As haulage companies and operators come under growing cost pressure and environmental scrutiny, they are becoming increasingly interested in computer-supported fleet management systems on-board their vehicles.?
Scania has now introduced a new fleet management concept, creating three distinct packages of services to fit the varying needs of individual haulage companies, including weekly a e-mail report, in-depth analyses of vehicle and driver performance and tracking the location of each vehicle.
Scania Fleet Management is based on a little ‘black box’ called the Scania Communicator, which is installed on the truck and automatically gathers information from the vehicle, such as fuel consumption, driving style and braking behaviour. This information is then transmitted wirelessly to the office along with GPS positioning data.
With the help of this system, operators can keep track of exactly where their vehicles are, their fuel consumption, how they are being driven and when it is time for the next service . They can then use this information to improve their profitability and reduce their environmental impact. The transport operators can also examine information downloaded from the new generation of digital tachographs.
“There is great interest in fleet management solutions among transport companies and operators. They are all extremely cost-conscious and are looking at every opportunity to improve efficiency. Because fuel often accounts for one third of their total costs, all fuel savings represent money that goes straight into their pockets,” says Johan Berglund, head of Fleet Management at Scania.