way in which LCV users shape and enhance modern life in the UK is undervalued, says Cartwright. The Freight Transport Association has been campaigning to raise awareness of these vital tools in the UK economy since 2010, with its Van Excellence scheme.

Some interesting statistics emerged in the FTA’s 2015 Van Excellence Report. There are 3.6 million vans in the UK in 2015: 1.63 million are registered to companies, and 1.8 million to individuals. Van use in the UK is expected to almost double by 2040 compared to 2010.

Van ownership is diffuse, with only 9% of vehicles in the hands of the biggest operators. Hence, while the largest fleets in the market belong to those companies at the pinnacle of each sector, much of each sector’s work is done by progressively smaller sub-contractor fleets.

Many sectors in the UK economy, incuding field service are van-dependent - their principal economic activities could not be conducted without the use of vans. While LCVs are not therefore a direct source of wealth generation, they are a key facilitator of wealth generation.

 

The largest van-dependent sectors in the UK economy are construction, engineering and utilities, whose activities very often overlap in the development and maintenance of the national infrastructure; and the postal and parcels sector.

Only 205,000 people identify as ‘van driver’ in the UK’s Office of National Statistics on employment figures. Most van drivers identify with their core trade or activity and not as professional drivers. Nonetheless, driving is an essential part of their job and their skill set.

Regulation is not lacking in this area, but understanding and professionalism is. More regulation would be ill-suited to the extremely diverse range of operations in this market and the agility and versatility they require.

Operational challenges

All fleets suffer to some extent from the public perception of ‘white van man’. Few fleet managers feel there is any national or public recognition of the vital services carried out by their drivers, nor the economic and social value
underpinned by the vehicles they operate

LCVs are primarily used in non-transport businesses. This gives rise to many challenges for the business, the fleet departments involved, and the general public.

It is incumbent upon those running van fleets to protect the public safety and to fulfil their duty-of-care obligations to their employees. Driving is often the biggest work-related risk that their employees face.

To put this in context, police officers and fire fighters in the UK are less likely to die in the line of duty than they are on their journey into work each morning. This road risk extends, of course, to all road users, whether professional drivers or not. By training those who drive for work in roadworthiness and safe-driving practice, employers extend that greater safety into the wider community.

 

Major compliance challenges include:

• a lack of transport understanding among staff
• a lack of transport awareness among decision-makers
•   the failure of those highly aware of risk in another field to recognise
  driving as a work-related risk;
• the difficulties of managing a geographically dispersed fleet;
• a lack of recognition that driving is a professional activity.

Commercial challenges include:

• an intense focus on cost, exacerbated by the fact that the fleet is usually a cost centre and not a profit centre;
• the risk to their vehicles from fraudulent insurance claims;
• the difficulty in maintaining training benefits in sectors with a high turnover of drivers.[/unordered_list]

Despite the high standards of many van fleets, the UK van parc overall suffers from a lack of legal compliance, and from owners, managers and drivers who show a poor understanding of their responsibilities. Vans stopped by the Government’s DVSA enforcement agency show an 89% overloading rate, and a 50% first-time failure rate in the annual vehicle safety test.

Unlike the heavily regulated HGV sector, professional fleet-management is generally only found in the largest of van fleets. Without a statutory framework for management and without transport backgrounds or relationships, many
businesses are not aware of their compliance responsibilities.

FTA believes the sheer diversity of the business and operational models that vans support makes regulation an unwieldy tool for furthering safety. There is already comprehensive regulation which outlines the standards of roadworthiness, driver capability and driving practice in the UK, including statutory instruments such as the domestic drivers’ hours regulations, or the guidelines and mandatory rules of the Highway Code.

