One of the biggest costs of a transportation company is fuel, hence it is good to have an idea about how it is managed within a firm. Let’s have a closer look at some key functions of a good telematics system to save operating costs.
The adoption of a telematics system is usually driven by the pursuit of reduction and optimization of running costs. The most efficient way is to combine a telematics system with other software, resulting in an automated integration and followingly lower administrative cost and an overall speed increase of internal processes. Let’s have a closer look at some key functions of a good telematics system.
One of the biggest costs of a transportation company is fuel, hence it is good to have an idea about how it is managed within a firm.
A reduction in fuel consumption can be achieved by proper handling of a vehicle. A driving style can be evaluated using sophisticated apps like PERFECTDRIVE or DRIVECHECK. Those apps use diagnostics gathered through an FMS device within a vehicle, evaluating dozens of characteristics. From those, there are 10 key ones that are being tracked:
Those values form an overall driver evaluation which can be useful in determining whether a driver handles a vehicle in an economic manner or should be educated on the topic of efficient driving.
Lower expenditures on fuel can be also achieved through the purchase of the cheapest fuel. The question is, how to effectively navigate drivers to the cheapest refuelling stations? This can be achieved through the “refuelling directive”. A dispatcher manages the list of refuelling stations, choosing which ones are optimal in order to minimise the fuel expenditures.
Clients using Eurowag fuel cards can take advantage of an automatic refueling log import. It is possible to upload into the system practically any refueling records, but also other expenditures tied to a vehicle. This results in a comprehensive summary that can be compared to FMS data or an external measuring device in a vehicle’s tank. The fuel control serves as a tool for monitoring whether all fuel ended in a vehicle’s tank and what was the overall fuel consumption.
If you suspect that there has been an unauthorised manipulation with fuel, it is possible to track in real time the amount of fuel in a tank, possibly use the “suspicious fuel loss” database, which tracks sudden decreases of fuel in a tank.
There are many tasks to be completed in order to manage a fleet efficiently. From vehicle maintenance to drivers training, CRW and first aid kits expiration dates control. In Webdispecink, it is possible to schedule tasks, which are required to be completed within a deadline or after meeting a specific parameter, e.g. a certain amount of driving time. The system will automatically remind that a certain task is pending.
The calculation of diets is a rather difficult administrative task. Knowing the movement of a vehicle in individual countries, it is possible to calculate the diets fully automatically without the need to communicate with the driver.
Thanks to monitoring a driver's status, Webdispecink is able to calculate the remaining performance of a driver. That is crucial in choosing the drivers and figuring out the ETA.
For the calculation of salary, it is crucial to know the number of worked hours and days. It is necessary to know, whether a driver worked at night, in a different country, and so on. The spreadsheet “Worked hours” provides managers with a precise summary of worked hours, downtimes, and emergencies.
Meet the required frequency of tachograph (every 90 days) and drivers’ cards (every 28 days) archiving can be difficult, especially in case of long gaps between vehicles returning to the depot. Webdispecink provides an automatic backup of DDD and ESM files, done remotely without the need of any action from the driver or the dispatcher.
While scheduling the freight forwarding, many issues can arise regarding the foreknowledge of individual dispatchers (i.e. in case they work shifts) or drivers themselves (i.e. the exact route determination). Therefore, the Webdispecink system allows for detailed schedules to be created. The system generates a comprehensive schedule, tracks the route, watches after, and sends alarms in case of a vehicle leaving the set route, watches the temperature, and more. All data is available to all dispatchers and if sent via WD Fleet 3D, drivers can access it, too.
Drivers are not in direct contact with the rest of the company. Therefore, it is necessary to communicate with them via phone, SMS, e-mails. However, it is more efficient to equip the drivers with a tablet using WD Fleet 3D, which provides features such as:
Telematics systems are able to perform a wide range of tasks, but sometimes it can be difficult to process this amount of information. Webdispecink has a sophisticated API interface, which allows for a data transfer to other software, such as:
