Reasons That Fleet Telematics Projects Fail

11 Reasons Telematics Projects Fail

You Named the Project “The GPS Program” or “The Black Box Project”

What’s in a name? Maybe everything, if from the name, employees decide what a project is and how it will affect them.  Every project that a company invests time and resources into gets broad organizational exposure. You hear the hallway grumbling about “this or that project” that the company has underway. The name of the project can have serious impacts on what the organization thinks the project is and how it will affect employees (and management) personally. Let’s be clear – GPS stands for Global Positioning System and is a technology component that is becoming a standard in everything from vehicles to mobile devices. Like a clock on a microwave, or on a coffee maker or DVD player – GPS is simply an input into adding location information to the things that we value. Imagine if your company embarked on an extensive upgrade to your information technology infrastructure to benefit employees and customers – and named the project “The CPU” project.  Pick a project name that creates excitement for your company and meaningfully represents the results that you are seeking everyone to participate in achieving. The “Driving Excellence Project”, “Driving Performance and Safety Program” or the “Drive Green Initiative” – for example.

Ambiguous Project Requirements and Goals

Take control of the project. Assign a project manager who collaborates directly with key departmental stakeholders from Risk & Safety, Operations, Human Resources, Fleet Management, and Finance to define specific detailed project requirements that have tangible, measurable, ROI.  While this seems obvious, many companies will skip this stage and go right to applying a solution to jump start a project.  In-vehicle technology solution providers are constantly soliciting their services to companies with fleet vehicles. This is not a commodity market and not all solutions are equal. The impacts to your employees, culture, and financial return vary significantly from supplier to supplier.  Don’t assume requirements (such as project controls, management dashboards, application functionality, data, enterprise integration, measurements, policy, and workflow) are met.  ‘Telematics’ and other similar projects tend to fail and the companies usually encounter over spending, project restarts, rework, and/or unmet expectations. Many of you reading this – have a “trash heap” of in-vehicle technology past projects.

The Project Starts with “A Couple Free Devices”

 Frequently the technology vendor will show up and say “how about we set you up with a few free boxes?” Sounds great, right?  Maybe not.  While it may be attractive from a project startup cost standpoint – it’s potentially the start of a project that goes nowhere.  Right from the start this approach focuses on “the device” not on the people, process, and measurable results. If the goal of the initiative is to improve the driving culture – how are we going to do that on a couple drivers with a couple free boxes? What will these drivers think of their supervisors? Why were they singled out? How is does this initiative support the organizational goals for the fiscal year? Generally, this approach is more about the supplier getting in your door, then it is about your likelihood of sustainable organizational and financial results from an initiative.

Lack of Executive Support

Organizations focus, and apply resources, to approved projects that are based on solving defined problems and providing measurable results.  Executive sponsors champion, and key stakeholders rally behind, initiatives that have broad organizational visibility and resourcing approvals. Your “Driving Performance and Safety” initiative should have a highly visible executive sponsor, the goals/results of the initiative should foot to a fiscal year corporate objective (like “saving 10% of our fuel expenditure, reducing the frequency and severity of crashes and risk by 40%, and eliminating CO2 emissions for a greener planet”). Your executive sponsor and stakeholders can add weight and momentum to a project that is tied to corporate goals.

Large Changes to Project Requirements and Scope

Beware of the “Driver Performance” initiative that turns into the “Vehicle Maintenance” project. The reward of having a robust requirements list and involvement of stakeholders comes at the risk of your project core ROI being hijacked.  It also runs the risk of requirements becoming so large and broad that the technology is unavailable to satisfy – so the project goes nowhere waiting endlessly for the all inclusive technology that may someday become available. Meanwhile, real value – the largest ROI, potentially – is left languishing in hope of future technical advances. The most prevalent of this example is projects that start from the premise of providing ROI based on fuel and risk savings through driver feedback and coaching that turn into initiatives that require predictive maintenance based on diagnostic fault code data. There are many initiatives that have been derailed as the issues of vehicle data standards across year/makes/models, integration of diagnostic data with in-sourced (or outsourced) maintenance services, and OEM warranty impacts  – confuse the initiative and grind otherwise successful projects to a halt. Years of lost savings from fuel and risk reductions alone are wasted at the expense of solving the complexities of the motor company products and data.

 Failure to Establish Employee Expectations and Benefits

WIFM – “What’s In It For Me?” All participants in the initiative need to have the WIFM question answered. It’s unfair to ask employees to participate in a work changing process with no clear understanding of the benefit.  “GPS projects” that are seen as data collection initiatives to track  employees – communicates that the organization thinks their employees are stealing (time) from them and that they are lazy and should be working harder. It may also communicate that supervisors are inefficient in how they schedule and manage resources.  “Video camera projects” that are seen as demeaning/spying technology is not going to be widely received with approval by the employee base. The extra burden on supervisors who will have to police these videos may not be received well. What is the message you are trying to communicate to the employees and supervisors? What does the initiative (and technology) say about the employee/employer relationship? If you have a corporate goal to “be the best place to work” how is the initiative supporting that goal? What are impacts to hiring and retention? How is the initiative supporting the employee goals for each fiscal year? Answer WIFM for each participant in the initiative and you will be much more likely to achieve success, and organizational support.

You Did Not Lead With a Positive Launch

This will come as no surprise – people are resistant to change. Change, regardless of the end-result, goes through the SARA process (Shock, Anger, Resistance, and Acceptance). Any change in corporate process or policy will be subject to the SARA rule. Why would this initiative be different? Can you imagine that sticking a GPS/Black Box/Video camera into the employee’s “office” (the vehicle) is going to be seen in anyway positive – if the imitative does not clearly have a benefit to them and isn’t attached to a positive consequence from the beginning? There are several ways that this can be accomplished. Starting with integration to existing employee benefit programs, the construct of new incentive programs, individual and team competitions. What is clear is that employees want the autonomy to do their jobs well. They want tools that they can use to measure themselves against the corporate policies and goals BEFORE supervisor intervention. The best employees will compete to continue to be the best. Lesser employees want the chance to be the best. Self-direction and autonomy are the keys to support both of these employee types. How is your in-vehicle project providing the employee tools and technology to achieve self-direction and autonomy, before supervisor intervention?

