Any digital device, objects or people that have an ability to transfer data over a network medium without the need of a human to computer interaction, that can be remotely controlled and monitor.
Fleet management is an industrial technique to organize and improve the efficiency and productivity of resources and reduce the cost control over vehicles.
In spite of having devices like mobile phones and GPS sensors were not able to provide accurate data.
IoT generally makes use of 3 Technolgy that underpins fleet management which are RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification), GPS (Global Positioning System), OBD I (Onboard Diagnostic) and OBD II.
GPS is used to obtain a real-time route map, Route Information, Weather Information over which fleet will travel its trip.
The device in the vehicles is interconnected with IoT systems both integrating parallel to each other so that clients can easily understand and create a daily working flow to manage there logistics process and overall trip planning.
By making IoT a central nervous system of the logistic system, the entire logistics value chain from warehousing operations to freight shipping to the last-mile delivery will enjoy the far-reaching payoffs.
Knowing the updates for delivery location of consignments is not all-important because when the freight in-transit gets lost or when looted, the staff will be clueless due to the lack of real-time status updates about the shipment.
According to research, the route optimization with IoT technology eliminates 175 grams of carbon emission produced for every mile traveled by the vehicle thereby reducing the carbon footprint.
Seoul City Transportation Information Centre (TOPIS) is the best example to consider.
Many times, the lighting, cooling, or heating is constantly provided, but the inefficient energy management leads to wastage of energy.
Be it in the transit or in the warehouse, the items are prone to unauthorized opening of the shipments that hurts the logistic service provider’s reputation and even sometimes results in a theft.
Fleet owners will tell you that managing a fleet is not an easy thing. There are so many factors involved. If there is a failure in any of these, the fleet could run into a loss. The competition is severe, and the margins are low. In such a situation proper management of the fleet is essential. Today fleet management apps are helping fleet owners properly manage their operations.
There are still some areas where improvement is necessary. Fleet management software alone is not enough to manage the fleet. You need to integrate different technologies with the software to make your operations more streamlined. We will see how GPS can help in maintaining the fleet in a better way.
1. What Is GPS?
Before we get into seeing how GPS can help to enhance the functioning of your fleet management software, we need to understand what GPS is. GPS expands as a Global Positioning System. It is used to find the exact position of an object on earth. GPS helps in tracking objects and finding the route to a particular place.
The GPS system consists of 24 satellites placed at 19,300 kilometers above the earth. All these satellites orbit around the earth once every 12 hours at 11,200 km per hour. At any point in time, there are four satellites in sight from earth.
Every satellite continuously broadcasts its position and time. Every GPS receiver takes the information from these satellites to calculate the exact location. This process is known as triangulation. It needs at least data from three satellites to get a correct positioning. But if there is information from four satellites, it will be more accurate.
Different GPS devices will give you the reading at different speeds. A car’s GPS device will provide the location faster than the one in a smartwatch. This depends on how powerful the receiver is. The speed depends on how quickly the receiver can establish a connection with the required number of satellites.
All GPS receivers require a direct path to the satellites to establish a connection. This is why GPS may not give the correct reading when you are inside a building. Smartphones and other mobile devices will also depend on wi-fi connections and cellular towers to provide the exact locations.
2. GPS Applications
There are many applications for GPS. As it is a method for locating and positioning it is useful for many purposes. A mobile app development company will find the use of GPS in many apps. We will see a few places where GPS is useful.
Tracking Vehicles
This is one of the common uses. You can track a vehicle fitted with a GPS device from anywhere.
Tracking Animals
This is another important use nowadays. Animals are fitted with GPS devices so that scientists can locate them easily for undertaking various studies.
Surveying
The technology is beneficial in surveying and redrawing maps. Any change of course of rivers or other land masses can be easily detected.
Law Enforcement
GPS helps law enforcement agencies to track criminals. They can track stolen vehicles using GPS.
Accident/Repair Support
When you are stuck on the road, you can call emergency numbers. Even if there is no internet or mobile connection, the emergency crew can find you using GPS on your smartphone.
Geo-Fencing
This application is very useful to know the entry or exit of a vehicle from a designated area. GPS helps to know the presence of a vehicle in that area.
Search
Of course, this is one of the most common uses. With your location, there are map applications which can find hotels, restaurants, hospitals or places of interest for you. This is very useful when traveling to new places.
Military
It was the US military which first developed the GPS. It is used by all armies across the world to know movements of troops and for navigation.
3. Fleet Management Systems
We started the article by saying we will see how GPS can influence fleet management. We have seen what GPS is and how it helps us in various ways. Before we look at the advantages of integrating GPS in fleet management software, let us see why we need fleet management systems.
With proper fleet management software, the fleet owners can manage the trucks in a better manner to give maximum productivity. With so many different entities to be handled, it needs good software to manage the fleet. It helps in the proper flow of information.
A good fleet management system helps in time management. This is very important as the trucks need to be in time to pick up the goods. Companies depend on the truck companies to deliver products on time to their customers.
Fuel management is vital for fleet owners. With so many trucks being on the road, even slight mismanagement can result in huge losses. Every cent saved on fuel is adding to the profit of the company. Proper recording and analysis are possible with good software. If there is any vehicle is not giving the required fuel efficiency it can be corrected immediately.
Having good fleet management systems will help the management to plan the regular maintenance of the vehicle. If the fleet owners can record all details of the vehicle and the parts, then it is easy to know when the vehicle should stop for maintenance. It will prevent breakdowns and subsequent losses.
A good app development company can create a mobile app. This makes it easy for customers to book their goods. It is also easy to make payments to the company. They can even know when the on-demand delivery of products will take place. This makes customers happy. When proper information is available to customers, they will stick with the company.
Fleet management helps in analyzing driver behavior. With the maintenance of proper records, the owners can know how each driver is handling his job. It will also help drivers to input their information about stops and loads transported. Good software will help to keep the drivers happy as there will be no delay in their payments.
A good fleet management software also helps in knowing the actual performance of each vehicle concerning fuel and spare parts. This helps in changing operation methods if needed.
- There are many elements in the truck industry, and so effective management is a must.
- Good software can help in bringing all entities together and giving you data to analyze.
- Fleet management software helps in better time management.
- Good software helps in better fuel management. It results in saving a lot of money.
- The company can plan timely maintenance of the vehicle.
- Customer service is much better when you have good software
- The software can help drivers maintain their records properly and get paid on time.
- A good fleet management system helps in knowing the performance of each vehicle.
4. Use Of GPS In Fleet Management
A fleet is always on the move. Your trucks are in places where you cannot see them. Once they have left on a trip, you have almost no control over them. There can be various drawbacks due to this. Even with a good fleet management software, unless you knew the details for sure, you can’t do much good.
Management of a fleet depends on knowing where your truck is, how much it traveled in a particular time slot, how many stops and starts it made and how well the driver drove the truck. If the information is not available, it is hardly possible to take any action. Depending on people to give this information is not practical anymore.
Integrating a GPS system into your fleet management software brings a lot of benefits. The information you get is enough to run your fleet in a much better manner. You don’t have to depend on human inputs. Let us see some of the benefits that GPS system can give you.
Global Telematics is poised to show rapid growth
From $12.56 billion in 2015 to $35.35 billion in 2020, the worldwide linked fleet market is anticipated to expand rapidly. As more commercial fleets realize the benefits of IoT / M2M fleet telematics, the company seeks more reliable connectivity across geographic fields with flexible rate plans and seamless coverage.
Onboard telematics solutions help truck fleets to overcome a wide variety of problems that threaten to inhibit cost-effective and effective management. New regulations are placing pressure on executives to comply, including tighter carbon emission rules as well as current driver safety rules. Legislation may mandate clean fleet requirements that may force firms to upgrade or even replace vehicles. The ever-increasing cost of fuel continues to cut margins.