Corporate responsibility

The issue is not a lack of regulation but rather a frequent lack of operator awareness and understanding. Corporate fleet departments can also be isolated and misunderstood by the core businesses they serve. Professional fleet managers within non-transport environments make the following observations:

• The business, often from board level to drivers, lacks an understanding of legal compliance regarding vehicles.
• Many drivers have been trained in risk assessment for their core craft but do not recognise driving as a work-related risk.
• Drivers do not see driving as an important or skilled part of their job.
• Fleets are under extreme cost scrutiny, but often cannot convey to financial controllers the necessity of examining whole-life costs, efficiency or safety implications.
• LCV operations, however professional, also suffer the stigma of ‘white van man’ and a lack of public appreciation of their critical role in the UK economy and UK communities.

Modern life is brought to you by vans; safety, quality and compliance is delivered by Van Excellence.
Van Excellence is an industry-led audit scheme run by FTA on behalf of all LCV operators. The audit includes standards and methods of fleet management which its major members consider best practice. Van Excellence now has 103 accredited companies, covering 125,000 vehicles.

 

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A new conference, organised by telematics platform provider Microlise, aimed squarely at field service and van fleet managers is to focus on all aspects of driver engagement. Field Service News is pleased to be a sponsor for the event.

The inaugural Microlise Field Service & Fleet Conference 2015 is to take place on 4 November at the MIRA Proving Ground in Warwickshire. Speakers from BskyB, FTA Van Excellence, the DVSA and the Central Motorway Police Group are confirmed to speak. 

The conference will be interactive, with delegates learning about new technologies and how new techniques, such as gamification, are improving service levels, safety and reducing the environmental impact and operating costs of their fleets.

In the afternoon, former Top Gear “Stig” Ben Collins will host a workshop in which he will share his driving knowledge. Delegates will also have the opportunity to be put in their drivers’ shoes by taking to the MIRA City Course in a Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV) fitted with the latest telematics technology.

“Vans are essential to the economy with one in ten vehicles on the roads now an LCV. But van drivers often see driving as a secondary part of their job with the primary role often being the service which they are delivering to customers. There is scope for vast improvements to be made by engaging with drivers more effectively. With this event, we will cover the topic from multiple perspectives,” said John Mills, Head of Workforce Telematics at Microlise.

During the day attendees will get the chance to drive MIRA’s City Circuit which is designed with an extensive network of roads, traffic islands and controlled intersections to replicate most urban driving environments. Additionally, workshops will focus on what the field service sector can learn from the haulage industry and driver performance management and engagement. All delegates will get the chance to participate in all four workshop sessions.

Throughout the day attendees will be asked about different aspects of driving, with each delegate having an electronic device to answer multiple choice questions. Those that perform best in answering these questions, and also in driving the MIRAc City Course in the most efficient way, will get the chance to have a fast lap with “The Stig” after the final workshop.

The Microlise Field Service & Fleet Conference 2015 is run by the same team as the successful Microlise Transport Conference, held in May this year. A larger annual event with a broader focus for the haulage industry, it has become the largest road transport conference in Europe.

With limited places available at the Microlise Field Service & Fleet Conference 2015, register your place here

 

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Giles Margerison, Sales Director UK & Ireland at TomTom Telematics, looks at the cost and efficiency benefits of improving driving performance standards.

Improved driving performance standards has long been an under-appreciated method for unlocking cost savings, improving safety levels and boosting efficiency for field service companies.  There is an abiding perception that controlling such a wildly differing variable is a monumental task – one that requires vast resource and has no guarantee of success. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

One problem is that old habits really do die hard. Getting an employee to change the way they drive requires a significant adjustment in behaviour.  Furthermore, there is a wide range of behaviours associated with each identifiable driving characteristic, meaning many companies simply do not know where to start when it comes to analysing data, if there is any.

Each of these challenges has a solution – and the benefits are potentially huge.

1. Involve your drivers

   Change does not need to scare employees, even when it involves the monitoring of driving standards. When implementing a performance programme, it is important to involve drivers in discussions from the outset, including union representation if appropriate. This allows them to ask questions, raise concerns and start a two-way dialogue that helps to demystify the process.