Measurement and Metrics

Beware the project that introduces financial or reporting metrics that are not leveraging/interfacing/enhancing as much as possible existing financial/budget reporting. For example if the fleet fuel budget is currently reported to the CFO, and the project expects to demonstrate fuel savings, the existing measurement/reporting process that finance uses needs to show demonstrable positive change. Introducing a new measurement, disconnected from how fleet expenditures are captured and report today, will be difficult for finance to support as demonstrable change. Fuel consumption data and existing MPG reporting show be examined and subsequently integrated with and enhanced to drive accuracy – as opposed to creating a new MPG or consumption reporting system. This holds for risk management, crash management, and fleet management (vehicle lifecycle costs).

 Unrealistic Timelines and Deadlines

When considering the project goals, metrics and measurements – make sure the business cycle supports the expected change. For  example if through high performance driving we expect to replace fewer tires and have fewer brake maintenance transactions (or other routine or catastrophic transactions) a complete maintenance lifecycle against control data needs to be evaluated – and this particular metric may take a year, or longer, depending on year make an model.  Installation of technology needs to be considered in the project timeline. The upfront design of the program needs sufficient time before the installation project begins.

 Insufficient resources

And finally, given steps 1-9, it should be apparent that adequate resources from all participants need to be planned for. The one resource that is critical and is sometimes not included is the drivers. A representative driver, a driver committee, the driver union, needs to be a critical participant in the process. Driver buy-in to the program, the benefits, will be a critical success factor.

Price vs. Value Choice

Chances are that you looked at several Telematics companies when considering choosing a solution. Many of the companies had solutions that when properly implemented, you saw the value that they could bring to your company. The main problem was that your company chose a solution based on PRICE and not COST, from a non-local company that offered cheaper monitoring or slightly cheaper hardware. In telematics and the companies that represent solutions, you definitely get what you pay for. If your goal as a company is to gain long term benefit from your investment into the technology, when possible, choose a local company that can work closely with you to help you grow and learn how to gain the most profitable ROI from your telematics project. It’s one thing to invest into the technology; it’s another to understand how to really benefit from it.


For more information, contact Vincent Rush of Lynx Telematics at (866) 314-0461 

 For more information on how Lynx Telematics, an OEM located in Cincinnati, Ohio can help your fleet become more operationally efficient or custom design a solution to meet your fleet management needs, contact Vincent Rush at (866) 314-0461

LynxTelematics is an OEM that controls design, engineering, firmware, software development, IT support and manufacturing processes of our product, allowing us to produce the highest quality product in our industry, while offering our customers competitive pricing.

As your partner, we provide ongoing training and support to insure that the product is properly sold to the end user, maximizing the re-sellers profitability.

As one of the pioneers in telematics technologies, Lynx Telematics provides our clients with powerful end-to-end vehicle telematics tools. Our technology offers a real solution that delivers safety, saves money and provides an unprecedented level of peace of mind to our customers. 

Our product, LynxSafe, is the newest and most advanced in-vehicle communication system currently on the market. It combines GPS/satellite and GSM cellular technology to provide users and family members with immediate access to real-time information delivered directly via any internet enabled device including I Phone and Android smart phones.

All of our devices benefit from the innovation of U-Blox technology and a 3D Accelerometer, providing the industry’s most accurate pin point locating technology to within a 3 ft. radius.

Steps 1-10 originally written and posted by David Colman, Senior Vice President of Global Business Development for Green Road Tech. 

Telematics: Not Just for Personal Anymore

While the use of telematics-based insurance to date has primarily been seen in monitoring personal-vehicle use, insurers are increasingly relying on the underwriting tool in the commercial-fleet and trucking industries.

“If I’m doing a risk assessment for an insurance company, a lot of underwriters are looking for some kind of refined [global positioning system],” says Beth Lowrey, senior associate for Mercury Associates Inc.—a Washington D.C.-based management consulting firm for large fleets.

Insurance players on the commercial  side are adopting programs to tap into the wealth of knowledge a telematics system can deliver—and initial data looks very promising for loss ratios, sources say.

“We’ve seen very good improvement in frequency and severity,” says Scott Stevens, vice president of captive and specialty programs at The Hartford, which launched its FleetAheadprogram more than two years ago.

Through a partnership with a telematics service provider (all insurers in this space partner with a provider instead of developing its own device, as in the personal auto insurance market), he adds, the Hartford’s loss-control staff can work with clients to improve loss costs and exposures.

Other insurers are in the process of doing the same. “We are there to work with management in order to tune their ability to improve driver performance,” says Chris Hayes, risk-control director of transportation services from Travelers, which early this year began IntelliDrive Fleet Safety Solutions for commercial lines.

Travelers partners with several telematics providers for the actual numbers. “We do not have any data feed,” explains Beth Tirone, Travelers’ senior director for commercial auto product development. “This is strictly providing services from a risk-control perspective.”

Liberty Mutual, too, is finding value in telematics. The carrier unveiled its Onboard Advisorloss-prevention and risk-management services exclusively through Liberty Mutual Agency Corporation regional companies in 2010 to small and medium-sized fleets. The insurer uses statistics from its approved telematics partners to create a score used for pricing at the time of renewal.

Onboard Advisor Program Manager Chris Carver says Liberty Mutual in the past six months has been contacted by several telematics providers wishing to partner up.

“The industry is growing fast,” he says. “It’s a great opportunity for businesses that now starting to grow [after the economic downturn]. Owners can stay in control of their fleet and control costs.”

After all, telematics is not a one-way street of benefits to the insurer. The insured can improve safety, fuel use, customer satisfaction and prevent or limit losses from theft.

There is enough data—or at least sufficient anecdotal evidence—to support the technology investment, which is decreasing as competition increases. Systems can also be leased.

“If you use it and use it right, [you’ll benefit],” Lowrey says. “You’ll see it in your bottom line. And you’ll see it in your insurance premiums.”

