ARCHIVE FOR THE ‘telematics’ CATEGORY

There is room for significant improvement in the way service organisations manage and operate their fleets: that was a key message that emerged from Microlise's  inaugural Field Service and Fleet Conference held at the MIRA Proving Ground, Warwickshire earlier this month and supported by Field Service News. 

There is growing recognition among service organisations of the importance of developing the driving skills of mobile service personnel and the benefits it can deliver in terms of operational and employee safety and reduced costs.

Delegates at the Microlise event heard from the UK Government's Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency,  the Head of National Roads Policing Intelligence, logistics company  DHL and former Stig Ben Collins  alongside Microlise Director of Product Stephen Watson.  In a series of sessions, they are able to learn useful and practical information on everything from safe driving style and the use of technology to monitor driving performance, driver engagement and real world case studies of fleet management best practice.

To underline the importance of driving skills, Microlise fitted a fleet of vans, supplied by event sponsor Hertz, with telematics so that guests could be let loose on the MIRA City Circuit, which simulates the driving conditions found in an urban environment. The objective was to drive economically and safely; with drivers scored on how well they achieved this.  This practical element to the event underscored to many delegates the level of driving skills required and gave them a deeper appreciation of the challenges engineers face on a daily basis when travelling between each job.

On the subject of vehicle management, Mark Cartwright of the Freight Transport Association Van Excellence scheme shared that more than 49% of vans currently fail their MOT first time round.  Many service organisations do not have a policy of routine vehicle safety checks incorporated into their operations, he said.

It was an action-packed event where everyone gain a greater insight into this often-overlooked  element service management. FSN looks forward to hearing what topics will shape next year’s agenda.

 

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Magenta Technology, the developers of the Maxoptra routing and scheduling system, has launched an online application that automates job despatching for users of TomTom’s telematics and fleet management solutions. The app, called Planndit, links job details from Maxoptra directly to TomTom WEBFLEET, eliminating the need to manually type in job details. This makes job despatch and sequencing quick and easy, saving time and eliminating errors.

It means being able to despatch routes to any TomTom Pro device in less than 30 seconds per route, and that includes verifying the overall route on a map and optimising the route sequence within the process before it is sent. The app simply connects to the TomTom service and pools the devices in use so jobs can be sent to the correct operative.

The Maxoptra app automatically calculates distance and driving time for the route and each individual address. The route sequence can be optimised for the best cost by re-ordering stops with a simple drag-n-drop. Notes for the driver can be added and sent with the address to the driver's TomTom Pro with a simple click.

Maxoptra is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform designed to enable quick decision-making within ever-changing operational environments such as service management. The Planndit app is a module available as a low cost, pay-as-you-go service and includes a simple 3-step wizard to take the user through the process, eliminating the need for any training.

Stuart Brunger, Business Development Director for Maxoptra, commented: “In talking to TomTom users it was clear that, although telematics promised big benefits, there was something missing. What they needed was an integrated system; a seamless link between their job management system and TomTom. With the Planndit app, we have addressed this with a solution that transforms job despatching and customer service delivery by linking Maxoptra and TomTom WEBFLEET to create an integrated operations system.”

 

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The very nature of their jobs means that field service employees are lone workers and safety risks are not confined to hazardous workplaces. FSN Editor Sharon Clancy looks at some of the strategies for making ensuring your employees stay safe.

Many service employees are working alone or in environments that make them vulnerable. The potential safety risks are present not just in hazardous workplaces such as oil installations or construction sites; workers can be at risk working unsocial hours in office building or on emergency call outs to domestic properties, too, for example.

Safety policies and guidelines should reflect the specific risks of mobile workers, demonstrate that steps have been taken to minimise those risks and that management systems are in place to monitor compliance with safety rules.

For mobile service technicians, those risks include driving their vehicles between jobs. “If people in your company use vehicles for work, then you have a legal responsibility to ensure their safety, points out Giles Margerison, UK sales director, TomTom Telematics. “The law is really clear if someone is driving for business purposes, regardless of who provides the vehicle – whether it’s their own vehicle, hire, rented, leased, bought, or bought by the company. Once you have given someone an instruction for work, whether it’s just popping down the shops for a pint of milk or to an appointment or a job or a site, you are responsible for their safety and their behaviour.”

Duty of Care: legal obligations
Employer's  legal obligation on Duty-of-Care and Health and Safety will vary from country-to-country. In the UK, for example, the 2007 Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act introduced in addition to corporate liability the concept of personal liability of directors and board members for any proven negligence, part of an EU-wide initiative to improve worker safety.

Other legislation such as the EU Working Time Directive also impacts on duty-of-care obligations.

 

For service organisations there are two key areas of duty of care: one is lone worker protection; the other is risk management of inappropriate of employee behaviour.

