By Jeff Hendershot, Loss Control Manager
As technologically advanced as society has become, the human condition remains the same: people make mistakes. This is where technology is particularly valuable—to account for human error. There are several technologies that have become highly reliable and useful to company fleet managers. So, what are the most prevalent technologies available today?
GPS monitoring
GPS is a mature technology. In fact, it is difficult to find a company that does not utilize GPS monitoring in some manner today. The equipment can be self-contained, hard-wired units, or part of a telematics system plugged into the diagnostic on-board diagnostics port (OBD-II port).
The benefits of GPS monitoring include:
- The ability to monitor the practices of drivers, such as speed, routes, breaks.
- Efficient route planning.
- Flexibility: The ability to change/modify routes on the fly.
- Reduced maintenance costs.
Vehicle Telematics
What started as simple GPS tracking systems have now morphed into “telematics,” tools that send data from the field to managers or other remote parties. Most devices simply plug into the OBD-II port and will have a smartphone app or website to setup and control data.
Features and benefits of telematics systems include:
- Vehicle diagnostics for maintenance and indicators for fuel, engine temperature and other technical data (which can help save money on maintenance costs).
- Data tracking for a variety of engine and braking performance indicators, such as engine speed, car speed, distance, time driven, mileage data and even motion data (e.g., braking).
- Tracking safety features such as activation of the automatic emergency system and collision avoidance systems.
- Advanced GPS tracking chip, so the vehicle can be located with greater accuracy.
Collision Mitigation Systems
Collision mitigation systems incorporate some of the newest technologies available. They gather and process input from the radar, video and braking systems of a vehicle to create a “picture” of conditions for drivers. They can immediately engage emergency systems and analyze driver behavior. That information can be used to coach and train the drivers with the overall goal of saving lives and more effectively managing the fleet.
With wireless LTE technology, data can be transmitted remotely to a fleet manager for real-time driver management. As this technology is fairly new, the necessary equipment for a full system can be quite expensive; partial systems, which are still very effective, can be significantly less costly.
With better on-board camera technology and inexpensive flash memory for storage, large amounts of data can now be recorded/stored. Some systems, called Automatic OnBoard Recording Devices (AOBRD), will transmit this data wirelessly to servers, which fleet managers can review for training and coaching.
Electronic Logging Devices (ELD’s)
On December 16, 2015, The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published a rule requiring that driver hours of service be recorded electronically. That rule became official on December 18, 2017, and we are now in the “phase-in compliance” stage. The date for full compliance by affected DOT-regulated trucking carriers is December 16, 2019. Although there are exemptions to this rule, the vast majority of drivers/fleets will be required to utilize ELDs. ELD equipment must be certified as compliant with the FMCSA rule but can be combined with AOBRD technology devices.
Real-time/continuous monitoring of motor vehicle reports (MVR’s)
Despite all of the above technologies above, drivers still make errors. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, driving collisions are the leading cause of death in the workplace with 42,000 driving deaths in 2016. Driver behavior prior to an incident can be nearly always traced to a pattern of high-risk behaviors.
One way that fleet managers monitor drivers’ behavior is by pulling Motor Vehicle Reports (MVRs) through the state in which the driver is licensed. Many fleet managers will pull this data not only once per year, but two or more times.
SambaSafety provides driver risk management services, one primary service of which includes the continuous monitoring of driver violations/records. It notifies recipients (e.g., fleet manager, HR) when a driver receives a violation (ticket). In addition to this service, SambaSafety provides additional support services to aid in the training and coaching of drivers. PLM has partnered with SambaSafety to provide insureds discounted access to their services.
Fleet managers have more options than ever to reduce risk, drive safety and control their operating expenses. Research results on these technologies vary, but most show a significant improvement in fleet and driver performance. For example, Driver’s Alert shows that by utilizing telematics and implementing a proactive management program companies can decrease accidents by 45 percent, speeding by 75 percent and aggressive driving by 80 percent! Operations efficiencies have also been shown to improve when effectively utilizing data that is provided by these devices.
No matter which of the above technologies your company chooses to implement, one thing is for sure—they can make substantial improvements in driver safety and operational costs.
