However, in addition to the undoubted increased running efficiencies fleet operators gain, a substantial bonus may be also obtained by providing a history of vehicle tracking recorded data showing enhanced fleet safety and security to fleet insurers. Proof of driving behaviour standards and reduced levels of risk may, in a number of instances, be evaluated in reducing a service premium.

Several examples of where working partnerships between telematics providers and insurance groups have been developed to enable the fleet client to both install an asset tracking system and demonstrate high levels of company driving behaviour, which would be taken into consideration when negotiating future premiums.

By proactively employing historical data within an unified solution, which is also linked with existing driver characteristics, experience and training, a programme of sympathetic change behaviour may be supported for continuous reinforcement.

Following on from the health and safety risk assessments of employees while they are at work under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the Corporate Manslaughter Bill, 2003, introduced the new offence of ‘Corporate Killing’, which places the responsibility on employer actions that lead to death or serious injury.

The professional Fleet industry employers recognise their serious Duty Of Care remit, which gives them responsibility over driver behaviour and by extension, company safety and insurance issues at all times, on and off premises.

The recent advances in telematics technology can effectively ensure a mobile worker solution, such as a customised GPS tracking system, will supply crucial data reports to itemise inefficiencies and thus, lead to the modification of repeated unwanted driver behaviours.

As the fuel price gradient rises in the current economic climate, fleet operating businesses will be investigating a web based gps vehicle tracking system that can show real long term savings and drive productivity with the focus on specific service oriented options of installing driver feedback units, web-based coaching and real-time training.

The opportunity to reduce insurance premiums will, no doubt, be an instantly attractive proposition in combination with the added-value benefits of offering fleet enterprises vehicle tracking technology to improve driver behaviour, reduce operational and fuel costs, optimise productivity and improve customer service.

To combat traffic congestion some cities around the world have implemented road space rationing. São Paulo in Brazil is a city that is well known for having some of the world’s worst traffic jams.

Since 1996 it has employed road space rationing (rodízio veicular) to limit the number of vehicles on its roads, with varying degrees of success. There is a similar scheme operating in Mexico City and London is planning exclusion zone restrictions for the 2012 Olympics.

Drivers caught breaking these restrictions face stiff penalties, fines and demerit points. It also works against company policies that encourage environmentally-friendly behavior and a green fleet image.

But complying with road space rationing can pose a significant challenge for large fleets responsible for routing hundreds, or even thousands, of vehicles around the city every day.

• Road space rationing compliance – How can they make sure drivers are complying with road space rationing?
• Reduced mileage – How can they assist drivers to take the most optimised route while still complying with the restrictions?
• Automated routing – How does their route planning software automatically restricts certain streets based on the vehicle’s plate number?
• Time of day compliance – Can they ensure their routing software complies with time of day restrictions? In some situations, restrictions are for certain times of the day, normally peak hour traffic. In São Paulo, vehicle restrictions apply Monday to Friday from 7am to 10am, and 5pm to 8pm.

Fleets needs a powerful yet flexible route planning solution that can be customised to comply with local routing restrictions such as truck attributes, traffic congestion and, in this case, road space rationing. The need for good systems only increases as fleet sizes grow and route restrictions become more complicated.

Service fleet successfully meets road space rationing

Telogis have worked with several large enterprises to help them overcome the challenges faced by routing restrictions. One particular fleet in the service industry is based in São Paulo, and faces the issues of road space rationing, needing to restrict the routes taken by vehicles with specific plate numbers at certain times of the day.

Telogis worked with this fleet to create exclusion zones that covered the area dictated by the CET, as well as specifying the time the exclusion applied, in this case from 7am to 10am, and 5pm to 8pm.

The restrictions applied to registration plates that ended with certain numbers, and for specific days. By assigning groups of vehicles with the given plate number to the exclusion zone, the fleet automated compliant route planning for all their vehicles, regardless of the day of the week.

Telogis Route uses these exclusion zones when building routes, complying with the road space rationing constraints.

Exclusion zones save time, money, and trees

Complying with road space rationing is a challenge for fleets of any size but poses an extremely difficult obstacle for large fleets, particularly service-based fleets that are covering a lot of miles and completing multiple jobs every day.

