Being in the business of helping companies manage their fleets efficiently has, over the years, brought us many exciting problems to solve. More and more companies are asking for tools that are predictive in nature to help them see where they can cut losses before they happen. The best challenges and solutions go beyond fuel savings; they tackle their most important assets: human and physical resources.
Today, fleet management systems must be adaptive, customizable, and user-friendly. The complete integration of multipurpose modules and peripherals under a single system is a must. There is no more one-size-fits-all. Every solution needs to be built for the unique reality of the client’s fleet and adaptable enough to grow with the client’s evolving needs. Coencorp started with this ideology 30 years ago and has been growing with solutions to our client’s needs ever since. We always seem to have something new and exciting about to happen.
Right now, every fleet-dependent industry focuses more on driver and road safety. Where lawyers and insurance brokers have traditionally focused on how to pay for accidents, with the help of specialized software companies like Coencorp, they are embracing new trends from big data availability. They influence the CEOs, and that trickles down to the fleet managers we serve. They are asking for modules incorporating Business Intelligence (BI) into Preventive Maintenance (PM) programs, and we are already prepared to deliver and implement these solutions. But first, let’s see where this need comes from preventable accidents.
Fleet vehicles in heavy industries like mining, construction, and resource transportation tend to be larger trucks. Truck accidents are much more dangerous than typical passenger car crashes due to their incredible size and weight. While a passenger vehicle weighs about 4,000 pounds (1,800kg), an 18-wheeler can weigh up to 80,000 pounds (36,000kg), and the big mining trucks can make this look like a kid’s toy. Anytime these vehicles are on the road, they need space and qualified drivers to navigate that space. It’s easy to understand how trucking accidents lead to catastrophic outcomes, especially for the occupants of any passenger vehicle sharing their roads. Understanding the most common causes of trucking accidents helps your team (drivers, dispatchers and fleet managers) be more responsible.
Despite having most of the responsibility to drive safely, truck drivers make mistakes like anyone else. They may drive drowsy, drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol, drive distractedly, or drive recklessly. However, recent studies from the American Trucking Association show that most trucking accidents caused by driver error are due to passenger vehicle drivers (78%), not truck drivers (22%). This indicates the importance of improving your trucker drivers' defensive driving techniques. For example, keeping a safe distance from other vehicles, being patient with slower drivers, being cautious with reckless drivers, and always using turn and hazard signals appropriately.
Some companies, such as waste management leader Republic Services, are so dedicated to road safety that they have incentivized it in a fun and novel way. They have an annual safe driving competition for any and all employees. They have even gone the extra mile to allow the employees time to practice and give additional training when requested. Driving is a stressful job that is operationally essential to your company’s success, so why not do everything possible to keep your drivers at their best?
Vehicle manufacturers are increasingly standardizing new safety features into the onboard computers, such as proximity warnings, cameras, collision prevention steering controls, and sensors that read various crucial vehicle functioning statuses. All this beautiful data can be fed in real-time to your fleet management system by mobile relays, giving you the power to correct errors as they happen.
Transportation vehicles can drive thousands of miles every day. Your fleet team must regularly maintain the trucks to keep up with these vehicles' expected wear and tear. Equipment failures, such as worn brake pads, worn tires, worn fuel or liquid lines, a cracked windshield, and even overused wipers, can cause a significant traffic accident because of how they impair the driver's ability to manoeuvre the vehicle. Standard practice, and in many cases, regulation dictates that a driver must check his/her rig at the beginning of every shift and submit a vehicle maintenance report. This report should be entered into the fleet management system (FMS), and the data used to plan your Fleet Preventive Maintenance programs.
Remember that manual entry will always have its problems. Human error or negligence plays a big part in faulty data collection. Today's technology is readily available to capture data directly from the engine computer. Fleet management systems like Site Manager 2.0 (Coencorp SM2) have integrated real-time data collection peripherals (The ETUs & VDUs) compatible with the truck’s onboard computer to relay engine and other alerts directly into the maintenance modules of the software. This minimizes downtime and improves safety at the same time.
Improper fleet maintenance isn’t the only reason a truck’s equipment could fail at a dangerous moment. Equipment manufacturers may be at fault for negligence or errors during parts' production, leading to defective or dangerous components. While they tend to have systems in place to capture most errors, some only appear after the part has been in the field. These errors could be design flaws or mechanic/installer errors. Either way, the driver usually doesn’t know about them until too late. Engine alarms may pick up on some of these errors and report them incorrectly, but it should be taken as a sign something is off. Keeping these details in the maintenance module of your FMS is the first vital step.
Staying in close communication with your vehicle manufacturer is the second. Manufacturers often send out recalls and/or recommended maintenance check-ups. They do this because something was found to need correcting, and you will benefit from it. Yes, it can cause downtime, but this, too, can be alleviated with planning. Your FMS should have an integrated preventive maintenance module, like SM2-Maintain, that allows you to easily schedule maintenance appointments and collect the mechanics' actions and reports. Don’t wait for these notifications to arrive; get chummy with your manufacturer’s representative and be proactive. It will lead to less downtime, which means more uptime for business.
Poor weather can throw a truck driver for a loop if he or she is not adequately trained and prepared to drive in certain conditions. You can create fun training programs in-house to motivate your drivers’ skill improvements like Republic Services does with their safe driving awards. Rain, snow, and ice challenge truckers’ abilities due to the vehicle's heavyweight and slower stopping speeds. They need to develop proper braking techniques for all conditions and to avoid skidding, hydroplaning, or jackknifing.
Here too, technology is helping fleets run safely. New business intelligence advances offer predictive models that guide drivers on safer routes. It often combines the most up-to-date telemetry devices that plug into the vehicle’s onboard system, relays the data from GPS devices, and delivers new user-friendly modules and/or dynamic dashboards in their FMS. Like the weather, these systems require flexibility and are often customized for the specific needs of the fleet in question. For more information, please contact our technical support team about how to use this and/or our SM2-Locate module.
You know the old saying, "The straw that broke the camel’s back?” Its wisdom is in the warning that when something has hit its limit, any additional weight, no matter how small, could overload it. Truckers and cargo loaders must abide by industry-specific rules when it comes to loading commercial trucks for this very reason. Weight, size, length, width, height limit and load capacity, not to mention unique methods of securing certain cargo types for transportation. Mistakes or negligence during loading procedures can destabilize or dislodge a load causing breakage or accidents if it falls off the truck. Emerging technologies such as cellular mobility, fleet telematics, sensors, real-time monitoring, and data analytics can minimize the impacts that most commonly cause trucking accidents. Trucking companies can now monitor specific driver behavior and a greater variety of vehicle conditions, thus empowering them to prevent more accidents before they occur.
For more information about how you can maximize your Preventive Maintenance Programs, please contact our support team at 1-866-263-6267 or info@coencorp.com
Our goal is to keep your fleet moving forward.
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