Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/652983
Coaching better behaviors is the best approach to take, rather than criticizing or reprimanding employees. Some companies will offer operators bonuses (based on the fuel cost savings) through anti- idling programs. Another cost savings associated with cutting idle time is that it reduces wear and tear on engines. If you're not putting those extra hours on the engine, it's going to last longer, stay in warranty lon- ger, require fewer service intervals and bring a higher resale value at trade-in time. Excessive idling also generates extra soot, which can prematurely clog diesel particulate filters, requiring more mainte- nance and regenerations. Driver issues and public image In earlier articles, we talked about how telematics location data can help you set up geo- fences and curfews to prevent unauthorized use of trucks and vehicles. You can also track, and plan, the routes of your trucks around traffic jams to save time. These are the most popular uses of telematics location data for heavy trucks and pickups. But there's another important safety benefit to having your equipment wired for telematics. Truck telematics not only report on the whereabouts of your vehicles, but most will also calculate their speed. Many truck- specific third-party telematics products will also record things like harsh braking, sudden stops or acceleration, swerving and other undesirable driver behav- iors. Some of these systems even use driver-monitoring cameras (as we reported in the October 2015 issue, page 37). But, you can harvest a lot of useful data from truck telematics without a camera system, using just location and tracking data. For example, many large construction companies have fleets of hun- dreds of vehicles, both pickups and vocational trucks. Inevitably, this means that the company will occasionally field complaints from concerned citizens regarding poor driving, or perhaps gravel, dirt or debris blowing off the top of a loaded dump truck. Smart contractors, especially those who do a lot of public funded work, know that a good public image is important. But, in the ab- sence of telematics data on a truck, such a complaint can often become a he-said/she-said situation. Using telematics, you can check the truck in question, see if the driver was in the area or not, and better engage the citizen who complained. If it wasn't your truck, tell them. If it was your truck and your driver was driv- ing carelessly, you can apologize and assure the person that correc- tive actions will be taken. If there were extenuating circumstances, such as an injury or emergency, you can explain that as well. In either case, right or wrong, you've taken action to respond re- sponsibly to a citizen's complaint. This course of action is much more productive than casting aspersions on an innocent driver, or being unresponsive to the con- cerns of the public. Telematics-driven examples like this aren't big money makers, but they can help lower insurance costs, encourage your drivers to be safer, and demonstrate to the public that your company is re- sponsible and responsive. Remote vehicle diagnostic codes In the dark ages before telemat- ics, if you got a call from an operator who said a machine was down and he had no clue as to why, you had only one option: Dispatch a service tech to investi- gate. The technician logs what- ever travel time is necessary and then discovers he needs a part, which means another trip back to the shop or dealer, and then a return trip to make the repair. At a minimum, you've blown a half- day (if not two full days). Most OEM telematic data feeds will provide a huge amount of in- formation about machine operat- ing parameters like engine temps, hydraulic pressures and fluid levels. The Association of Equip- ment Management Professionals is putting the final touches on an updated version of a standard- ized telematics protocol that will identify more than 40 fault codes and parameters, and every OEM we've talked to is going to adopt this standard when it's finalized by the ISO. With this kind of information, you can diagnose equipment problems from your desk or any connected mobile device before the service tech ever hits the highway. In some cases, if the problem is simple, there may be a quick work-around for the op- erator. But, in almost every case with available telematics data, the tech can have the problem gener- ally diagnosed and the parts in hand before he even leaves the shop. This generates huge cost savings and increases uptime. March 2016 | EquipmentWorld.com 54 telematics | continued Daniel Samford, CEM, of Peak Performance Asset Services, consults in fleet management, telematics integration, and negotiations for special- ized construction equipment, annual vehicle purchases, national accounts and fleet value evaluations. With 21 years at Herzog Companies of St Joseph, Missouri, Samford operated in 12 divisions and managed a fleet of more than 2,800 units and 700 vehicles. He can be contacted through his website www.PPASllc.com or emailed at dsamford@PPASllc.com.