Fortunately Telogis Route makes it easy. Setup exclusion zones, enter the details of the restriction and the vehicles it applies to, and the route planning software takes care of the rest.

This means fleets are spending a lot less time planning routes for their fleet drivers, while complying with green initiatives and saving money on infringements for violating the road space rationing restrictions. And saving time and money, while going green, is something that Telogis solutions are doing for fleets all around the world with its unique, web-based platform that is revolutionising fleet management everywhere.

Professional fleets, such as mobile technicians, travelling sales people and pharmaceutical consultants, have their own unique challenges when it comes to fleet management and MRM.

Unlike some fleets that are dedicated commercial vehicles, such as pick-ups, boom trucks or delivery vans, professional fleets are often made up of vehicles that are used privately, either as a benefit for the employee, or the vehicle is owned by the employee who receives a mileage allowance. This presents company owners with management challenges that can be time-consuming, risky, difficult to monitor and expensive.

How can managers successfully deal with the challenges of running a professional fleet, meeting key business goals without it taking too much time?

• Keeping mobile workers safe during business hours
• Ensure workers are operating efficiently, minimising side trips and reducing windshield time
• Accurately report personal vs. business mileage to prevent overpayments
• Track and audit fuel card purchases to ensure it is only used with the designated vehicle
• Block location reporting outside of business hours
• Provide efficient routing, work orders and turn-by-turn navigation direct to a driver’s PND

Is there a solution that can help professional fleets meet all these objectives and not create excessive demands on a manager’s time?

Smarter fleet management in less time

If you’re a manager you likely know that there are things you could be doing to improve the productivity or profitability of your team.

But you just don’t have the time.

Traditional management systems are often too rigid, too complicated or require managers to scan pages of complicated reports to identify hidden expenses, unsafe behavior or revenue opportunities. With no simple way to manage and monitor a mobile workforce of thousands, operating costs can balloon and risky business practices are left unchecked. That is until a major incident, accident or financial audit forces management to take a hard line, and launch an expensive and time-consuming internal investigation.

Fortunately, there’s a much more cost-effective solution that addresses small problems before they become a big problem. And it doesn’t require managers to stay glued to a screen all day or pore through pages of boring reports.

Click to enlarge

For example, a manager may only want to be notified of excessive speeding, in which case an instant alert can be set to trigger if a driver exceeds the posted speed limit by a specified threshold for a certain length of time. In addition, exceptions can be tagged as normal, major or critical, allowing managers to determine the relative importance of alerts. Excessive mileage may not be as much of a concern as airbag deployment.

Fleet managers don’t have to wait for a report to act on urgent issues. A remote worker using a discreet panic button can send an alert direct to the acting manager’s mobile phone, allowing rapid response to the employee’s call for help. Late arrival notifications can be handled by dispatch, as they happen, to provide customers with proactive service, advising them of the driver’s new ETA or dispatching a different driver.

It’s also easier for fleet managers who are stretched for time to keep on top of vehicle maintenance, with instant alerts on missed maintenance or failed inspections, to help keep workers safe, and minimise liability claims for poorly maintained cars.

Telogis – A single, integrated web-based platform

In the search for the best software solution, a lot of businesses spend a significant amount of time evaluating, comparing and reviewing different programs, only to end up dealing with several different vendors to tackle one problem. Telogis simplifies the situation by providing professional fleets with a single, integrated web-based platform that covers all their fleet management needs, from high-level overview and trend analysis down to the day-to-day dispatch and ad hoc work order handling.

It runs on the powerful Telogis Cloud, secure web servers that look after your data and provide you with convenient access wherever and whenever you need it. As a SaaS solution it greatly reduces IT costs for your business, offers rapid roll-out and avoids the need for backups or upgrade downtime.

And even though it offers a complete end-to-end solution for managing a professional fleet, it’s flexible enough to easily integrate with your back office enterprise systems such as HR or payroll, with the aid of API integration tools available from Telogis.