The applications are numerous. Fleet owners acting as their own risk managers can track drivers’ locations, monitor a driver’s habits like hard-braking and accelerating, and reduce fuel consumption by looking at the data to notice trends such as the impact of idling, or the use of one route versus another. Carver says owners can cut down on “unnecessary wear-and-tear on their fleet.”

Owners have also reported a reduction in brake-pads costs, Stevens adds, because programs centered on telematics “create better, more safety-conscious drivers.”

The value for insurers extends beyond potential reductions in loss-cost trends and narrowing poor risks. Telematics may also help preserve the exposure base. By cutting down on costs for its insureds, businesses can remain profitable.

For the insurer, information can be provided by some systems to give a much more accurate view of an accident. Was the traffic light green or red? How fast was the driver going?

Insurers say information yielded from telematics systems can also help cut down on fraud. Using data on such critical factors as speed, claims professionals can determine whether an alleged injury was in fact possible.

The industry appears to have assuaged the fear of Big Brother. Owners and operators are taking to the idea, and insurers with telematics-based programs are sticking by buyers’ sides to assist in rolling out systems and fostering an environment of constant improvement rather than conveying a dark cloud of constant criticism. 

“This doesn’t work if management isn’t fully engaged,” says Hayes. “We’re looking to foster owners as coaches while we get them comfortable with the idea and our involvement.”

More insurers relying on data-gathering tools in the commercial-fleet, trucking industries

BY CHAD HEMENWAY, PROPERTYCASUALTY360.COM

April 6, 2012 

Lowrey, who also owns a risk-management and consulting service for small and medium fleets, says drivers’ unions have voiced concerns as telematics gain popularity, but the fact is, “Owners are looking at performance anyway,” implying that drivers would still be watched closely regardless of the new technology.

Fleet owners typically pitch the idea to drivers by focusing on safety and job security.

“’If you get hijacked, we want to know—we want to know where to look for you,’” Lowrey says owners will say to drivers. “But the majority of drivers have been around and they don’t worry about it, so long as it doesn’t seem like you’re nitpicking them to death.” 

Industry-wide, telematics usage remains in its infancy. Solid favorable loss-cost trends for the industry may not be readily available and use may be limited to big insurance brands but, according to a report by research and consulting firm Celent, telematics use is growing and “not going away any time soon.”  

Critics also say telematics could “cannibalize” books of business, based on the idea that policies could be written at lower premiums based on more hard data. Yet that same data would also help better calculate risks, Celent adds, noting it “would be better to cannibalize one’s own book than watch someone else do it.” 

Baseball and Insurance: Don’t Make Early Assumptions About the Data

Photo by Cincinnati Sports Photographer Vincent Rush

By Robert Regis Hyle, PropertyCasualty360.com

April 2, 2012
Although I touched on the sport in last weeks blog, since this week is the real start of the Major League Baseball season—despite the fact two American teams played in Japan last week (with a Japanese tech company’s logo on the batting helmets)—it’s time for my annual observation about analyzing data in different ways.

Since last season, the predictive analytics book Moneyball was turned into a movie and both Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill were nominated for Oscars for their roles, which should have excited data geeks. After all, when you can get Pitt to portray someone who believes in statistical analysis of data you’ve won half the battle, right? (He could do for actuaries what Julia Roberts did for paralegals.)

The benefit insurers have gained over baseball teams in the use of advanced statistical data is that pretty much all insurance companies believe there is value to be gained from the data. There are plenty of baseball executives and managers that only believe what they see on the field—even if they don’t always know what they are looking at.

As user-based insurance expands across the personal lines insurers—my agent tells me Nationwide will be coming out with a new personal auto telematics product this summer—it will be interesting to see how they interpret the driving data they receive.

I spoke with a friend about telematics a couple of weeks ago at the IASA Boot Camp and she said she was not looking forward to widespread use of telematics because she admits that she drives too fast.
The safe assumption is that people who drive fast are bad drivers. But what if, over time, the statistical data insurers accumulate through telematics leads us to findings that we didn’t expect.

Just as baseball managers continue to waste outs by having good batters lay down a sacrifice bunt with a fast runner on first base, will insurance companies continue to believe that those who have too many speeding tickets are bad drivers and that they don’t need telematics to prove such a belief is true—or maybe even false.

We shouldn’t be afraid of collecting more data; we should be afraid if we assume that new data always verifies old beliefs.

So let that batter swing away with a runner on first base and let telematics tell us what the real factors are behind poor driving that leads to accidents and, inevitably, claims. We might all be surprised what the predictive analytics of that data tells us.

Re-posted by Vincent Rush of Lynx Telematics

  Lynx Telematics, located in Milford Ohio, is an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacture) that specializes in developing proprietary fleet GPS Tracking devices for fleets of all sizes and functions.
For information on how Lynx Telematics can help your company save an average of $2500 per vehicle annually, contact Business Development Manager, VincentRush at (513) 965-6318

Lynx Telematics is an OEM that controls design, engineering, firmware, software development, IT support and manufacturing processes of our product, allowing us to produce the highest quality product in our industry, while offering our customers competitive pricing.

 

As your partner, we provide ongoing training and support to insure that the product is properly sold to the end user, maximizing the re-sellers profitability.

As one of the pioneers in telematics technologies, Lynx Telematics provides our clients with powerful end-to-end vehicle telematics tools. Our technology offers a real solution that delivers safety, saves money and provides an unprecedented level of peace of mind to our customers.

Spy-in-the car boxes for young drivers slash accidents by a fifth and may save 40% on insurance after a year

By STEPHEN WOMACK

PUBLISHED: 15:31 EST, 31 March 2012 | UPDATED: 05:24 EST, 1 April 2012

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/cars/article-2123201/Monitoring-habits-young-drivers-reduces-accidents-fifth-insurer-analysis-found.html#ixzz1qoBuGoOa

Fitting an insurance ‘spy in the car’ to monitor how youngsters drive can cut accidents by one fifth, potentially saving hundreds from death or serious injury. And it should mean that getting cover will be much easier. 