Lone worker monitoring
Any mobile application or device by default offers more protection to the mobile worker than a paper system where there is no contact with the office between jobs or even all day. Mobile workers equipped with telephones can also be tracked using cell ID.

In difficult or hostile environments managers need confirmation at regular intervals that the employee is safe and well. Some lone-worker systems are linked to 24-hour monitoring centres - individuals who find themselves in a dangerous situation simply press a red alert button on their device. This additional protection for lone workers can be a user buy-in when selling a technology switch to mobile workers, especially in heavily-unionised sectors.

In less dangerous situations, the risk assessment may be that compliance can be demonstrated by tracking personnel around a site, setting up pre-set intervals when a response is required. The interval can be set automatically and varied between locations and tasks.

In some systems the worker is sent an SMS message requiring a response confirming everything is OK or arrival. The latest technology even removes the onus on the employee to confirm they are safe. Instead, RFID and NFC technology utilised for proof-of-attendance and compliance with service-level agreements can also be used for duty-of-care monitoring.

 

"It's considered more reliable because the monitoring process starts automatically when the worker arrives on site or at a particular area of the site or building - there's no need for them to send a message to confirm this ," comments Paul Ridden, managing director for Skillweb. "Alarms can be raised if a worker fails to arrive at or leave a customer site or complete a task. Specific safety compliance information for that task or site can be incorporated in the RFID tags. "

Risk management
Service organisations employ engineers and technicians, not drivers. However, that does not mean that you can ignore their behaviour at the wheel when driving between jobs. Potentially unsafe driving behaviour should be part of a risk assessment strategy.

Meeting your Duty of Care does not need to be a burden, points out, Margerison. . “It just requires processes to be in place that monitors aspects of your mobile workforce, giving you the data you need so you can foresee any issues."This is not as hard as it sounds with modern fleet management and telematics systems, and you might also be surprised by the bottom line benefits it could bring to your business, he goes on. “The use of technology really helps because we can manage driver behaviour. Other methods can be used, of course, but technology makes that really very simple, and gives you the right data when you need it.

Telematics captures data on vehicle speeds, distances and driving time, as well as hazardous behaviour such as harsh braking and acceleration. Fed back into the service management software, team leaders can build a picture of each driver's behaviour, trends within a group of workers and persistence offenders, all without increasing administration costs.

 

Basic driver behaviour telematics data such as speed and harsh deceleration can even be captured from a mobile device with a GPS and an accelerometer or with a plug-in device - there's no need for a vehicle installation.
The result is a safer, more efficient workforce and a significantly reduced risk profile. Margerison points out that the ability to demonstrate driver improvements to an insurer could also mean a reversal of the current trend of higher  premium costs.

Keep it simple
Skillweb’s Paul Ridden thinks awareness of risks to mobile workers still has some way to go to penetrate those lower-skilled service jobs typically found in facilities management companies. “With the introduction of the Living Wage, those workers are going to cost more, so ensuring, they are as productive as possible, will be key to maintaining profit levels.”

Technology costs have also been a barrier, but smartphones make deploying mobile apps to these workers affordable. Simple apps can help them complete the tasks in the right order and safely. You can prove where they are but you can also use it to monitor their safety. Are cleaners using hazardous chemicals in a safe manner. Using appropriate safety equipment can mean something as simple as using rubber gloves when using cleaning chemicals.”
Monitoring the safety of these employees can have other benefits, he points out Monitoring that only trained employees are allowed to use equipment such as motorised floor polishers correctly, also helps you keep tabs on asset utilisation, he points point.

Geoff Ball, MD of Matrix Telematics said: “The definition of a lone worker has changed dramatically. From social workers to delivery drivers, postmen to pest control; lone workers make up almost a quarter of the UK’s working population, but the nature of their job leaves them open to a unique set of risks that employers need to be aware of.

“While most lone workers will hopefully never experience any problems, to have the peace of mind that there’s someone just at the other end of the line should they need it is a big reassurance for employees and a sensible precaution for employers to take.”

Lone worker monitoring doesn’t have to be complicated, says Ridden.“Even proactively status checks can be done without it seeming intrusive or Big Brother. You can send a message, and all the worker does is to tap in a pin number to confirm they are OK. Workers do appreciate that it is for their safety. From the manager’s viewpoint, its more reliable than waiting for a remote worker to call in at hourly intervals to confirm they are OK and its documented evidence that health and safety policies have been adhered to.

 

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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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This excellent infographic published by Cox Motor Parts shows us that the Driverless Vehicle is coming ever closer...

 

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UK gas distribution company SGN expects to save about £1million by implementing a driver performance improvement programme across its 2,000-strong fleet.

SGN,  the gas utilities company which operates across the south of England and the whole of Scotland, is using TomTom Telematics technology, including the driver behaviour improvement system OptiDrive 360, to tackle inefficient practice.

During a 100-vehicle trial, SGN reduced the volume of fuel wasted through idling by almost 68% and improved average fuel consumption by 11%.

