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Chf gol a chance to try Dynaf beet Online and
Page 56
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the new VDO sat-nay system during a drive round Gothenburg in an FM12 460 6x2 rigid.
It was equipped with the top-end Information Tool hardware; for demonstration purposes it featured separate screens for Dynafleet and sat-nay.
Logging on to the Dynaf beet system with the driver card is straightforward. The pop-up Dynafleet screen worked smoothly and, while smaller than the standard sat-nay screen supplied by VDO, was perfectly suited to both Dynafleet and satnay operation. The full-sized keyboard used for messaging is handy, but there's no obvious secure place to stow it (other than perhaps the bunk) when ifs not in use. The keyboard is automatically disabled during driving though incoming messages can be acknowledged via a couple of buttons set into the dash.
The sat-nay system worked very well, providing clear instructions visually and in a synthesized electronic voice. On a couple of occasions when we deliberately took wrong turns it managed to recalculate our route (without forcing us into a U-turn) within seconds.
We also tried out the off ice end of things and found the Dynafleet website easy and clear to use. Polling vehicles for information is easy and the range of reports on driver and vehicle activity is excellent, extending as far as things like coasting, use of cruise control, PTO usage, engine load, over-rewing and emissions levels. All the reports are laid out clearly and are user definable, you can even save your preferred report conf igurations as favourites.
Messaging was also straightforward as the system has been made to resemble the familiar Microsoft Outlook e-mail interface. You can even set it up so that messages are automatically redirected to your e-mail inbox.
Another good point about the website is that you can use it like a company intranet to put up company news or other announcements.
However, some areas of the system are less impressive. For a start, Dynaf loot's ability to show historical vehicle movements is limited — it only stores location information on vehicles every 10 minutes, then uses a join-the-dots approach to compile the vehicle's journey. That means it could miss a short unscheduled stop or deviation.
The system also lacks any 'geofencing' ability— geofencing allows the user to define a particular zone (the area immediately around a customer's site, for instance) and set up automatic alerts whenever vehicles enter or leave that zone. Given the distribution industry's emphasis on customer service these days, and the fact that most third-party systems offer geofencing, this is a surpffsing omission.
We're also less than impressed by the fact that communications are all SMS-based, as this is a much more expensive way, byte for byte, of sending telematics data and messages than more modem GPRS technology, Volvo says geofencing and GPRS are both in the pipeline, but we're still left with one major quibble about Dynafleet Online: its price.
Even for a top-end piece of hardware like the Information Tool, £2,600 is a lot to pay compared with what third-party vendors are charging for installation. Dynafleet Online does more than most third-party systems — particularly in terms of vehicle performance monitoring — but we're not absolutely sure this price can be justified.
Add the expensive SMS communications and the monthly service charge (just for accessing a web site and the central functionality behind it, it seems) and we begin to wonder if Dynaf beet Online hasn't priced itself out of the market