This is the conclusion of Co-operative Insurance, which has analysed the performance of 15,000 customers who have signed up to a policy that includes the fitting of its Smartbox. 

They were found to be 20 per cent less likely to be involved in an accident than those without one. Crashes were generally less serious, with damage and injury costs almost one third lower.

Grant Mitchell, head of motor insurance at the  Co-op, says: ‘It is still early days and some of those who join will be safer drivers anyway, but there are signs of customers showing gradual improvement in the way they drive.’

Co-operative will this week publish more details of its research. Its findings are likely to give a boost to those who argue that fitting satellite trackers to cars is the best way to combat the astronomical costs of cover for young drivers.

Co-operative has been offering its Smartbox cover for a year. The black box monitors braking and acceleration, cornering and speed. It also tracks when a car is used, as most accidents involving young drivers are late at night.

Lynx Telematics currently offers the most comprehensive and advanced technology in the new "Teen Driver" market with it's product LynxSafe.

Parents can monitor their teens driving behavior with urgent alerts regarding speeding, seat belt usage, excessive RPM's, hard braking, and unauthorized vehicle use.

LynxSafe also has the ability to provide real time diagnostic feedback on vehicle health as well as the ability to disable texting and driving.

For more information on how the LynxSafe product can help develop teen safe driving habits, contact Vincent Rush with Lynx Telematics at (513) 702-0495 or at vrush@lynxtelematics.com

LynxSafe by Lynx Telematics

Telematics can help with Distracted Driving

From ABI Research

Posted Tue, 27 Mar 2012 04:51:00 EDT by David Alexander

​A recent study by the AAA in the USA revealed that distracted driving was a bigger problem than ever, especially for teenage drivers. With electronic devices the number one problem, there were plenty of other causes, such as conversations with other occupants, personal grooming, and eating and drinking.

The one positive conclusion was that there was a significant improvement when an adult was present.

Now while it is not practical for adults to always accompany teenagers in their cars, telematics systems offer a range of alternatives that can have a similar beneficial effect. Some can restrict certain aspects of the vehicle such as music volume or maximum speed, and others can report on incidents such as sudden braking. In-car video systems are also available.

It is time that the safety aspects of telematics were given more attention in marketing materials. This and incentives to install ADAS would do a lot more to rectify the distracted driving epidemic than more laws banning specific activities when driving.

About ABI Research

ABI Research is a market intelligence company specializing in global connectivity and emerging technology. Our unique blend of quantitative forecasting and trends analysis provides forward-looking insight for thousands of decision makers in the technology industry every year. ABI Research, the only intelligence firm dedicated to emerging trends in connectivity and technology, has a deliberately designed focus on specific and complimentary practice areas that provides our clients with an unrivaled multidisciplinary integration and in-depth perspective on today's technology markets.

Our research is conducted according to a rigorous 14-step process that leverages organizational know-how, teamwork, centralized planning, decentralized intelligence gathering, and experienced research and general management that has evolved over 22 years and continues to adapt to the rapidly-changing technology industry's needs.

Our clients tell us they rely on our core expertise for several key types of difficult-to-obtain information, including:

market demand assessment
marketing strategy development
competitive intelligence
business planning, budgeting and forecasting
product development / prioritization
technology assessment
industry benchmarking
ABI Research was established in 1990 and is a privately held multinational corporate entity headquartered in the USA. For more information about ABI Research, please contact us.

Lynx Telematics and Geo Tab

The Value of driver monitoring, by Geo Tab.



At Lynx Telematics, along with our valued partnership with Geo Tab, we provide solutions to assist fleet managers with the operational challenges they face. Amongst these are fuel cost reductions, reduced maintenance cost and extending the life of the fleet as well as carbon footprint management, all of which are key issues being encountered.

Lynx Telematics is a Cincinnati based company that manufactures a device that has been proven effective in helping transportation companies manage their vehicles and/ or assets as well as helping with safety compliance issues and lowering insurance costs.

Lynx Telematics is a full-featured GPS fleet location, tracking, and vehicle performance management system offered to our fleet customers. A compact hardware and software unit that is installed in the vehicle and connects to its existing computer and diagnostics systems, Lynx communicates wirelessly via a dedicated and secure connection to a Web-based application that can be only accessed by fleet, safety and driver managers.

Key features of the Lynx Telematics device include the following:

--10-27% savings in fuel costs through specific driver modification.
--Up to a 30% discount on insurance rate because of telematics installation.
-- Enhanced Mapping Capability: A new map engine provides faster transitions between maps, improved detail, and a "bird's eye view" of tracked vehicles with the ability to obtain a street-level perspective in real time.
-- Safety and Savings: Monitor speed, fuel consumption, seat belt usage and idling time and eliminate texting and dtiving. Receive instant alerts for accidents and know that our 24/7 emergency service has already contacted your driver and dispatched help if required.
-- Extended Fleet Life. Protect your investment with real-time ECM diagnostics and read outs of what vehicles need specific maintenance, before larger problems arise.
-- Multi-Vehicle Following & Route Tracing: Lynx can follow multiple vehicles simultaneously and trace their routes traveled on the map.
-- Vehicle History Playback: A history playback capability shows a vehicle's 90 day history and includes a slider with play and pause options.
-- Analytic Reporting: A new analytics capability provides extensive fleet, safety, and travel data for vehicles as well as protect in liability cases.
--True "Plug & Play" solution, eliminating costly installs and uninstall expenses associated with hard wired devices.
--Lynx Telematics works with companies on how to properly introduce this technology into the company culture, which is nearly as important as the advantages of the technology it's self.

The companies that we work with typically report an annual savings of approximately $2500 per vehicle while recovering initial investment within the first 6 months.

The expanded analytics, improved mapping, and new interface of Lynx Telematics provide fleet managers with greater visibility and easier-to-use navigation.

Drivers love not having to complete paper logs, and CSA scores [Compliance, Safety, Accountability program of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration] have been shown to improve with the help of a Telematics device.

Lynx Telematics offers customers the ability to improve the performance of their fleets by continuously monitoring vehicles' location, mileage, speed, and direction, as well as other key performance and diagnostic data -- such as idle time, fuel consumption, average speed, miles logged, and hard braking events and a “speed compliance by street” feature that is unique to our industry.

Lynx Telematics also facilitates regulatory compliance through paperless trip reporting for interstate fuel tax calculations and Department of Transportation Hours of Service eLogs, reports, alerts, and audits for drivers.

Rising fuel prices put telematics in the driving seat

By: Andrew Yeoman, Trimble UK, Friday, March 16, 2012

Recent hikes in the price of diesel have once again highlighted the ongoing battle between fleet operators, service managers and fuel costs. In the UK, the price of diesel is now running at twice the rate of inflation since reaching a record high of 143.05p (US$2.25) per liter last month, adding further pressure to already cash-strapped businesses in transportation and field services.

Unfortunately, this is not a problem that will simply go away with time. Rather, the future for fuel prices continues to look bleak, with global factors, such as rising crude oil prices, refinery closures and pressure on supply resulting in further rises by Easter. Adding to this, UK fuel duty is set to rise again by 3.02 pence per liter in August, amounting to 4p per liter once VAT (value added tax) at 20% is added.

By deploying telematics technology, organizations of all sizes can reduce fuel use by up to 30%.
Despite the critical situation, companies in the UK, and indeed in any market, can take action today to better manage their fuel consumption, improve efficiency and save money. By deploying telematics technology, organizations of all sizes can reduce fuel use by up to 30%.

Using telematics can help companies to optimize schedules and route planning, helping to reduce unnecessary mileage and improve fuel efficiency and driver behavior. By enabling companies to monitor fuel consumption and CO2 output, the technology can ultimately help to reduce fuel use and improve a company's carbon footprint.

However, a key factor in controlling fuel costs through this technology lies with the employee in the driving seat. Technology can be beneficial to show how economical a driver or vehicle is, helping companies optimize fuel usage. While instant feedback is provided to drivers in their vehicles, the real value of the data lies in the centralized analysis through telematics software.

The price of fuel will always have a significant impact on the bottom line of operators of large fleets, but technological solutions can substantially reduce this, and sow the seeds for real progress in the automotive industry.

The analysis of an employee's driving style and behavior behind the wheel can be dissected and allow the company to take appropriate action. By providing feedback and highlighting areas for improvement in driving performance, employees can be trained to optimize their operations, leading not just to improvements in fuel efficiency and productivity, but also to driver safety.

As with so many things, knowledge is key - identifying where problems are and then implementing best practice to mitigate them is a huge step forward in helping organizations truly understand their fuel efficiency.

Despite the doom and gloom surrounding the direction fuel prices are heading, fleet and field services managers can take positive steps towards making a change today. The price of fuel will always have a significant impact on the bottom line of operators of large fleets, but technological solutions can substantially reduce this, and sow the seeds for real progress in the automotive industry.

Andrew Yeoman is Managing Director, Trimble UK (www.trimble.com)
The AutomotiveWorld.com Expert Opinion column is open to automotive industry decision makers and influencers. If you would like to contribute an Expert Opinion piece, please contact editorial@automotiveworld.com
Published on Friday, March 16, 2012

Parents of teen who died texting and driving: "Kids think they're invincible"

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Taylor Sauer was messaging every 90 seconds while going 80 mph on Idaho highway in Jan.

By Michael Inbar
TODAY.com contributor

Bright, outgoing college teen Taylor Sauer proved in the last minutes of her life she knew right from wrong — but still committed a fatal mistake.

Sauer was making a late-night, four-hour drive from the Utah State University campus in Logan to visit her folks in Caldwell, Idaho. She passed the time along I-84 messaging a pal on Facebook about the Denver Broncos football team. But she stopped short, writing in her final missive, "I can't discuss this now. Driving and facebooking is not safe! Haha."


Moments later, Sauer, going more than 80 mph, slammed into a tanker truck that was slowly creeping up a hill at 15 mph. She was killed instantly; investigators saw no signs that she applied the brakes before the fatal crash. And in checking her cell phone records, they learned Sauer was posting about every 90 seconds during her drive.

Story: Battling to make a loved one’s life meaningful after death

"I think she was probably (texting) to stay awake, she was probably tired," Taylor's dad, Clay Sauer, told Ann Curry on TODAY Monday. "But that's not a reason to do it, and the kids think they're invincible. To them, (texting) is not distracting, they're so proficient at texting, that they don't feel it's distracted driving."

TODAY
College teen Taylor Sauer died when she crashed her car into a tanker while posting on Facebook.

Clay and Shauna Sauer, still grieving over their 18-year-old daughter's Jan. 12 death, have become lobbyists in their home state to urge the state legislature to pass a ban on texting while driving. Idaho is one of 13 states in the U.S. that has no such law in place.

Taylor Sauer's future seemed a sky-is-the-limit proposition: She graduated high school last year with a sparkling 3.9 grade point average, was class salutatorian, played first base on her softball team and was active in community charities. After she was named a National Merit Scholar, she told a local TV station, "I want to go even further and take on the world."

But her mom told Curry that Taylor was also in many ways a typical teen who got caught up in the modern-day, multi-tasking world.

"There was a time when we were all able to get into a car and drive, and listen to the radio or talk to our family," Shauna Sauer said. "Now, we feel like we've got to get just everything done in the car, and I just think we need to be a little bit...simpler."

Just weeks after Taylor's death, the family testified before the Idaho State Legislature as it considers a texting-while-driving ban, a bill that has been shot down before in the state. Poignantly, Taylor's 11-year-old sister told the legislature that Taylor "would never be her bridesmaid," and mom Shauna told the assembly, "What if that one person was your daughter?"

The state has an inattentive driving law on the books, which some lawmakers say covers texting, but Shauna Sauer noted a driver must be visibly witnessed by police breaking a driving law to be pulled over. And Clay Sauer told Curry he believes a new Idaho law would serve much as the once-debated seatbelt law did decades ago.
Story: Feds to crack down on texting while driving

"I think every state should have the (texting ban) law," he said. "It might not make changes right now, but (for) the younger generations it will be an educational tool, just like the seat belt (law).

