CXOToday has engaged in an exclusive interview with Dr. Rishi Bhatnagar, President, Aeris Communications.
- How does telematics work?
Telematics is a type of communication technology specifically for the automobile industry that is based on information or data relayed to and generated from the vehicle via wireless networks. It works by using GPS and on-board diagnostics (OBD) to track the movements of vehicles, machinery, and other assets and display that data on a digital map. The telematics device retrieves data produced by the vehicle, such as GPS position, speed, information about engine lights, and defects. The device’s built-in accelerometer measures the G-force. The data is then uploaded to the cloud by the telematics device.
With the aid of a telematics device and other linked devices or sensors, a massive amount of data can be collected and analysed, including the use of a seat belt, vehicle speed and fuel consumption. To report and analyse the data, it is finally decoded and imported into the fleet management. Once the data has been uploaded, the fleet manager can access it 24×7, anytime, anywhere via the telematics system’s software, the specific operation of which may differ depending on the telematics solution used.
Today, telematics has been widely adopted in a wide variety of industries like Courier and delivery companies, transportation, logistics, etc since it provides businesses with information about vehicle and driver performance. This has not only simplified fleet management processes but also ensured efficiency and productivity.
- How can fleet owners use telematics and what are the benefits?
Telematics is a tool that fleet owners can use to collect data utilizing sensors, GPS, and other diagnostic codes. It helps fleet owners to get information about the real-time engine diagnostics, vehicle location, vehicle activity, and driver conduct. Thus, the technology enables fleet managers to remotely manage their assets through software platforms. There are numerous benefits to using telematics for fleet operations, including:
- Reduced maintenance cost: Telematics save on maintenance costs because it keeps a track of a vehicle’s mileage and usage patterns. Through telematics, fleet managers can understand the exact time when the vehicles need to be serviced, thus avoiding the cost of repairing or replacing parts that haven’t yet reached the end of their lifespan. By enabling managers to gain better insight into the health and status of their fleet, telematics systems keep maintenance costs down and prolong the life of vehicles.
- Improved payroll administration: By precisely recording the time a vehicle starts each day until it shuts down, fleet managers can keep an exact, automatic record of how long an employee worked. In addition to saving time by automating the manual matching of timesheets to job tickets, this also assists business owners in ensuring that employees are paid appropriately for the hours they work.
- Enhanced efficiency and safety: Telematics allow the fleet manager to have real-time communication with the driver. Besides building a relationship of trust and mutual honesty between the driver and the fleet owner, it also provides the driver with the assurance that in case of trouble, the fleet manager will be there to assist. Moreover, the Driver Behaviour update that the fleet manager receives keep the drivers in check making sure that they are on schedule and are driving efficiently which reduces the risks on road.
- Why does fleets need to be connected?
Once vehicles are connected, rich GPS and on-board diagnostics (OBD) data can be processed and presented on an online fleet management platform. Modern dashboards that display vehicle data allow fleet managers to remotely manage their fleets by seeing information such as location, health status, speed, fuel consumption, temperature, tire pressure, and much more. Fleet managers can use this information to make critical business decisions, measure the effectiveness of those decisions and benchmark performance against similar fleets.
It is likely that connected fleet technology will be seamlessly integrated into completely autonomous vehicle technology in the future. The transition from the human-driven vehicles towards fully autonomous, driverless, technology will result into fewer drivers hitting the roads to carry cargo and traffic being supervised by autonomous programs. This will enable fleet management to become an even more important task within transport-oriented companies. The technology can effectively survey the status and health of its company vehicles via IoT. While route optimization does a decent job, connected vehicle technology can be used to align the process and simultaneously find the perfect route to avoid traffic.
- How can digitisation increase connectivity?
Digitizing business functions provides the chance to reallocate resources and focus more on important aspects of the fleet management role. When time spent is less on managing admin tasks and more on customers, one can dedicate more time on providing better service and enhanced customer experience while driving productivity and enabling operational efficiencies. By choosing to digitalise tasks like expense management, selecting and dispatching drivers for each job, and sending updates to customers, more efforts can be used into growing the business. For instance, digital fleet management is required to get the vehicles to the correct addresses at the right time, with the lowest mileage possible or identify the best driver for each job. It also helps to coordinate with your team as it is important to communicate clearly to each one in case your schedule does not match as per the plan and last-minute changes are required. Moreover, it also helps the drivers to operate their vehicles and provide them with key data that can help discourage speeding, excessive accelerating, and sudden braking. Digitisation also have a positive impact on fleet managers as it provides an opportunity to move away from manual data and focus on strategic decisions that can have a lasting impact on income and profit.
- How else can fleets guarantee that their telematics systems are working properly and without interruptions?
First and foremost, it’s crucial that your telematics service provider collaborates with an IoT expert that offers first-rate customer support. Aeris Communications has the proven ability and decades of experience in enabling fleet operators operate connected fleet. We know how to make sure that the IoT devices are operating with the specified network, following cellular best practices, and dealing automatically with any “edge” circumstances to make that connection as robust and dependable as possible. As a result, our end-user fleet customers have a better experience, and everything runs much more smoothly. We have engineers who are IoT specialists with in-depth understanding of how telecom networks and device module operations work. Aeris is exceptionally well-positioned to provide end-to-end fleet telematics services with its own IoT devices, connectivity and telematics solution and services. We can pinpoint where a device is primarily utilized by observing how it behaves on the network, how it communicates with other components of the network, and how it interacts with the core network where we operate.
- How is Aeris assisting customers when it comes to high data as more fleets implement dashcams and video telematics to safeguard themselves and their drivers?
We spent a lot of time and effort creating a high-data solution specifically for the demands of suppliers of video telematics services. When it comes to high-data dashcam-compatible SIMs, Aeris High Data is unusual in that it offers high-quality data at a reasonable price. This is especially crucial because fleets are quickly adopting dashcam solutions to maximize cost savings, improve fleet management, and stop fraudulent insurance claims. High-data SIMs are necessary to support this. Additionally, they are crucial to increase security, abide by rules, prevent theft, and reduce insurance costs for vehicles. As an example, the majority of our dashcam customers are using 100–200 times more data than those who use standard telematics. Therefore, our high-data solution enables telematics service providers to target businesses that operate across various nations and require the most in-depth insights.
