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29th March 2007, Page 48
29th March 2007
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Page 48, 29th March 2007 — EVERY TRACK THE BOOK
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Telematics system provider Isotrak is looking to make vehicle tracking data work harder than ever before. Robin Meczes finds out what on earth ifs all about.

Where supermarkets lead,others eventually follow. And where telematics firms supplying ;upermarkets lead, other telematics firms viii surely go.

Isotrak, based in Milton Keynes. is just such i telematics provider, having such high-profile tames as Tesco, Royal Mail and Asda in its :ustomer base. But that isn't to say that the irrn supplies only big customers — over the )ast couple of years, it has actively sought out :ompanies with smaller fleets and developed a .olution to fit their requirements.

"We've recruited several smaller retailers vith fleets in the 20-vehicle arena,such as itaples, Office World and Toys R Us,says narketing director Craig Sears-Black."Their Terations are very interesting, as they often nvolve long distances. A typical Staples rip,for example, might be from a Midlands listribution centre with only two drops —one n Yeovil and one in Plymouth, say — then back tgain, and all that just twice a week.

Despite its pedigree with retail customers, however, the firm isn't purely interested in that sector. A large part of its current thrust is aimed at tanker operators and the general haulage sector. Among its recent contract wins isWidnes, Cheshire-based tanker and general haulage firm Suttons Group, for example, and the Isotrak system is also currently being trialled by Eddie Stobart.

On track "General haulage has been using tracking systems for the last four to five years but,in our experience, very few customers have got true value from those systems," says Sears-Black ."It's fine to know where a vehicle v Isotrack marketing is,but you also need way more than that director Craig alone to get true value from them. So we've Sears-Black offers developed our product in a number of areas, customers various tailored to help users do exactly that." tracking systems Those product developments include new in-cab equipment that incorporates voice and data communications, and remote panic alarms for drivers.They also include CANbus connectivity, so the telematics system can be used to monitor driving parameters, such as fuel consumption, idling times, harsh braking and over-revving. The latter area in particular has potential for growth, believes Isotrak. Customers can define their own limits for good or bad fuel consumption. for example, and compare actual journeys with those limits, seeing quite clearly, via a traffic-light code in the system's reports, which drivers have performed in particular ways across any given full or part journey. "Some of our customers are getting specialist trainers to take drivers out on a route, check the CANbus data, drive the route themselves, and use that to compare and analyse what drivers might he doing better," says Scars-Black.

There is already evidence that customers want exactly this kind of facility, he adds."Their interest is largely being driven by corporate social responsibility concerns over fuel consumption and emissions," he says."Ifs a top-down, strategy-led issue, not a bottom-up, cost-saving initiative. We're seeing more of that among larger customers who want to use the data on a regular basis to help reduce fuel consumption."

Fuel savings

Pilot tests of the system suggest some customers are saving up to 15% on fuel consumption and, while real-world operations don't always match the conditions that often apply to such trials, there's no real reason why fleets can't continue to sustain such improvements, suggests SearsBlack. 'We're convinced that with the correct sustained management focus. you will get sustained fuel-cost reduction, and therefore CO, emissions reduction. It's about using the system on a sustained basis in the right way."

At the moment, CANbus connections are not commonplace. However, Sears-Black says the firm is"transitioning" from being the exception to featuring in 50% of installations. In time, he expects, such installations will be in regular use. "We're convinced this is the way to go and,in two or three years' time, it will be the norm," he explains.

The firm's system also offers new ways in which to manage drivers. For example, sensors can be fitted to engine compartments to confirm that drivers have carried out daily vehicle checks. Personal identification number (PIN) input systems can be integrated into the system to ensure only authorised drivers can start up trucks. Sensors can be fitted to alert head office if the trailer doors have been opened at an unscheduled time.

As voice and data communications can be incorporated in the in-cab equipment, both can be set up to allow the driver access only when a truck is stopped."In some implementations, you do need to be stationary to make or receive a call and, if you hit more than 5mph, the system cuts you off.There is a 'force-unlock override button on that but its use is recorded at the hub," says Sears-Black. There aren't all that many customers actually asking for this restriction yet, he admits, but increasing numbers of customers are starting to consider it.

Isotrak has also been busy lately with trailertracking systems. It has an installed base of around 5,5(X) units across around half a dozen customers. And, on top of its fairly standard solar-powered units with battery backup, which tend to be installed on trailer roofs, it has recently announced a new portable version that can be moved from trailer to trailer.

Accuracy to 10m

The waterproofed, battery-powered unit simply bolts on to a trailertypically underneath it somewhere and uses 'assisted' GPS -effectively a combination of CiPRS mobile-phone triangulation and more traditional satellite positioningto provide location information to an accuracy of ±1.0m. "So far,we've installed about 400 of these for two particular customers," says Sears-Black. "The main application in distribution is for temporary trailers— particularly peak-time trailer hire at Christmas, for instance."

Trailer tracking of one sort or another is a big growth area, and Sears-Black expects specialised systems to outsell tractor-tracking units before long. —the pricing has changed. You used to pay a significant premium for trailer tracking over tractor tracking, but our pricing strategy is very much the opposite now," he reveals. "We think both areas will continue to grow substantially and, in some sectors, people have more need to track trailers than tractors."

Wider applications Perhaps most striking of all, however, is the way in which Isotrak has begun to broaden the uses to which standard vehicle-tracking data can be put in order to provide the customers of truck operators with detailed information about inbound consignments.

This isn't some kind of simple geofence' feature that simply alerts customers to the fact that a truck is a certain distance away— it's about the delivery of a full package of data that tells a point of receipt when the vehicle is going to arrive; the goods in it; the quantities that are going to be delivered; what space they might need to allocate to those goods; and how long vehicle turnaround should take.

Data connections Such information might be delivered to a dedicated screen in the unloading area or passed into the recipient's existing IT systems, and the system can even be connected to audible warnings to prompt loading-bay staff when to open the doors.Truck arrival and departure times can be automatically monitored by the system and compared with target. When the unloading operation has been carried out the system can he updated with details of any empty unit loads or recyclable materials that have been put back on to the vehicle.

That information, in turn, can be automatically forwarded to the recycling centre or distribution depot that might be the next stop in line.Again, it could be provided along with crucial information about ETA: details of exactly how many units are being sent back and what type they are; how they should be processed, and so on.

The system should help to cut turnaround times at depots, and can even be adapted to carry basic vehicle-servicing and maintenance information. If, for example, you're droppin,i, off a particular trailer at a given site and that trailer is due for a service, the system can flag it up so the trailer is returned to base rather than refilled and sent on elsewhere.

"It's really a case of looking at the information from the point of view not of the transport operation itself, but of that transport operation's customer," says Sears-Black. "Using the ability to publish information from our hub over the Internet, we've created fresh value from the customers' viewpoint, as they can look into the supply chain and find out what's coming their way. We know of no other system out there that delivers information in this way." True for the time being, perhaps. But, as surely as night follows day, it can't be long before other telematics firms are following in lsotrak's footsteps.

The question is: how long will they take to catch up'? •

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