   Change does not need to scare employees, even when it involves the monitoring of driving standards

   Creating advocates and champions also helps. Instilling a sense of pride and responsibility in selected members of staff puts them in a position where they can spread the word and highlight the benefits of driving more efficiently. These might range from improved safety to cost savings that can help to safeguard jobs in the long term.

    

   Creating a specific company ‘mission statement’ and building this into employee inductions can help to drive the message home, stressing the importance of aligning company values with driving for work purposes

   The policy could also outline what consequences might be faced as a result of breaches of expected standards, such as speeding or reckless driving. Any disciplinary process should be clearly outlined and communicated, while giving staff the right to reply. Equally, if there is a programme for incentivising and rewarding drivers, this should be ingrained in policy too.

2. Set clear objectives

   When it comes to driver behaviour, its significance differs depending on the business. This means setting clear objectives which are dependent on organisational goals and choosing which aspect your company wants to improve upon.

   Perhaps boosting customer service levels is the main aim. Data such as vehicle off road (VOR) time is incredibly helpful here, as is the amount of orders or jobs lost during these periods. Identify the most appropriate data sets and set a baseline for the minimum expected standards. Any deviation from that baseline could then be highlighted, allowing management to target specific issues through training and consultation.

   The amount of data available is greater than ever but collecting, analysing and reporting on it does not have to be an overly arduous task. Telematics systems are now more sophisticated than ever, creating individual profiles for drivers based on their performance in a number of key areas related to safe and efficient driving.

   Management can drill down into specific areas of performance to gain greater insight into specific problems. Data is available on a range of behaviours, including speeding, fuel consumption, harsh steering and braking, idling, gear changes and constant speed.

   Devices even provide predictive advice that unlocks even greater fuel savings.

   Drivers can get advice in real-time through their driver terminal to inform them where they are able to improve. Devices even provide predictive advice that unlocks even greater fuel savings. Drivers are told when to take their foot off the accelerator on the approach to roundabouts or junctions, allowing them to drive in a smoother, more fuel-efficient manner.

    

3. Culture of collaboration

   Real employee engagement is needed to experience long-term change in driver behaviour. Rather than a ‘them and us’ philosophy, putting drivers at the heart of the programme can help them feel empowered and more receptive to change.

   When it comes to getting your workforce on board, incentives such as extra holidays, cash or qualifications for personal development work to your benefit. However, simple recognition and acknowledgement of their efforts can be equally effective. League tables that compare the driving performance of individual drivers are also useful for sparking a sense of healthy competition and giving staff goals to work towards.

There is no one-size fits-all approach to improving driver behaviour and the wealth of data now available to field service companies provides a number of ways for them to tackle the issue, depending on their objectives.

However, by following a set of established guidelines – creating a culture of excellence, providing strong leadership, choosing data to suit objectives and working with employees to achieve improvements – best practice can be achieved.

 

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The great and the good of the telematics industry arrived in Amsterdam for the TomTom Telematics' Developers Conference and left with a new vision of what telematics may look like in the not so distant future...

It’s a strange quirk of fate at the moment that almost every other event in the European field service calendar seems to be held in the wonderful city of Amsterdam. The Dutch capital has become something of a European hub for field service in recent years and another event to add to that list was this year’s TomTom Telematics’ Developers Conference.

However, given that the telematics giant have their headquarters in Amsterdam, perhaps the decision to host their annual conference in the City too, was more about taking advantage of being on home turf. The one-day conference was held at the De Hallen centre, a former tram depot. What better place then for members of the telematics industry to come together to discuss both the latest trends in technology and how they can help in overcoming the seemingly perennial challenges of reducing fuel costs, improving driver behaviour and of course getting field engineers to the right place, on time, everytime?

And whether it was a reflection of the sense of community in the area we found ourselves in or the ongoing effort of TomTom to bring those operating in various pockets of the telematics world together, there was a true sense of community across the day’s event.

