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Research by 6Wresearch reveals that India has become one of the most potential markets for telematics solutions globally...

Over the last four years, India has registered increased deployment of telematics solutions especially in commercial vehicle segment. Key application areas of the market include- cold chain, courier, pharma, retail and others. Presently, cold chain sector accounted for highest market share, followed by courier and others. Cold storage freight trailers are deploying telematics solutions to gather time-series data of the temperature inside the cargo container.

According to 6Wresearch, the Indian Commercial Vehicles Telematics Market installed base is projected to reach 1.4 million by 2022.

Increasing road accidents, security concerns and need for fleet management are driving the adoption of telematics solutions in the country. Additionally, benefits such as reducing fuel consumption and repair costs would further spur the growth of the market.

According to “Prijo Samuel, Assistant Research Manager, Research and Consulting, 6Wresearch,” in commercial vehicle telematics market in India, Heavy-Commercial Vehicles (HCVs) accounted for majority of the market share; however, Medium Commercial Vehicles (MCVs) segment is poised to register significant growth over the next six years.

Ravindran Natarajan, Director Business Development, Trimble Navigation (a leading player within the sector) said, “Although, MCVs/ HCVs covered entire market, however Light-Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) segment is anticipated to excel in the coming years. This would be primarily due to overall structuring of e-commerce industry in relation with the change in entire supply chain logistics from first mile pick-up to last mile delivery.”

 

He further commented, “During recent times, India witnessed entry of various companies in freight market, which have changed the whole market dynamics. This would create more opportunities for telematics market players in India.

Suresh Mishra, Director, QTS Solutions (an emerging player in the market), established in 2016 said, “The telematics industry in India would exhibit robust growth due to the deployment of portable telematics devices in MCVs, which runs on trip to trip basis.”

He further added, “Telematics market penetration in HCVs segment would reach between 90-95% by 2022 owing to growing acceptability along with mandatory policies to install telematics solutions in various commercial vehicles.”

The major companies in India commercial vehicles telematics market include- Arya Omnitalk, CMC, Dhanus Technologies, EFKON, TATA Motors (Tata FleetMan) and Trimble Navigation.

“India Commercial Vehicles Telematics Market (2016-2022)” provides in-depth analysis with 44 figures and 8 tables covered in 100 pages. The report estimates and forecast overall India commercial vehicles market by revenue, sales volume, installed base, sectors, regions and by vendor type i.e. aftermarket and OEM. The report also gives the insights on competitive landscape, market share by companies, company profiles, market trends, drivers and restraints.

 

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For a detailed report on this research with purchase options please click here

 

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Sergio Barata, General Manager EMEA, Telogis looks at the ever evolving nature of the professional driver

The life of a professional driver has changed dramatically over the last few years.

Gone are the days of being cast off in virtual isolation on the road. Instead, drivers are now part of a hyper-connected organisation joined up by tech, and this is allowing managers and a network of drivers to be linked in totally new ways.

One man and his truck has turned into one man, his truck and his digital network. Almost every piece of driver activity can now be turned into data in real time and then optimised for the operation’s benefit.

It’s saving vehicle-based businesses millions of pounds and completely changing how a driver operates in the cab.

But this hasn’t happened overnight. What are the steps that have got us here? And how does it affect the job role today? Here we look at the milestones that have changed the concept of a lone driver and how the driving experience has been turned on its head.

Telematics rolls into town

The first major development that connected drivers was the advent of basic telematics. It allowed managers to see where their drivers went, the miles they covered, and the fuel they spent. For the first time, drivers were now sent on jobs knowing that bits of information about their driving would be fed back to their managers.

Drivers responded by paying greater attention to the management of their vehicles, communicating with head office via traditional telephone systems to find the quickest route to get the job done.

Software hits the cab

The next step came when operators began demanding intelligent software which could provide greater insights through data aggregation and analytics.

With software-based services, managers were able to measure variables such as harsh braking, speeding and fuel consumption, with information collated and stored in the cloud for remote management. Relative to the size of each taskforce, the output was business critical data.