Whatever way you look at it, Telogis is the scalable, flexible solution professional fleets need to manage their mobile workforce – efficiently, effectively and without having to look over someone’s shoulder the whole day.

When Eric Schmidt recently spoke to the press about the future of mobile commerce he painted an almost sci-fi picture of the simple process of buying a pair of pants. And much of it links back to location-based services, an industry with huge growth potential and something that will play a big part in future consumer applications.

Location-based services and mobile commerce = Big opportunities

It’s no surprise that a lot of people in the industry are talking up the future of LBS, particularly with the advancement of technologies such as NFC (Near Field Communication) that can be used for things such as “no-touch” electronic payments. Those in the know realize that LBS presents a huge opportunity for both value-added services to end-user consumers as well as massive marketing opportunities for businesses who operate retail outlets.

A lot of technology providers are tapping in to the big opportunities that LBS and other related technology offers from social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare to hardware makers like Apple and Nokia. They know that LBS has great potential to generate sales, create new customers, improve customer loyalty and increase convenience and efficiency for the end-user.

These opportunities are only now becoming reality as the different technologies evolve and start to penetrate the mainstream. This is another example of how GPS systems are continuing to grow and adapt along with other developments such as NFC and increasingly widespread internet connectivity (hopefully not at the expense of disrupting GPS) to create user-friendly applications that take advantage of the one thing GPS can tell them – your exact location.

So how can you take advantage of this growing interest in GPS-based applications, and profit from this exciting software goldmine?

Did you know you can build your own LBS application?

If you thought that building a revolutionary LBS application was limited to technical wizards working in Silicon Valley then think again. Telogis have made available a free Software Developers Kit (SDK), known as Telogis GeoBase, to allow anyone to build their own mapping application.

It currently has map data for over 40 countries and a sample application is included to make it easy for even hobby developers to get started and create their own GPS-enabled map application.

Using GeoBase, developers have created software applications worth millions of dollars, simply by tapping in to the power of GPS and the growing popularity of LBS applications.

Download Telogis GeoBase

You might already have an idea for a ‘killer app’ or you might be waiting for that million dollar idea to hit you, but all that’s limiting you is your imagination. Brainstorm away, and if you need some help or inspiration, browse the list of technology partners who can work with your GeoBase application to create a valuable application for end users.

Location-Based services will drive the future of retail

GPS is evolving and smart technology providers are continually seeing increased opportunities to tap into location-based services, as both a useful service to consumers (“Where’s the closest clothing store that will give me a discount on my Smith’s card?”) and a great way for retailers to draw in extra customers (Broadcast to all subscribed mobile devices to check-in to a nearby store for an exclusive bonus).

Exactly how this technology will be used remains to be seen, but with SDKs such as Telogis GeoBase allowing anyone around the world to build their own mapping application the future is wide-open!

The service industry covers a wide range of different businesses – from pest control to food & beverage deliveries – but one thing they have in common is that their level of service can make or break them. It can be the one thing that elevates them above the competition, making them the obvious choice for potential customers.

Conversely, bad service can lead to their undoing, as word spreads (particularly through viral social media channels) of their inability to meet targets or keep their promises.

What are Service Level Agreements (SLAs)?

If you’re in the service industry then you’re most likely familiar with SLAs. SLAs are often part of a sales contract between the service provider and the client, outlining what’s expected of the provider.

For example, a cleaning firm may agree to service a company’s offices on Sundays and Wednesdays. It may also be stipulated that the building can only be accessed for cleaning between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m., and stipulate that background checks are required for any workers on site. The work may also include exterior building cleaning, which requires a bucket truck. The more detailed an SLA, the more involved (and potentially lucrative) servicing the contract becomes.

So how can service managers stay on top of SLAs, including complex or detailed agreements, without taking up too much time or inadvertently violating the terms, and potentially losing the contract?

Managing SLAs the Smart Way

SLAs can potentially be a huge headache for service-based businesses, but they don’t have to be. Managed correctly they can actually be a big selling point for your company, giving you a unique point of differentiation, and lifting your service standards even higher as you easily accommodate the fussiest of clients.

