March 2010, Work Truck - Feature
Telematics Use Grows in Work Truck Fleets
From tracking preventive maintenance to reducing vehicle idling and fuel consumption, truck-based fleets are adding telematics devices to their fleet vehicles to improve operations.
By Lauren Fletcher
Telematics use is growing in work truck fleets. Advancing telematics technology assists truck fleet managers in tracking vehicles, reducing fuel consumption and idling, and ensuring vehicles are properly utilized and maintained.
Several truck fleet managers spoke with Work Truck to share how telematics has made a difference in their fleets.
Telematics Verifies Fleet Status
For the past year, Nexus IS has utilized the Qube2 GPS system from Navman Wireless for its fleet of mainly light-duty pickups. Partnered with technology industry leaders Cisco Systems, NEC Unified Solutions, and Microsoft, the Valencia, Calif.-based Nexus IS offers integrated voice, video, data, and convergence solutions throughout the U.S.
"The system has become an integral part of our business process. We use Navman Wireless to verify status of our fleet at the start of the service day as well as throughout the day as we monitor commitments," said Tom Lyon, fleet manager for Nexus IS. "We routinely use reports to provide clients with verification of arrival and departure time of our vehicles and technicians."
According to Lyon, the system was initially opposed by nearly 100 percent of the field service staff.
"It helped identify problem areas in our business and offered specific data used in taking corrective actions. Over time, it has become a routine and accepted tool and provided a better business process for our customers," noted Lyon. "We are a far better field service organization as a result. It also offers terrific selling tools when we demo the solution for potential clients. It gives the customer more assurances."