“The finance department at SGN recognised a huge opportunity for using driver performance data to transform operational efficiency and we now stand to make major savings on both fuel and maintenance,” said Chris Stone, Head of Finance at SGN.

“Prior to implementing this programme, the company was wasting 13,000 litres a month through vehicle idling alone, but now we are able to provide drivers and managers with visibility around problem trends and the reasons why they occur.

“We understand drivers don’t intentionally drive badly so this isn’t about punishing them. Instead, we are focused on working with our employees to help them perform more efficiently and safely on the road.”

OptiDrive 360 scores drivers based on a range of key performance indicators including speeding, driving events, idling and gear shifting and constant speed. Regular performance reports are shared with managers, allowing them to work with individual drivers to tackle any specific issues.

The TomTom system also integrates with SGN’s fleet management provider Inchcape. This means Inchcape is given access to live engine fault code data, allowing them to conduct pre-emptive maintenance work when required.

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Certification by US network operator Verizon has helped push sales of Geotab's plug-and-play telematics device to 150,000 in six months.

Sales of Geotab's G07 plug-and-play telematics device are soaring, with the Canadian company reporting 150,000 sold in the six months from February to June, mainly in North America. The GO7 is a plug-and-play device that connects to the vehicle OBD port, collecting data from the engine, drivetrain, instrument cluster and other relevant subsystems to maximise productivity and minimise downtime.

Appeal has been boosted by the device being certified for use on the Verizon wireless network, says Geotab. Network operator certification is a major milestone in the US, says the company, because it enables the solution to be sold into a larger pool of potential customers, such as those that require specific geographic coverage or that prefer a particular network operator.

“Fleet owners value reliability, which is a major reason why the GO7 is their go-to solution for maximising productivity and efficiency,” said Geotab CEO Neil Cawse. “The GO7’s 99.89 percent reliability, combined with Verizon’s robust, reliable nationwide cellular network, gives them the peace of mind they simply can’t get with most other telematics solutions.”

 

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Light Commercial Vehicles (LCVs) are the lifeblood of the UK economy - it's a sentiment we hear quoted all the time, and while their professional use and maintenance is very important, it's something that many companies neglect. John Mills, Head of Mobile Workforce Telematics for Microlise, wants that to change.

The number of vans registered in the first quarter of 2015 was up 23% on the same quarter in 2014, at 98,000. According to the Department for Transport the last twenty seven months have seen sustained year-on-year growth -  exceeding that of cars. The Freight Transport Association (FTA) estimates that there are over 3.4 million van drivers on the roads.

It’s clear that LCV drivers and fleet managers have found themselves at the epicentre of a seismic shift in consumer behaviour. Many organisations are now engaging with their customers through home visits and deliveries. Historically, however, driving has been a necessary but often overlooked secondary part of the job for field service engineers and LCV drivers.

This means that significant financial savings and improvements in fuel economy, environmental impact and safety are sometimes overlooked - but they are very much there for the taking. Giving the professional the tools to do the job is an important first step in identifying and taking appropriate action to realise the potential financial and customer experience benefits.

Giving the professional the right tools

During the  2015 Open golf tournament at St Andrews, Irish amateur Paul Dunne came within a whisker of becoming the first non-professional to win in more than 80 years. The truth is, he was about as likely to win as a field service engineer with no training or telematics analysis tools is to drive in an economical, low environmental impact and safe way.

It might work but certainly wouldn’t perform in the way it should. It would be inefficient, unpredictable and downright dangerous (I have experience…). Engineers go on training courses for all types of equipment from simple tools to complex installations. But we then  hand them a key to the van and say ‘on your way’ and hope for the best. The lucky ones also get training and coaching on driving style and risk minimisation. The unlucky ones can’t hope to match their colleagues who are using the latest technologies to track and improve their driving behaviour.

 

Delivering the benefit

So, the first step for LCV fleet operators and field service operatives is to appreciate what an important element driving is of the job - too often, it is seen as secondary. Once driving skills are recognised as essential, driver performance can be given the status it deserves, and the latest tools put  in place to realise tangible benefits.

It’s been a long time since a non-professional won the St Andrews Golf Open, and though Dunne came close this year, the professionals have won every single one since 1930. Going pro can clearly provide immediate and fast improvements in the LCV fleet context too. Savings vastly greater than the million pound winnings of the St Andrews Open are up for grabs given the right solution and team motivation.

 

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Try it for yourself

This Autumn we will be hosting our Field Service Conference at the fantastic MIRA facilities near Coventry. This year's theme is Driver Engagement. The packed event will give delegates the opportunity to not only hear from industry leading speakers and practitioners, but also to get first-hand experience of driving on timed city courses and other handling tracks at the MIRA proving ground whilst interacting with our driver engagement solutions.

Join us there: Click here to claim your free place

 

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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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