Enter MEM

‘Mobile Enterprise Management’ software, or MEM, connects each member of the workforce more closely than was previously thought possible. In a fleet context, it allows vehicles and drivers to communicate and interact with data in real time, gaining insights from other parts of the network which can be applied to their own vehicle.

This information, sourced from thousands of lone drivers across the network, can also be fed into other separate parts of an organisation’s network.

Whether it’s a small commercial operation or a sprawling international supply chain, mobile and the cloud can connect an entire organisation from the front line to the back end, helping businesses optimise their operations and drive ROI.

The Lone Driver 2.0

It is in this context therefore, that we are able to establish a new profile for the lone driver, combining traditional expertise with the new role as an enabler within the wider data ecosystem of an organisation

Drivers are a no longer a remote asset once they leave the conventional four walls of the enterprise.

They are now an extension of that enterprise, creating a constant stream of data and interactions which are fed back to their organisation’s operations team via a cloud-based platform, ensuring all aspects of the network are optimised.

The data driver

This means that in the modern era, lone drivers are more important than ever before.

They are responsible for creating a vast amount of this data, whether that be through logging their commercial hours, carrying out their Driver-Vehicle Inspection Report or simply driving their vehicle, generating performance data.

The future?

As technological innovation continues apace, the adoption of autonomous vehicles looks likely to represent the next major change in field operations, with some critics citing this development as the beginning of the end for drivers.

On the contrary, drivers have demonstrated their ability to adapt to technological change on many occasions already, and their longevity won’t end here. With their increased importance in the data ecosystem, the profile of the lone driver may yet change. But they will still be important as ever.

 

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Geotab, the Canadian telematics platform provider, has won the North American Product Leadership award in Frost & Sullivan’s 2016 Best Practices Awards.

Frost & Sullivan presents the Product Leadership award to the company it considers has developed a product with innovative features and functionality to gain rapid acceptance in the market. Geotab was recognised both for innovative fleet management telematics solutions and for the partnership-based model that has helped its fast growth.  The company now has 500,000 vehicles in 70 countries using its platform, and over 900m data points are collected daily.

“Geotab’s hardware engineering and software development success has made it a one-stop fleet management solution provider, while most competitors specialise in one or the other,” said Frost & Sullivan Senior Analyst Krishna Chaithanya. “Due to its ability to offer customers technologically superior services compared to other telematics companies in North America, Geotab has witnessed remarkable earnings growth. Company revenue stood at $76 million in 2015, up from $59 million in 2014. The company estimated that its 2016 revenue would exceed $105 million.”

The Geotab GO7 is a small form-factor GPS plug-and-play vehicle tracking device able to integrate with a vehicle’s on-board diagnostics port.  The scalable MyGeotab platform and powerful tracking algorithms allow fleet managers to track vehicles in real time and provide actionable alerts to drivers. Customers gain an in-depth understanding of fleet movement, equipment health, stoppages and routing problems to ensure optimal time management and consumer satisfaction.

The real-time integrated fleet management capabilities in the Geotab platform may not seem cutting-edge in Europe, where operators have benefited from this level of functionality for several years now,  but it does appear to be a relatively recent development in the North American market, and the feedback capabilities of Geotab’s GO TALK impressed Frost & Sullivan.

It acknowledged that one of the key benefits of the Geotab solution is the company's input-output expander (IOX) technology, which allows businesses to easily expand their fleet management capabilities for specific needs such as satellite tracking, driver ID, hours of service, camera systems, and temperature monitoring.

Geotab has made its data open for easy integration with customers’ IT systems and third-party apps. “Importantly, Geotab’s competence in data engineering and solution development results in competitively priced products that offer in-depth information about productivity, safety, efficiency, and compliance” noted Chaithanya. “It supports advanced safety management for drivers and fleets, more constructive fuel management, constant monitoring of vehicle engine health, and strict reinforcement of safety guidelines.”

 

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Murdock Builders Merchants, an independent family owned builders’ merchant group, has reduced fuel costs by 10% after implementing a telematics system from Masternaut.

Murdock Builders Merchants implemented Masternaut’s telematics system across its fleet of 44 commercial vehicles, enabling the business to effectively track its fleet across the country.

