Telematics are becoming a crucial weapon of fleet management in an increasingly competitive and regulated business environment. As the EU and other domestic and international bodies seek to target emissions in haulage work over the coming years, telematics can significantly strengthen businesses’ ability to analyse their fleets and innovate their practices towards more efficient outcomes.
Why Telematics Help Reduce Fleet Emissions
By collecting vast amounts of telematics data from their fleets, managers are able to analyse both the large trends and the minute details of operations. The data from each vehicle is collected from three sources within each haulage unit: the engine, the accelerometer and the GPS.
From engine data, operators can study the fuel economy, carbon dioxide output and service need of individual vehicles. This means that if a truck is particularly polluting or is in need of servicing, the company will know straight away and will be able to nip a problem in the bud. The accelerometer and GPS data enables information about vehicle movements, location and time data to be stored by the operator. Armed with all three measurements, companies are much better equipped to tackle efficiency and emission deficits within haulage work and meet the increasingly strict rules of governments.
How Telematics Help Fleets Go Greener
With use of aggregated data, fleets can go greener in the following ways:
Calculating the best routes – With information on thousands of journeys taken on similar routes at every time of the day and during every season, holiday and weather condition, fleet management systems are able to determine the best route for a particular journey. This may be a different route to one that was used for the same start and end points only hours before. Planning flexibility allows haulage work to be conducted far more efficiently, giving financial and environmental benefits to businesses.
Encouraging environmentally-friendly driving – Information gathered by an accelerometer can pass through a telematics system in real time and alert drivers to non-economical driving behaviour. This encourages less repetitive stopping and starting, as well as less idling and speeding. Not only does this clean up the environmental footprint of haulage work, but it also drives down fuel costs.
Recognising unauthorised use – The use of lorries outside of scheduled hours costs fleets money, as well as presenting issues surrounding insurance and driver wellbeing. Using telematics, operators can get real-time alerts if a vehicle is being used outside authorised hours, as well as information on where it is and who is registered to it. This can also help in the event of a truck being stolen.
A Green Future
The future for haulage work must be a green one. Not only does green technology and telematics data enable the industry to play an active role in reducing environmental damage, but it also presents benefits in terms of efficiency, monitoring strength and security to fleet managers. With all of the data at your fingertips, your business can stay ahead of the competition and ensure the sustainability of your company and the haulage industry as a whole.
Norman Dulwich is a Correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry. Connecting logistics professionals across the UK and Europe through their website, Haulage Exchange provides services for matching haulage work with available drivers. Over 5,000 member companies are networked together through the Exchange to fill empty capacity, get new clients and form long-lasting business relationships.
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