Cutting the vocal cords: fleet management's new wireless data lifeline.

Analyst group Strategy Analytics estimates that 436 million U.S. dollars were spent on commercial vehicle telematics services and equipment in the U.S., Europe and Japan in 2002. Today, a broad range of businesses that rely on mobile workforces, from contractors to limousines to police departments,

Know Where Your Drivers Are At All Times

Wireless location information systems, often referred to as Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) systems, give fleet managers and dispatchers the ability to know the location of their vehicles at any given moment, equipping them with the tools needed to ensure that drivers remain productive, efficient, and responsive to customers. AVL systems also increase security, enabling fleet owners to locate and recover stolen vehicles.

AVL systems typically consist of a Global Positioning System (GPS) vehicle location unit that is installed in the vehicle. The unit transmits location information over a wireless data network, such as General Packet Radio Services (GPRS), to the dispatcher's computer in the main office. Dispatchers can view the location of their vehicles over maps on their computer screen, and create and print out reports with detailed location history. Because AVL sys terns give dispatchers the ability to locate their vehicles at any given moment, they often save dispatchers valuable time by making it unnecessary for them to manually radio each of their drivers in a variety of situations. For example, if a sudden customer request arises, and the dispatcher needs to send the closest vehicle to the job site, the AVL system allows him or her to locate and radio the closest vehicle to the driver within seconds.

Eliminate or Reduce the Need for Cell Phones and Two-Way Radios

While some users of AVL systems still use two-way radios or cell phones to verbally communicate with drivers, today's AVL systems can completely eliminate the need for verbal dispatcher to-driver communication, greatly streamlining day-to-day operations and communications. Many AVL systems come equipped with Message Data Terminals (MDT) that sit on the dashboard of the vehicle. Dispatchers can send canned or free form text messages to the driver's MDT alerting him or her to a new job or other important information. Drivers can also send dispatchers messages back, communicating information such as their current job status, much like two colleagues might communicate over Instant Message (IM). Ultimately, the usefulness of an AVE and an MDT depends on whether or not a company takes full advantage of the many features, and the extent to which the technology is integrated with operations.

Dallas-based VMC Landscape Services has not only greatly streamlined business operations and communications by using an AVL with an MDT, but it has completely eliminated the need for any verbal communication between drivers and dispatchers by using the MDT in a way that's unique to their business. VMC uses FleetDirector, an AVL system from Teletrac, Inc., a provider of wireless location information systems, on approximately 40 of its vehicles. FleetDirector helps VMC do everything from improving driver efficiency and customer service to accurately tracking hours spent on jobs for billing purposes.

Improve Customer Response Time--While Reducing Driver Interruptions

FleetDirector helps VMC dramatically improve customer response time and streamline driver-to-dispatcher communications by enabling the company to instantly locate drivers and send them text messages, without interrupting them with a cell phone or radio call. Before Teletrac, if a sudden customer request arose, VMC would have to take the time to manually radio each driver to search for the closest vehicle to the job. Now, the dispatcher can pinpoint the right vehicle instantly by simply looking at the FleetDirector map on his computer screen, and sending the driver a text message over their MDT redirecting them to the job site.

According to Bruce Verdick, owner of VMC, the MDT is a great communication tool. "Rather than making 40 different phones calls, messages get to the guys very promptly," he recently reported.

VMC also relies on the MDT to quickly send all drivers urgent messages. For example, if it becomes too windy on a given day, VMC sends a universal message directing the landscapers not to spray. If a storm is coming in, they can message their employees to wrap up work and bring in their vehicles. Also, drivers can send universal messages to other drivers asking for assistance. VMC has created 20 different codes that all drivers can send out to indicate situations such as flat tires, vehicle in distress, in need of equipment, etc.

Drivers appreciate the MDT because it doesn't cause the interruptions that a cell phone or radio causes while on the road or the job. Pairing an AVL system with an MDT completely removes the need to send out one of the most common, tedious and disrupting calls to drivers--"where are you?"--and instead enables dispatchers to get this information simply by glancing at their computer screen. Additionally, the MDT improves safety, and helps drivers comply with laws that many states have today banning the use of cell phones and radios while driving.

Time is of the Essence

FleetDirector, including the MDT, is an essential billing tool for VMC, which uses the system to accurately track hours spent on each job. Before Teletrac, VMC's landscapers would record on a paper timesheet the start and ending time of each job. However, drivers would often fill out the time sheets at the end of the day based on memory, which was sometimes inaccurate and prone to error. Like most landscaping companies, VMC charges its customers retainers based on the estimated time spent at the site per month. Accurate tracking of time spent on each job is vital to the ultimate profitability of the company. At the end of the year, if records show that a job took significantly more time than the company estimated, the retainer will need to be reevaluated and possibly increased.

VMC assigns codes to each job, with sub-codes pertaining to job status, enabling drivers to quickly communicate job status through the MDT. For example, if a job has a code of 1705, drivers can message 1705A to indicate they've arrive at the job, or 1705B to indicate they're leaving the job. Using FleetDirector's reporting feature, VMC can recall this information, and view and print reports detailing the exact times the drivers arrived at a job and left it, comparing this to the physical time sheets they filled out.

"Even with today's technology, like radios and mobile phones, we don't need to use them much with our field people. We can more easily do messaging back and forth," said Verdick. "We firmly believe in FleetDirector. It has paid for itself over and over again. It's extremely affordable when you look at it from all the different things it can do ... from communication to data to tracking job costs by hours."

Editor's note: Tim Van Cleve has been COO of Teletrac, Inc., a provider of metro fleet location information systems, since 2002.