Since installation, Murdock Builders Merchants has seen a marked improvement in driving styles and saved 10% in fuel costs thanks to data provided by Masternaut’s telematics solution. The system has also been helping Murdock Builders Merchants to have complete visibility on fuel usage and driving style.

The system has also helped to provide an increase in driver efficiency, with managers now able to distribute tasks more effectively and increase the work done by all vehicles. The customer relationship has been further enhanced, with information provided to them, giving accurate delivery times and updates in case of traffic delays.

By monitoring vehicles, telematics has been helping managers keep track of the fleet, enabling them to record information like times and dates sites were visited. This provides cast iron clarity on delivery times for customers and helps fleet managers find the nearest driver to a job location.

 

Paul Sheppard, Group Fleet Manager, Murdock Builders Merchants said “Part of the experience we offer our customers is outstanding delivery with minimal fuss. We’re committed to providing excellent service to our customers and ensuring we hit our delivery times, and Masternaut provides a vital part of how we go about doing that. The system gives us 100% accurate times of delivery and the ability to update customers if there are unexpected delayed, and we’ve been able to make efficiency savings on fuel. Masternaut is a vital, supportive partner of ours and gives us an extra edge that we can offer our customers.”

Steve Towe, Chief Commercial Officer and UK Managing Director, Masternaut added, “For independent family businesses like Murdock Builders Merchants it is vital that they deliver the best services for their customers. Telematics can become a vital tool to ensure a company is able to meet high customer expectations, and at the same time improve on driver behaviour across the fleet. Telematics enables you to provide a duty of care to your staff and produces savings and safety improvements across the fleet, which is important to any business.”

 

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TomTom Telematics has been announced as the 2016 European Fleet Telematics Company of the Year in the latest Frost & Sullivan Awards.

The Frost & Sullivan panel commended the company for its successful implementation of industry best practices to innovate and meet changing customer needs. Its open telematics service platform, Webfleet, is enabling partners in different verticals to create applications suited to their individual sectors, which are available to TomTom Telematics customers through the .connect portal.

This allows fleet owners to incorporate a range of software applications that are specific to their industry, enabling them to make smarter decisions to achieve their business goals. Moreover, OptiDrive 360 fulfils the green requirements of customers, helping them reduce idling times, speeding and vehicle maintenance. The technology provides a complete approach to assist drivers in adopting a responsible driving style.

Sathya Kabirdas, Research Manager at Frost & Sullivan, said: “TomTom Telematics has strongly positioned itself in the European fleet telematics market on the strength of its expertise in developing diversified solutions that can help ensure optimum driver efficiency and contribute to operational cost savings for clients.”

Thomas Schmidt, Managing Director at TomTom Telematics, added: “It’s an honour to receive the Company of the Year Award as it is the most prestigious award that Frost & Sullivan bestows on any company. It has been an amazing year for TomTom Telematics and we look forward to driving ahead with our business in 2016, and helping our customers achieve even more.”

 

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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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Telematics looks set to take centre stage over the next couple of years. In one arena, it will play a critical role in the connected car revolution; in another, there are predictions that the way companies buy fleet and workforce management solutions will be transformed. Sharon Clancy reports...

Fleet managers already appreciate the benefits real-time information telematics systems can deliver is deliver such as real-time vehicle location and driver performance data.

Increasingly they come with a range of other features that help field service companies manage both the vehicle fleet and driver behaviour.

This can include compliance with tax and working hours regulations, time-sheet management, vehicle maintenance scheduling and encouragement of more economical and safe driving by service technicians. It’s part of a trend where platform-based modular services for mobile workforce management have been growing in popularity.

 

Modular platform solutions encourage users to choose those apps and services which best suit their operations, providing customisation within an out-of-the-box offering. They are also user-friendly – you can start with the apps and processes that will deliver a quick ROI and add more functionality when business needs demands and when everyone in the organisation is familiar with new work processes. What’s all this got to do with telematics?

 

Well, the shift to web-based software-as-a-service means there’s no shortage of platform providers offering tracking and other telematics functions.

Not everyone calls themselves a telematics company, however.

Some telematics services have been added to other platforms as software-as-a-service companies seek to other one-stop solutions to their customers. Vehicle tracking companies, for example, now offer driver and vehicle performance monitoring tools.