"We all fought against seat belts, (but) now, everybody wears seat belts. The kids will be trained and learn from a young age that they can't text and drive."

Working to help other young people avoid the tragic fate of their daughter helps motivate the Sauers now as they still process their grief.

"(Taylor) just loved everybody and was an amazing friend," Shauna Sauer told Curry. "She wanted to take on the world, and she would have."

It's sad when any teenagers life comes to such and an abrupt ending, for any reason. Having dealt with personal tragedy in my own family, I can tell you first hand of the overwhelming sorrow and never ending grief that a parent suffers when they have to bury one of their own children.

The tragedy in my own families life as well as the rising epidemic of teenage distracted driving deaths were the inspiration behind the development of our Teen Safe Driving Initiative, LynxSafe.

For more information on how LynxSafe can work with Parents, Schools and Auto Dealerships to make an effort to prevent future tragedies such as Taylor Sauer's untimely death, please contact Vincent Rush at LynxSafe Telematics in Cincinnati, Ohio by phone at 513-965-6318 or by email at vrush@lynxtelematics.com

Telematics: No Longer Just a Dot on a Map

Telematics solutions have come a long way since the beginning days of simple vehicle tracking. With a multitude of capabilities, such as remote vehicle diagnostics and routing/driver productivity tools, finding the right solution can be a daunting task.

Telematics is more than simply locating vehicles via a "dot on a map" or employing GPS routing capabilities. 

There are many companies that sell devices to track GPS location; however, this only provides limited information for fleet managers. A complete wireless fleet management system combine’s exact GPS location tracking with precise diagnostic monitoring to give fleets a complete and accurate picture of vehicle operations. 

Determining telematics needs, fleet benefits, and whether a return on investment (ROI) will be realized can be a tough job. 

Determining Telematics Needs 

Fleets should utilize telematics technologies specific to their business needs. With the abundance of options available to fleets today, the number one priority is determining which telematics solution best fits a fleet's needs. 

Clearly defining overall goals and deliverables an organization is seeking should precede any telematics products review. Sit down for a consultation with your fleet management company. Together, decide exactly what you want to get out of the telematics solution and how it will affect your core competencies. 

Recommended telematics technology can vary dramatically, depending on fleet type and goals.

For service response vehicles, real-time vehicle tracking is useful for dispatch purposes, as it is for fleets where security is paramount - for example, carrying or delivering valuable goods. The data available from vehicle tracking can be useful for any fleet type in helping manage and make better decisions, from replacement planning to fuel fraud monitoring to maintenance management. 

Before companies review technologies such as vehicle tracking, GPS navigation, or other new tools emerging in the market, Lynx Telematics partner, Geotab - a GPS satellite-based fleet and resource management systems company - suggests each company look at four operational areas for costs and to develop key performance indicators. 

According to Colin Sutherland, VP of sales at Geotab, the four indicators are:

■ Risk and driver safety.

■ Fleet operational costs.

■ Resource cost of productivity.

■ Regulatory compliance. 

Perhaps the most overlooked and important consideration is how the company uses this new data to change behavior. Companies with the most success have either hired additional resources or are leveraging resources of their fleet leasing provider, assuming the provider delivers telematics information integrated with their existing products and services. 

Most companies use technology that contains a GPS tracking component. When additional detail regarding vehicle use and performance is desired, diagnostics capabilities that interface between the telematics device and vehicle's onboard computer are required. 

Diagnostics capabilities include vehicle powertrain performance information, seatbelt utilization, airbag deployment, fuel level monitoring, etc. 

The application of diagnostics all depends on what you're trying to achieve and what type of vehicles you're operating. 

Businesses that use a fully-integrated vehicle tracking, navigation, and analytics solution are typically first to experience dramatic returns on their solution investment, according to GE Capital Fleet Services. An integrated, enterprise-wide approach to telematics use will enable a business to apply quality process disciplines to mobile operations - much like a manufacturing organization applies to an assembly line, said Doug Peters, telematics analytics leader, GE Capital Fleet Services. 

"There are many ways to use telematics technologies to improve a business. Think about financial and operating performance requirements and consider integrating telematics into as many aspects of your fleet management program as possible.  Effective use of the right solution helps fleet managers improve vehicle maintenance and compliance and helps operations managers transform driver productivity through optimized routing and scheduling," said Peters. 

"The most important aspect of an effective solution is the ability to convert large amounts of vehicle-generated telematics data into relevant, actionable business insight. GPS information - when combined with other operating or market data - provides meaningful insight regarding mobile operations that helps businesses identify where specific process improvements can quickly increase employee productivity, improve customer service, and enhance profitability," he added. 

Reaping the Benefits of Telematics 

According to Peters, a comprehensive approach to integrated mobile resource management is increasingly valuable in today's environment. "Leveraging technology solutions such as telematics provide companies the ability to monitor, manage, and optimize operations of their mobile resource pool." 

Potential benefits of telematics use in fleet include:

■ Lower accident rates.

■ Decreased occurrence of catastrophic maintenance/repairs.

■ Ability to track and correct driver behavior.

■ Safety awareness.

■ Ability to manage costs (i.e. reduce fuel consumption and overtime).

■ Reduced insurance premiums.

■ Increased fleet policy compliance.

■Optimized workforce productivity (e.g., re-sequencing existing routes and re-assigning deliveries).

■Improved environmental impact (i.e. reduced time spent idling or driving long distances). 

Another telematics benefit is the speed and focus it provides in measuring results.  For example, telematics can help determine if the safety training you just implemented has been effective in changing behavior, whether company policies are being followed, if new sales initiatives are being met, etc. What used to take quarters and years to measure, if it could be measured at all, now takes days and weeks - all with much greater accuracy. 

“However, the greatest telematics benefit currently with ever increasing fuel prices, is reduced operation costs, which includes lowering fuel consumption and vehicle maintenance costs” according to Vincent Rush,Business Development Manager with Cincinnati based Lynx Telematics. 

