In the world we live in, there are two ways to solve a problem related to machines and vehicles. One is by manually skimming through a checklist, and giving each entity a check.
This has been the flawless method that has been used for many years. It is systemic but time-consuming. With the advancement of tech, this is now redundant.
A service or maintenance station, even the smallest of them, use an electronic device to gauge the health of your vehicles. These connect with the electronics of the vehicle and feed performance information in real-time. Now with the boom of IoTs, this application has become an everyday quality of fleets.
Fleet operators all over the world are looking for ways to make their operations a lot faster and smoother. The medium of automation is one way to ensure there is an error-free way to check fleet health. It also allows you to keep an eye out for the safety of the driver and the vehicles.
The power of automation allows companies to derive more out of their fleet and churn higher profits. The industry has seen a considerable fall a few years back with discouraging numbers in interest and employment.
All of these shortcomings began to resolve with the incorporation of tech. The roads are a much safer place now. It has also been useful in enhancing the working conditions of drivers and fleet managers.
What Problems Can IoT fix?
IoT or ‘internet of things’ are small devices that work using wifi or Bluetooth features that feed live data or help control actions remotely. These are a great way to ensure optimal power is consumed by goods or to gain remote access and automate functions.
In the ecosystem of fleet management, the use of IoT has helped in a few ways. The first is in improving compliance and safety regulations. When paired with the electronics of the fleet, these devices can feed real-time information about the hours driven and keep a check on the driver’s fatigue and safety.
These devices can also help improve the machines’ longevity. By connecting an IoT reader to the engine, the data from each of the parts can be computed onto a single dashboard.
This helps you assess your fleet’s health better. Factors like fuel and power consumption, engine strengths, oil levels, etc. can be automated in this way.
Another important use is on the consumer front. The IoT can be leveraged to gain better tracking and positioning information.
You can provide this information to the clients to help them track shipments using the vehicle’s position. To understand it better, you can read more of the details about fleet tracking.
At the starting stages of IoT integration, there are doubts that could cloud your decision making. Since this technology is still new, your organization might have its own share of skepticism.
Here are a few questions you can ask your software partners to understand the process better. We have taken the liberty to address a few of them here.
Will It Displace My Staff?
There is a constant battle between humans and machines. There is a myth that automation has displaced the need for human employment.
This is not true, because automation is not here to replace the workforce but to derive more from them. These are more of value-additions to the system to help speed up time-consuming processes.
For example, if you were to add a dash camera, it would not replace any of the system’s roles. These devices can help the driver, and the manager better runs the operations. You can find out more in detail by checking out Samsara.com’s truck dash cam.
Does It Affect My Vehicles?
Making automation and IoT upgrades to your vehicles does not affect the fleet’s health in any way. These devices work seamlessly with the engine’s electronics and feed only the needed data to the dashboard. It does not compromise the functioning or drain the energy of the truck in any way.
If anything, they can add a lot of value to your fleet. Any time the manager is to view the dashboard, they can see all the data in real-time. IoT can also be used to trigger warnings and alerts in case of any emergencies or discrepancies in the engine functionality.
How Safe Are These Remote Devices?
When it comes to the internet or remotely operated devices, there is always confusion about safety. As a fleet owner, you could be worried about a hack or data leak. These will not be possible if you use a top-of-the-line system—most professional organizations use very secure cloud-based storage, which is not easy to hack.
Your software partners will be able to tell you that the best in class products use multiple points of stage, and levels of data encryption to ensure the safety of the data. These will only be accessed from a secure login. When the manager attempts the login, the data is decrypted for their use only.
What Do I Do With The Data?
Many fleet organizations in the ecosystem are yet to understand the need for data. Let’s take a simple example of social media and draw a parallel.
When you browse on an online shopping website, you are giving away your likes and dislikes to the browser. The social media platforms use this information to then give you ads on the same interest. That is the power of data.
This is true in the fleet business as well. This information from IoTs gives you insights to manage the industry better and do those small changes that would easily go overlooked. For example, the data from fuel consumption and miles clocked can be used to determine the business’s efficiency.
In Conclusion,
IoT is also a surprisingly cheap commodity to invest in. For the amount of information and use you can derive from them, the cost spent on the tech itself is very small. They work glitch-free and help enhance the pre-existing operation structure.
With help from the right IoT providers, you can improve productivity and safety with minimal investment.