To manage SLAs effectively it’s important to have a system that is user-friendly, fast and flexible. Every client will have different requirements or preferences. Multiply that by hundreds of customers and you can easily see how managing SLAs without a good system would be a time-consuming nightmare.

How can you handle customer service requirements efficiently and effectively?

Telogis has been using location-based intelligence to help fleets operate more profitably for years. Telogis Fleet® provides a real-time dashboard to monitor and manage mobile assets, whileTelogis Route® gives fleet managers the tools they need to easily plan future fleet activities, balance workloads and create optimised routes.

Now there’s a new kid on the block – Telogis Progression®. Progression is an advanced, comprehensive dispatch and customer management tool that marries the future planning of Telogis Route with the real-time management of Telogis Fleet. It’s a powerful, dynamic web-based tool, which will benefit your business in several ways:

Customer-focused: The lifeblood of your business is your client base; you simply don’t exist without them. So it makes sense to make sure your systems are focused squarely on keeping them happy. Telogis Progression provides plenty of scope to accommodate the needs of your customers, including multiple shifts, service windows, driver or vehicle attributes.

Measurable: It’s one thing to have a plan, but if you have no idea whether you’re hitting your target or not then a plan is just a plan. Telogis Progression can not only show you whether your fleet drivers met their targets last week or yesterday, but right now – in real-time. This gives you the added advantage of being able to correct service issues before they affect the client.

Flexible: The one thing about plans is that you can be rest assured something will happen that will interfere with them – usually something unexpected that was overlooked in the planning phase. Telogis Progression provides plenty of flexibility, allowing you to change tactics quickly, ensuring the operation stays on track. Maybe a driver is sick, a vehicle has broken down or an urgent job has arisen. Progression will help you make the best decision about which driver to assign and how to manage the remaining work orders.

Single Platform: If your staff are currently wrestling with multiple applications to handle dispatch, route planning and work order management then they will love you for introducing them to Telogis Progression. Progression means that Telogis is the only vendor to deliver a complete SaaS offering that includes seamless job creation, routing, fleet management and monitoring, and real-time communication with the driver.

Dynamic: The service industry is often unpredictable, with changes happening by the minute. Customers change their minds at the last minute, or emergency jobs come up that require your urgent attention. With Telogis Progression you have a real-time view of your fleet that allows you to reassign resources efficiently or add new jobs, instantly dispatching them to multiple mobile devices, or to a work order management system using the available jobs API.

Telogis Progression makes SLAs Easier and more Measurable

Telogis Progression take much of the headache out of managing SLAs and accommodating client service requirements, and it also allows managers to easily see how the entire fleet is performing against service targets, including on-time or late arrivals.

Color-coded dashboards and progress charts highlight potential problems or service failures across the entire fleet, allowing managers to take corrective action, reassign mobile workers and keep customers informed while managing expectations.

And it just gets better over time as you use the predictive analysis feature. The system takes into account new information like route restrictions or difficult customer access, and uses this data to make future planning even more accurate and match the real-world conditions your fleet operates under.

Register for a free online demonstration of Telogis Progression, and put the service back into service level agreements.

Telogis’ next generation of fleet management software gives fleet managers and business owners greater flexibility in configuring reports to fit the exact needs of their industry, size and type of fleet; features expanded functionality and scalability for monitoring high-value asset utilisation, theft and misuse

• Telogis Fleet 9 integrates seamlessly with Telogis Route, Telogis Progression and Telogis Mobile to make Telogis the only company that provides strategic and dynamic routing, real-time work order management, telematics and mobile integration on a single SaaS platform.
• Ad Hoc Reporting allows users to create reports defined by the specific data elements most applicable to their fleet and work; strength of the Telogis Cloud allows for massive reports to be built, configured and run in real time without delays.
• A new Terminology Module allows users to change terms and wording throughout the system to match their company’s internal nomenclature, and eases localisation in new international markets.
• Expands the safety, security and productivity capabilities with a new InSight Alert Engine that allows users to define an alert based on any and all parameters that exist in the system, including driver behaviour and vehicle performance.
• Telogis Asset helps ensure the security of high-value assets and helps eliminate replacement costs, damages and higher insurance premiums. Telogis Asset integrates with Telogis Fleet so that assets and vehicles can be viewed on a single map.