"Fuel costs are reduced by eliminating unauthorized vehicle use, reduced speeding and idle time, and improved routing. Repair and maintenance costs are reduced by the ability to identify problems early and schedule maintenance through automated odometer readings. Wireless fleet management also improves driver safety and reduces greenhouse gas emissions." 

What can't be seen can't be measured - and telematics technology enables fleets to "see" into vulnerable areas of the business that are otherwise impossible to measure. Equipped with this information, you can identify process improvement targets quickly and with more certainty, as well as measure your performance with accuracy."

Should Fleets Invest in Telematics? 

The days of "out of sight, out of mind" are behind us. According to GE Capital Fleet Services, telematics delivers valuable access to fleet data and analysis, including vehicle performance metrics, trends, and customizable mapping. As companies search for ways to save money, reduce environmental impact, and improve fleet productivity, fleet executives have an opportunity to deliver by utilizing innovative technology solutions. 

The ability to capture and view detailed, real-time data and exceptions supports efforts to change driver behavior and realize savings.

If an organization has clearly defined goals, can make the investment, and has resources to review data flows and manage exceptions, the return on investment can be significant. 

Telematics technology has been thoroughly tested and proven for many years. The price points now support compelling ROIs and adoption rates are increasing quickly. Fleets are using it in bigger numbers to drive out costs and gain competitive advantage. The use of telematics is quickly becoming 'table stakes' to stay competitive. 

A fleet's investment in telematics depends on the application. Some fleets may simply need a tool to allow drivers to get from point A to point B. 

For those folks, a GPS navigation system might help," said Mark Goettel, senior acquisition & integration analyst for Wright Express. 

Geotab's Sutherland noted, "If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there. Before companies invest in GPS navigation or GPS tracking systems, they should first consider the requirements of the company to reduce operating and claims costs and the fleet operating budget, and to manage overtime."   

Sutherland cautions fleets against investing in small, standalone components such as GPS navigation or real-time location for dispatch. 

"By investing in a technology solution that offers integrated data for driver safety and risk loss control, fleet expense management, human resource management, and carbon footprint reduction, companies can start with one of the four areas for return on investment and strategic growth and then implement the other areas over time," said Sutherland. 

Business today is extremely competitive. Profitability requires a keen eye on costs and efficient utilization of all assets. Telematics offerings help fleet managers bolster fuel economy, improve driver performance, manage maintenance intervals, and dispatch vehicles effectively. Those results clearly drive to reduced cost and better asset utilization. In addition, a more fuel-efficient fleet is a greener fleet. 

ROI of Telematics: Staying in the Black 

It is not always straightforward to quantify ROI. While goals and objectives of many businesses may be similar, telematics ROI depends on the company's level of efficiency and ability to execute policies.

Each client's ROI will be different depending on the type of solution that fits their fleet. At the very least, fleets should expect ROI to exceed the cost of telematics equipment and fees. 

An additional ROI benefit includes reduced payroll hours due to a driver's inability to inflate hours.

Many savings are not as easy to quantify, but just as important. The ability to prove service or a delivery time to a customer is helpful and saves in goodwill credits, but is not always easy to put a dollar amount on. The reduced risk of knowing where your vehicles are 100 percent of the time is also difficult to quantify, but clearly valuable. Many customers recover not only stolen vehicles, but their contents as well, and help drive criminal convictions based on finding the vehicle and knowing where it went after it was stolen. 

Generally speaking, companies focused on productivity improvements will see a greater return than those focused solely on vehicle operating costs or risk and safety improvements. That's not to say a company can't achieve fantastic ROIs by reducing fuel and lifecycle costs or reducing accident rates.

Per Sutherland's experience at Geotab, ROI must be grounded in fact as well as achievable and measurable. 

 "Traditionally, fleet managers seek ROI in fuel and maintenance expense reduction," said Sutherland. Using vehicle health-based predictive maintenance, "fleet managers can remove one preventive maintenance routine annually, which in itself will pay for the solution." 

Reduced idle time is one of the most obvious areas in which fleets can realize an ROI, according to Goettel of Wright Express. 

"Many fleets can't believe how much their vehicles are idling. We'll perform ROI calculations based on a calculator we use, and typically we see 'break-evens' of between two and six months," explained Goettel. "Telematics pays off much quicker than people would think." 

Businesses today can choose from a wide assortment of telematics technologies that deliver a range of benefits. “To ensure the best return on investment, a company should work with a provider that understands the company's business requirements and delivers actionable intelligence," suggested Peters of GE Capital Fleet Services. "A provider that delivers insight, rather than just data, can expedite the speed with which a business can implement operational changes to improve productivity, compliance, safety, and customer and driver satisfaction."

 Lynx Telematics, located in Milford Ohio, is an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacture) that specializes in developing proprietary fleet GPS Tracking devices for fleets of all sizes and functions.
For information on how Lynx Telematics can help your company save an average of $2500 per vehicle annually, contact Business Development Manager, VincentRush at (513) 965-6318

Lynx Telematics is an OEM that controls design, engineering, firmware, software development, IT support and manufacturing processes of our product, allowing us to produce the highest quality product in our industry, while offering our customers competitive pricing.

As your partner, we provide ongoing training and support to insure that the product is properly sold to the end user, maximizing the re-sellers profitability.

As one of the pioneers in telematics technologies, Lynx Telematics provides our clients with powerful end-to-end vehicle telematics tools. Our technology offers a real solution that delivers safety, saves money and provides an unprecedented level of peace of mind to our customers.

Understanding ROI in Telematics

 

Understanding ROI in Telematics

By Light & Medium Truck Magazine

Telematics devices can improve fuel economy and driver behavior, but a recent survey released by Donlen Corp., a fleet financing and management company, revealed a divide between some of the perceived and actual benefits. 

The survey found that those considering telematics devices have a higher expectation of fuel savings than those already using them. 

The way the return on investment and perceived benefit is always preached to fleets is in mile-per-gallon improvement. I think the perceived benefit is probably a little more than what is gained.

