2 ways smart fleet tech is getting more efficient
It comes as no surprise that fleet telematics is not only gaining popularity, but also becoming the standard for improving supply chain efficiency while ensuring fleet operator safety. The global fleet telematics market is expected to grow to $75 billion by 2025, according to McKinsey. Additionally, at least 15% of fleet vehicles now come with telematics installed as standard.
However, while there’s no questioning the growth of fleet telematics or its benefits for companies, current fleet management technologies don’t effectively track ancillary assets in relation to service vehicles and their drivers. As it stands, most fleet managers face the challenge of piecing together costly standalone solutions that don’t tie into their main service tracking applications. Consequently, organizations have all the tracking data available at their fingertips but lack the unified insights they actually need to determine whether a driver is exhibiting risky behavior, if an asset is delivered on time or if an asset is missing.
Fortunately, fleet tech is getting smarter, allowing fleets of all types to track a wide range of assets with full visibility, edge intelligence, and custom solutions that are more integrated and at a lower cost than traditional cellular-based solutions. In addition, these new IoT technologies not only give drivers more visibility across their inventories, but they also help organizations track fleet operators to mitigate liabilities and improve overall driver safety. In short, the smarter fleet management tech becomes, the higher the efficiencies your company can yield including saved time, labor and costs.
Here are two ways that fleet tech is getting smarter, resulting in more efficiencies for organizations than ever before.
Smart video captures the data you actually need
The majority of fleet operators use video to capture risky driver behavior or other events, like the loss or impairment of a vehicle. Whether it’s distracted or drowsy driving or the fault of a third party, it’s critical for fleet operators and managers to have video data as forensic evidence to analyze incidents and mitigate future ones. In fact, by allowing companies to identify and manage risky driver behavior, fleet tech systems with video incorporated can reduce preventable accidents by 20 to 30%.
However, many AI companies tout video products that capture 24/7 real-time footage for fleet management. The problem with constant video streaming is the sheer horsepower and time it takes to analyze this real-time data, not to mention the costs to support streaming. To put it simply, think of all the wasted time and energy it would take you to comb through reams of video just to pinpoint the one moment that actually reveals the cause of a vehicle accident.
Instead, smarter video cameras capture only the data you need in the event of an incident. Rather than constantly running, modern smart video cameras can be triggered by driver behaviors that might cause an accident, such as speeding, stop sign violations, turning too sharply, tailgating and harsh braking.
With these features, you only have to analyze the video data that actually captures when and how the incident happened, rather than sit through hours of irrelevant video footage. By having relevant data that yields actionable intelligence, you can improve overall driver safety and efficiency and save time, energy and costs all while mitigating future incidents.
Integration helps knit the data together
Here’s something that may seem to contradict my previous points. It doesn’t matter how smart your fleet tech is: if your technology solutions don’t help you quickly connect the dots to determine whether an asset was lost in delivery or identify risky driver behavior, it doesn’t do anyone any good.
That’s why integration is paramount to effectively harnessing all the data fleet management tech can yield. Whether it’s rich video content or sensors tracking assets, you need a way to knit all of that data together in one place that’s easy to view. Additionally, rather than having to spend too much on piecemeal solutions, you need the ability to integrate your fleet tech with other back-end ERP systems as well as current fleet management systems.
Essentially, you need the option to bundle your smart sensors, video and other fleet management tech into one, simple, web-based fleet and asset management application. Without integration, it doesn’t matter how sophisticated your IoT tech is; you’ll never be able to leverage actionable insights or efficiencies from fleet telematics.
As fleet management technologies get smarter, organizations will see greater ROI through faster time to market, improved productivity, and cost savings as well as many more competitive advantages in today’s evolving landscape. However, smarter video and integration will be key to realizing the full potential of all that fleet telematics offer.
All IoT Agenda network contributors are responsible for the content and accuracy of their posts. Opinions are of the writers and do not necessarily convey the thoughts of IoT Agenda.