There were around 11 million linked phones for fleet management globally at the end of 2013— by 2023, this number is anticipated to expand to 60 million. These telematics systems are becoming more complicated, extending to demands for mission-critical reliability, connectivity in distant regions. Across national borders, and innovative market differentiation from the natural need to handle location, routing, and fuel expenses.
Looking at fleet telematics alternatives and the most suitable connectivity you need, here are some things you should consider …
1.Longer Miles Driven Requires Better Technology:
One of the most significant cost savers for fleet management systems can be making dispatch more effective. Location-based techniques allow dispatchers to select the car nearest to freight pick-up and decrease the amount of driven non-billable miles. IoT / M2M solutions that integrate GPS with traffic overlays can calculate precise travel times that differ from a distance. Automatic dispatch can use real-time traffic updates to deliver the most effective paths.
2. More Directives Need Superior Connectivity:
IoT / M2M solutions that provide ongoing IP meetings across geographies and operators with’ always-on’ capacities can decrease latency and increase user experience consistency. Global telematics is a critical component of addressing multi-country and even intra-country procedures requirements. Long-haul drivers in the UK, for instance, face complex rules for driver logging. Any delays in transmitting driver log data can result in downtime of the driver and higher operating costs.
3. On-Board Systems Requires Better Integration:
Fleet management systems can include route optimization software, tire pressure monitoring systems, in-cab cameras, and other performance surveillance instruments, all of which need to work seamlessly together. To make company choices, the information these distinct sensors and applications monitor must be gathered, processed, and analyzed. Experienced providers of IoT / M2 M solutions should be in place, that can incorporate all the parts together with connectivity management.
Global Telematics Market to be Worth USD 248.64 Billion by 2023
The Global Telematics Market Report was published today by Netscribes, Inc., a worldwide market intelligence company. The worldwide telematics industry is anticipated to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 28.5% between 2017 and 2022 to achieve a global income for USD 233.24 billion by 2022, according to Netscribes.
An enhanced need to track vehicles in real-time and monitor driver behavior is anticipated, to drive the use of telematics technology, in conjunction with increasing demand for onboard infotainment. While the telematics industry is expected to grow worldwide positively, Netscribes points out that there is still a lack of knowledge. Among vehicle owners, the leading in opposition to bear extra expenses of installing new equipment in antique cars and vehicles. A significant section of vehicle owners is still maladaptive about data privacy issues for Usage-Based Insurance (UBI) businesses.
Some of the report’s main highlights are as follows:
- Approximately 80-85% of telematics solutions and devices, including infotainment and Usage-Based Insurance (UBI) for the automotive sector.
- Increasing customer purchasing power has resulted in a preference change for high-end cars (fitted with sophisticated telematics systems) rather than easy transportation machines.
- Governments in several nations have made it compulsory to have an onboard electronic recorder (EOBR) equipped with commercial vehicles, one of the main drivers of telematics acceptance among fleet firms.
Modern fleets are operated with more than one scheme, requiring platform-wide data sharing. In the form of GPS location and vehicle diagnostics information, modern cars store a significant quantity of information. Integrating this information into API-enabled software applications can streamline the process of information collection. Therefore, in the automotive telematics industry, API is gaining popularity.
A Healthy Competition
North America is the highest revenue-generating region for the automotive telematics industry. The telematics market is at a mature stage in countries like the US and Canada, where stable growth is forecasted until 2022. Countries such as China and India are competing to reach heights of the highest revenue-generating region for the automotive telematics industry.
Use GPS Tracking to establish a profound trust between Drivers and Fleet Managers.
There are a number of advantages that give themselves to healthier relationships and greater trust between drivers and managers.
However, those businesses which are just starting to use GPS tracking, will come across plenty of confusing situations and eventually a sense of tension in the workplace.
Yes, the initial phases sound tough, but it’s only short lived.
Step 1, Decide the type of monitoring or tracking device that suits you best to accomplish the target that you’ve set.
In case there is a theft, accident or some other misfortunate events, the device can produce precise data and ease your judgment on the truth, thus helping the honest drivers to prove their innocence.
This article will share the details you need to know before you start your wearable tech startup! Let this article be your guide!