Another reason for the disconnect could be that the importance of fuel economy on the return on investment moves further down the line as carriers notice other benefits and savings with use.

Donlen also found a large divide between small and large fleets on acquiring the devices. Among carriers with fewer than 100 vehicles, 80% of respondents said they are not considering telematics. However, among fleets with more than 300 vehicles, 80% of respondents are either considering or already using telematics.

It’s shockingly surprising that smaller fleets aren’t even considering the devices. One would think that you could really maximize your ROI on a smaller fleet, according to “Light & Medium Truck Magazine”. 

Among those not considering telematics devices, 69% said they don’t see a business need. Only 17% cited the cost as a deterrent. 

The top reasons for investing in telematics devices among those who are using them are improved driver behavior, route productivity and fuel savings. 

While return on investment is an important factor in choosing telematics, 40% of respondents already using the devices said they did not know their ROI. That is likely because carriers aren’t reviewing the data, either because they don’t have time or because they already perceive the ROI and don’t feel it is necessary to drill down through the numbers. 

Most telematics providers don’t have access to all of a carrier’s information, such as a fleet’s fuel and maintenance expenses, so entering and reviewing the data to further identify the ROI is up to the carrier. 

To help quantify the ROI, Donlen said, carriers need to understand their reasons for using telematics and to integrate and analyze available data relevant to those reasons.  According to experts, choosing a Telematics company that not only custom builds a solution to fit the specific needs of your fleet and company objectives, but then also works with you in partnership to learn how to interpret and understand exactly what the data is telling you, is worth it’s ROI weight in gold.

Working with a company like Lynx Telematics, located in Cincinnati Ohio, is like partnering with a team, rather than purchasing from one of the endless streams of Telematics companies on the great “gold rush”.

Having worked with some of the largest fleets in the world by developing custom built solutions, Lynx Telematics as an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) works equally as well with small fleets of 3-30 vehicles.

 Lynx Telematics, located in Milford Ohio, is an OEM (Original Equipment Manufacture) that specializes in developing proprietary fleet GPS Tracking devices for fleets of all sizes and functions.
For information on how Lynx Telematics can help your company save an average of $2500 per vehicle annually, contact Business Development Manager, VincentRush at (513) 965-6318

Lynx Telematics is an OEM that controls design, engineering, firmware, software development, IT support and manufacturing processes of our product, allowing us to produce the highest quality product in our industry, while offering our customers competitive pricing.

As your partner, we provide ongoing training and support to insure that the product is properly sold to the end user, maximizing the re-sellers profitability.

As one of the pioneers in telematics technologies, Lynx Telematics provides our clients with powerful end-to-end vehicle telematics tools. Our technology offers a real solution that delivers safety, saves money and provides an unprecedented level of peace of mind to our customers.

Why Telematics Can Seriously Benefit Your Fleet!

 Fleet industry analysts predict that by 2014, telematics sales growth will reach about 6.5 million units.
Public sectors or the private industry that operate fleet vehicles of different sizes believe that the real-time vehicle tracking system is a key factor in the development of this industry. It not only increases productivity but also helps achieve cost efficiencies.

When it comes to global fleet industry, technology now plays a big role. Whether it is a local business that uses only simple vehicle tracking devices, or a global and national haulage operator, it is important to use GPS-based fleet tracking system.

The investment in telematics is considered an important capital investment. Usually a basic vehicle tracker system is used by smaller fleet operators. Such basic systems use a simple 'satnav' application. The control room team and fleet managers realize very soon that they need to have a real-time fleet tracking system to ensure effective and comprehensive tracking of any fleet during its entire journey. The data can be streamed live and comprehensive records can be maintained by upgrading to a real-time vehicle tracking system.

For the optimum telematics performance and future planning of business projects, consultation and cost analysis are very important. A fleet company has to prepare an effective future plan that takes into account the future fleet demands and the need for additional functionality. Better productivity can be achieved when the practical benefits of any system is checked thoroughly. It is necessary to select a software solution that offers the required capability, can be scaled up or down when needed, and can be customized according to intended uses and fleet vehicle specifications. Reducing fuel costs is an important issue with any fleet operating company. In this endeavor, various systems including the GPS tracking device help achieve the target.

Even when fleet tracking system is in place, the benefits may quickly fade away after initial gains. This makes it important to utilize the data collected through such systems and act upon the information at the right time. Only then long-term benefits can be realized. With effective driver behavior management, the goal of higher productivity and efficient cost reduction can be achieved easily.

Driving behaviors can be monitored through in-vehicle diagnostics. Details like cornering, acceleration, braking as well as engine RPM’s, gear selection and idling can be recorded and analyzed. Routing software makes it possible to make comparisons and analyze the data properly. This helps set geo-fencing limits, plan the schedules and set the vehicle movement rules for any out of time journey areas. Data related to any unauthorized vehicle uses can be recorded.

It is important that at every stage, the telematics provider is consulted, especially when any integration system involving present network infrastructures are planned. Having accurate and complete information is the main success factor behind any telematics purchase. For fleet operators, it is one of the best ways to reduce operational costs. The responsibility of smooth fleet management process can be ensured only with effective strategic policy implementation.

 Lynx Telematics, located in Milford Oho, is an OEM (Original EquipmentManufacture) that specializes in developing proprietary fleet GPS Tracking devices for fleets of all sizes and functions.
For information on how Lynx Telematics can help your company save an average of $2500 per vehicle annually, contact Business Development Manager, VincentRush at (513) 965-6318

LynxTelematics is an OEM that controls design, engineering, firmware, software development, IT support and manufacturing processes of our product, allowing us to produce the highest quality product in our industry, while offering our customers competitive pricing.

As your partner, we provide ongoing training and support to insure that the product is properly sold to the end user, maximizing the re-sellers profitability.

As one of the pioneers in telematics technologies, Lynx Telematics provides our clients with powerful end-to-end vehicle telematics tools. Our technology offers a real solution that delivers safety, saves money and provides an unprecedented level of peace of mind to our customers.