It was fantastic to see developers, providers and end users from all across the continent and beyond – even as far as Malaysia and Morocco - all coming together to discuss best practices and new ideas across the break out sessions and in the networking zone throughout the day.

 

It would have been easy for TomTom to attempt to shoe-horn a number of sales pitches in throughout the day but instead the sessions were focused much more on problem solving, emerging technologies or case studies of how companies are using telematics to improve their workflow, including an excellent session with the Rotterdam Fire Service, which really brought home just how important a role technology can play for an organisation for whom getting to their next job on time really is a matter of life and death.

Platform-as-a-Service

Of those sessions that did focus on TomTom and their own offerings there was a very clear message that came through. TomTom Telematics is evolving, they are doing so rapidly and they are quite possibly going to change the way we view telematics forever as they do so.

A big statement? Perhaps but whilst the core technologies of vehicle tracking and routing of course remain a strong element of what TomTom Telematics offer, they can no longer be considered as simply a pure play telematics provider. Instead they have grown and developed, becoming very much a fully fledged Platform-as-a-Service provider within the telematics space in a move seemingly modeled on Salesforce’s approach to CRM.

It is a move that has been gaining momentum for a while: last year in an exclusive interview with Field Service News, Giles Margerison talked at length about the importance of their focus on establishing three separate APIs to make connectivity to the TomTom Telematics platform as simple as possible.

 

The TomTom app store

However, the momentum has now really kicked in with TomTom using the Developer Conference to officially launch their new app store. Even at launch this was full of various  apps provided by both the numerous developers attending and demonstrating their solutions at the conference, and the many, many more out in the wider TomTom ecosystem.

George De Boer, International Alliance Manager at TomTom Telematics commented: “We started out as a telematics company making sure fleet managers could manage their fleet but as soon as we introduced the connected navigation, together with telematics it soon became a solution that you could use for optimising your business processes.” “So we went from purely managing fuel and savings on the wear and tear on the vehicle to becoming an end-to-end manufacturer and supplier of a solution that could be used throughout the whole business process.”

Whilst TomTom have now placed themselves firmly at the heart of this telematics revolution, the responsibility for driving the technology forward seems to be very much shared between TomTom themselves, their developer partners and, most importantly, their customers.

 

The customer role

One such customer which has worked closely with TomTom in a relationship that sees both companies driving the use of telematics forward as they work alongside each other, is UK utilities company Scotia Gas Networks (SGN).

With a remit to maintain 74,000km of gas main pipe within the UK, and a fleet of over 2,000 vehicles, plus SLAs that include response times of just one hour, keeping track of the fleet is absolutely vital for SGN.

Having originally implemented the TomTom Telematics system for just point-to-point referencing - knowing where the vehicle is, and using the system for time sheet validation and so on - SGN soon realised that they could achieve much more with the WebFleet system.

“Straight away I knew what TomTom could do for us” recalls Chris Stone, SGN Head of Finance. “We’ve evolved now into a relationship where we are trying to do more and more. In fact we are pioneering a lot of what TomTom do and what they can do,” he adds

 

Indeed Stone, and SGN’s open approach to working closely with TomTom on their new developments is yielding far greater dividends than a more hands-off approach might. “I like to get two or three benefits out of a system I invest in.” states Stone “Yes we can put a tracking system in our vehicles and we can track them but what else can we get out of it? Well we can get driver behaviour, fuel efficiency, economy…. there are all these other bolt-ons”

However, whilst there are clear benefits for establishing such a close working relationship with your technology partners and adopting a leading edge appetite for utilising new technology, to continuously enhance your service standards and improve margins, it is not an approach all companies can take. After all, not every company has the influence of a utilities company with a fleet of  2,000.

However, the emergence of TomTom as a platform provider is big news for companies of all sizes.

Look out for Part 2 of our report, where we’ll hear more about TomTom’s new App Store. Is it set to revolutionise the way we build our telematics solutions in the not too distant future? What will be its role in the emergence of the connected vehicle?

 

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