Some telematics companies are using their telematics and fleet management expertise to offer a wide range of mobile workforce management: Fleetmatics is leveraging its web based fleet management platform to offer job management and other services. Microlise has developed its Clear solution specifically to answer the needs of field service organisations, while Telogis’s platform has been designed form the start for what the company calls “connected intelligence”.

 

Arriving from a different starting point is Trimble, which has added fleet management and telematics to its cloud-based field service management solutions.

 

So there are plenty of cloud-based solutions out there that will help you manage your fleet and activities in real-time.

Whatever the platform is called and whatever its original purpose, what they have in common is that all the modules are developed by the platform provider.

There might be partnerships with some third party providers, but it’s all controlled by the platform provider, not the application developer.

Unless you are TomTom, that is.

The Dutch company has moved the goalposts when it comes cloud-based services for mobile workforce management.

Whereas other companies in the telematics space are building their own eco systems with their own apps that customers can choose to customise their solution, TomTom has taken the innovative step of opening up its platform to third-party app developers.

“We want to make sure we have that end-to-end process and we also want to make it very easy,” explains Geroge de Boer, International Alliance, Manager, TomTom.

“All the apps in our app centre have out-of-the-box off-the-shelf compatibility with our Webfleet platform. All you have to do is plug them in,” he explains.

 

“Just as consumers are finding it to install an app on their smartphones, we want to make telematics as easy for our customers.”

 

Meanwhile, in the US, Telogis has become a partner with Apple, developing connected vehicle apps for the iOS platform.

The connected vehicle 

There’s a lot of current discussion about connected vehicles and the impact this will have on how we drive and used our vehicles.

Any field service company with a fleet management or telematics solution in place might wonder what all the fuss is about - telematics means they already have connected vehicles.

After all, telematics is all about real-time connectivity and data capture.

Data is collected from the vehicle, sent to a cloud-based platform where it is used for a variety of purposes depending on the app. It might be a location update, a video clip of a driving incident, or fuel consumption data.

However, with vehicle manufacturers’ focus now firmly on the connected vehicle, and with legislative pressure both in Europe and the US, the role of telematics is changing.

 

Connected vehicles are going to underpin safety initiatives such as Europe’s eCall, designed to ensure emergency services reach the scene of an accident in the shortest time possible by automatically sending an alarm.

 

After all, once that real-time connectivity is on the vehicle, why waste the opportunity to build-in more functionality?

Taco Van der Leij, Vice President Marketing with TomTom thinks the concept of connected vehicles will catch on fast.

“Usually when new developments such as connected vehicles are starting to evolve you need a killer app that proves there are benefits to customers. But fleet management and vehicle tracking is already happening – as an industry we already have millions of vehicles connected globally.”

With more connected vehicles out there, the number of apps using that connectivity will multiply, predicts Van der Leij.

“Field service companies will have much bigger scope and different possibilities to enhance their business. Imagine what it will be like if all vehicles are connected. You are looking at a different kind of application.”

“There is still a long way to go but that makes it interesting and challenging.”

Some manufacturers are developing their own  telematics solutions, others are not reinventing the wheel but turning to experienced partners to provide the platform.

Ford, for example, has turned to Telogis to provide the platform for its telematics solutions in the US and Europe. Other manufacturers are teaming up with local partners.

Business intelligence 

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.

 

Business intelligence 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.

 

Telematics platforms play a key role: they receive the real-time data from vehicles and mobile device, cut-and-slice it the available data.

However, perhaps the biggest break through of all in the telematics space of recent years is that the technology is no longer restricted to the enterprise.

A raft of pay-per-user software-as-a-service models make the tools available to SMEs, enhancing their competitiveness, levelling the field and bringing thee benefits of up to date telematics systems to the wider market.

With the benefits of implementing a telematics solution both well documented and wide reaching, including improving driver behaviour, fuel efficiency and even reducing insurance premiums it makes sense for any field service company to adopt a telematics program of some sort.

 

Add to this the impending arrival of the connected fleet and the lower cost of implementation in the space and the barriers to adoption are also becoming fewer, which should also increase the widespread use of telematics in our sector.