Telogis, the platform for location intelligence, introduces Telogis Fleet 9: the industry’s most reliable and scalable fleet management software. Telogis’ Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) fleet management system drives rapid return on investment for fleets of all sizes through improved productivity and operational streamlining. Telogis Fleet 9 provides businesses with new configurable reporting and alerting options designed to allow the fleet manager to tailor the system to their specific needs, as well as advanced asset utilisation and security capabilities that ensure the productivity and protection of high-value assets.

These new elements build on a platform that already offers a wide range of tools to better manage a company’s mobile assets, including real-time traffic and weather, fuel card management, advanced compliance reporting, extensive vehicle histories and personnel management functions. Telogis Fleet 9 supports a variety of vehicle and equipment types, and integrates seamlessly with Telogis Route, Telogis Progression and Telogis Mobile to provide strategic and dynamic routing, real-time work order management, telematics and mobile integration on a single platform.

“The next generation of Telogis Fleet is designed to give the user a completely unique fleet management experience that best aligns with their business needs,” says Sean McCormick, product manager, Telogis. “Other applications on the market provide more rigid reporting and alerting mechanisms that leave the organisation confined to the functions that the system offers. With Telogis Fleet 9, we are putting that power into the user’s hands by providing tools that allow easy and fast customisation, and offer visually relevant information and data.”

Telogis Fleet 9 features new configurable reporting functions and settings designed to tailor the system to each unique business model. Key new capabilities include:

• Ad Hoc Reporting – Telematics systems gather data that is not always relevant to every organisation. Telogis Fleet 9 and Ad Hoc Reporting allow the user to define the data elements that they want to see and to organise them in a way that is the most logical way for their operation. Backed by the massive computing power of the Telogis Cloud, Telogis Fleet 9 is able to create and run these reports in real time.
• Terminology Module – Every organisation has its own jargon and terminology. Telogis Fleet 9 lets the user go into the system and rename key terms to match internal nomenclature (“driver” becomes “field technician,” “Van 1” becomes “Regional Route 1,” etc.).
• InSight Alerting Engine – The new Telogis Fleet 9 InSight alerting engine allows the user to create unique alerts based on almost every piece of data that the system collects. For instance, when a vehicle’s windscreen wipers are turned on, an alert can be sent to the fleet manager that it is currently raining at the vehicle’s location.
• Layers – Layers allows organisations to quickly and easily integrate unique GIS layer data into Telogis Fleet. This means that users can easily locate relevant locations in their company infrastructure that do not appear on standard maps, such as telegraph and utility poles, oil wells, gas and water lines, land use grids, and forestry and parcel data.

Telogis Fleet 9 also benefits from the new advanced features of Telogis Asset, including asset-specific alerts and reporting functions that provide greater visibility as to how each asset is being used in the field. Users have the ability to view all assets in a single view, customise data by asset type and integrate that information into larger fleet-wide reports — an especially important feature in large, mixed fleets (trucks, heavy equipment, trailers, site equipment). Advanced loss prevention and utilisation monitoring tools also protect assets from theft and misuse.

“Telogis’ asset solution not only ensures the security of your high-value assets, it also helps eliminate replacement costs, damages, and higher insurance premiums,” says Jeffrey Cohen, vice president, Asset & Security Solutions, Telogis. “It also allows companies to maximise asset utilisation and optimally deploy resources based on real-time information that shows how vehicles, equipment and tools are being used in the field.”

For more information on Telogis Fleet 9 and the complete platform of Telogis location-based solutions, visit www.Telogis.co.uk

About Telogis

Telogis Inc., the platform for location intelligence, is dedicated to enhancing the value of its customers’ businesses through intelligent integration of location technology, information and services.

Telogis was established in 2001 and is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, Calif., with offices in Europe and Latin America as well as development centers in Austin, Texas, and Christchurch, New Zealand. Telogis’ products and services are used and distributed in more than 60 countries worldwide.

Telogis has been established in the UK since 2010, and already has several customers using its Telogis GeoBase geospatial platform.