 

However, as mentioned above the telematics providers market is a crowded one, with a number of differing approaches to be considered and assessing the pros and cons is an article in itself.

The biggest consideration however, must surely be to take a look at your service management suite as a whole and think how telematics can enhance your existing systems as well as how it can integrate with them.

For while the data produced from a telematics solution can be invaluable, as with any form of data it can also become quickly redundant if the data is not both easily accessible and effectively utilised.

 

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In Part One of this report Kris Oldland, Editor-in-Chief, Field Service News looked at the latest developments in live video streaming. In Part Two, he explores three potential areas the technology has potential to make a difference.

User Case One: Driver training

It is well documented that improving the general standards of driving amongst your team of field engineers can lead to almost instant gains in terms of impacting upon your bottom line.  Better drivers use less fuel, incur less day-to-day damage and wear and tear on a vehicle and as alluded to above can even lower insurance premiums.

Indeed the telematics market is full of driver training/driver behaviour monitoring tools designed to help field service organisations track who in their mobile workforce is performing well behind the wheel and who is regularly sitting towards the bottom of the pack when it comes to driving standards.

However,  the cost of having a qualified coach sit in on a ride along can be prohibitively high. This is where one potential application of live streaming can come into play.  With an in-vehicle camera providing the ability to allow a qualified coach to remotely view a driver’s performance in real-time, there's no need for a trainer to sit in with the engineer. Coaching can be given to multiple drivers across a potentially infinite geography in a much shorter amount of time, without the costs of getting your coaching resource to each individual trainee.

Use Case Two: Lone worker protection

By the very nature of their roles field workers are very often working in a sole capacity and this carries it’s own set of regulations and responsibilities for their employer.

The biggest challenge for the lone field service worker is that on a regular basis the job they may be called out to do can place them working alone in an unsafe environment,  putting them in a potentially vulnerable position. Such risks are not just the more obvious settings of hazardous workplaces such as utilities plants or around heavy machinery but can also include those who may be working unsociable hours in an office or even domestic residences when working on an emergency call-out.

Lone worker systems can be linked to 24 hour monitoring systems, where field service agents who find themselves in a dangerous position can simply press an alert button on their device to flag for assistance.  Once again this presents an interesting use case for live streaming video. The technology now exists for a wearable camera capable of delivering live video streamed across either a 3G or 4G network.

 

Of course when we talk about wearables there is a lot of buzz and hyperbole at the moment and a large part of this excitement is around the potential to combine existing technologies into the wearable format.

We can start to explore a number of different opportunities around lone worker safety with wearables and one of such example could be to combine health monitoring (e.g. heart rate monitor) and a wearable video camera with live streaming capabilities to activate in emergencies – providing not just an alert but also vital insight into any incident again in real time.

Use Case Three: Parts Management

Another area for consideration regarding for the implementation of live streaming videos in a field service environment is as part of a parts monitoring system.

Parts inventory management out in the field remains one of the most challenging areas of good field service management. However, from a financial point of view the sheer lack of visibility into spare parts inventory, something that can often be the largest negative balance on a profit and loss sheet for a service operation, is a huge challenge.

Once again the use of live streaming can become part of the solution. Through the combination of a number of different technologies a camera could be utilised alongside the use of QR codes (or possibly even a simpler numbering system) that allows engineers to hold each part they remove from the van to the camera so it is logged instantly as it leaves the van.

Such technology already exists, of course. However, with the advent of the latest streaming technology this video data is available in real-time allowing for two-way communication when particularly expensive parts are being removed for example.

Not re-inventing the wheel

Whilst it is perhaps not a technological breakthrough on a par with some of the other technologies emerging currently such as 3D printing, IoT or Connected Vehicles,the advent of live streaming does present an enhancement to many tools we already have in place in a field service operation.

However, it is the ability to ‘log-in’ remotely to cameras in real-time that is the real innovation here and whilst in many instances this step forward in technology simply enhances and improves the solution, in others such as the potential use case of enabling two way communication for logging expensive parts out of a vehicle in real-time, then new solutions and applications for the technology can be found.

I’ve been quoted in the past as saying that good technology should be simple to understand and should just make our lives easier.  As a technology, live video streaming really is a something that meets this description.  It can be applied to a wide variety of problems from the outset and with an open-minded approach could also play a part in resolving other potential challenges whilst ultimately improving numerous workflows.

 

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Gamification is helping fleet and field service organisations to engage and incentivise their drivers to become more safe and efficient on the roads, says John Cameron, general manager of Trimble Field Service Management.

Careless driving can cost fleet and field service companies thousands or even millions of pounds each year. The UK's Institute of Advanced Motorists’ Drive & Survive division report that 86 per cent of UK fleets have experienced an accident in the past 12 months, and that every fleet has had an accident where one of their drivers was ‘at fault’.

Many organisations look to improve driving behaviour by deploying telematics technology across their vehicle fleets. Whilst the technology has proven benefits, organisations often struggle to reap its full rewards as drivers may not always be fully engaged and motivated to improve their driving performance, mainly due to a lack of interest or incentive.

Demotivation is something many organisations struggle with, not just with initiatives for improving driver safety, but with all business aspects. In order to avoid the pitfalls of demotivation providing employees with recognition at work, regular rewards and a sense of competition amongst peers are all strong motivators.

In recent years, Gamification has come to the fore as a solution able to tap into an employee’s key motivators and sustain them. Indeed, organisations are increasingly calling upon the skills of software developers to apply the appealing traits of computer gaming into their business applications as a way to increase employee participation, engagement and accelerated learning in a business programme or initiative.

What is Gamification and how does it work?
Owning a smart phone or a tablet is a staple in many of our lives today and downloading apps, particularly gaming apps, is becoming ever more frequent. The power of popular games such as Candy Crush and Flappy Bird recently captured the lives of people from all walks of life. Students, businessmen, parents all became addicted to breaking the latest high score at any spare moment they could get. This inherent desire to compete, either with ourselves or others, is embedded within all of us.

In 2010, venture capitalists identified the potential for Gamification to incorporate the social/reward aspects of gaming into business software. This would not just make daily business tasks more enjoyable for employees, but would increase their collaboration and motivation at work to directly benefit the business and achieve company-wide goals.

Gamification and Driver Safety
A significant industry where Gamification has proven successful is in helping fleet and field service organisations to manage driver safety and risk. Being able to operate a safe and efficient fleet of drivers directly impacts the productivity and bottom line of a field operation. However, when it comes to adopting new processes, engaging employees is a notoriously difficult thing to do, especially when it is something as sensitive as monitoring their driver behaviour. Many businesses have therefore begun to implement gaming techniques into driver safety mobile apps to encourage drivers to perform better on the roads.

 

A driver safety mobile app typically records any extreme manoeuvres such as harsh acceleration, braking, turns and speed, the data of which is provided directly to the driver and sent to the back office for analysis. Gamification is integrated in the form of a scorecard that employees can use to record their driving performance. Although the recordings can be both personal and impartial it is the direct feedback that incentivises drivers to compete against themselves, and each other, for the best scores.

It often happens that employees are resistant to new initiatives because they don’t see any personal benefit in adopting them. Organisations therefore emphasise the gaming element of driver safety mobile apps to motivate their drivers, offering them positive recognition and rewards for good driving behaviour. Driver conversations inside an organisation therefore changes from gripes about the new technology to new excitement and collaboration around which team and individual has ranked top for the week and which areas they have improved in.

In order to reinforce focus over the long term, many apps also incorporate daily improvement tips based on an individual’s driving performance. For example, if speeding is proving to be a problem, the app will explain that higher speeds will result in longer stopping distances and excess fuel use, therefore negatively impacting their overall driver safety score.

Gamification ultimately offers a plethora of opportunities to fleet and field service organisations in helping them to motivate their drivers to change behaviours and develop their skills. However, the potential for Gamification doesn’t stop at driver safety. Gaming techniques can be incorporated into business applications both business and industry-wide. The pace at which gaming techniques is being adopted is gaining in momentum and market growth is expected to reach $5,500 billion by 2018.

Whether a company is looking to improve customer engagement, employee performance, training and education, innovation management, personal development, sustainability or health and wellness, organisations can integrate Gamification to help guarantee employees stay fully motivated and committed to achieve business goals.

 

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