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VFMH Vehicle Fleet Management Homepage
Fleet management is the management of a company's vehicle fleet. Fleet
management includes vehicle tracking, mechanical diagnostics, management of
ships and driver behavior tracking.
Vehicle Tracking
The most basic function in all Fleet Management systems, is the vehicle tracking
component. This component is usually GPS based, but sometimes it can be based on
a Cellular triangulation platform.
Mechanical Diagnostics
Advanced Fleet management systems can connect to the vehicle's onboard computer,
and gather data for the user. Details such as mileage, fuel consumption, and
much more, are gathered into a global statistics scheme.
Driver Behavior
By combining received data from the Vehicle Tracking system and the onboard
computer, it is possible to form a profile for any given driver.
Fleet Management Software
Fleet management software enables people to accomplish a series of specific
tasks in the management of any or all aspects relating to a companies fleet of
vehicles. These specific tasks encompass all operations from vehicle acquisition
to disposal. The software, depending on its capabilities, allows function such
as driver/vehicle profiling, trip profiling, dispatch, vehicle eficiency, etc.
and it can provide remote control features such as Geo-fencing and active
disabling. Current vehicle diagnostic information can also be related to a
management site, depending on the type of hardware installed in the vehicles.
Management of ships
Fleet management also refers to the management of ships while at sea. Ships are
normally given to fleet management companies like Fleet Management Limited
(http://www.fleetship.com/), which handles aspect like crewing, maintenance and
day to day operations. This gives the ship owner time to concentrate on cargo
booking fgf
Fleet Security and Control
Recent advances in fleet management allow for the addition of over-the-air (OTA)
security and control of fleet vehicles. Fleet Security and Control includes
security of the vehicle while stopped or not in operation and the ability to
safely disable a vehicle while in operation. This allows the fleet manager to
recover stolen or rogue vehicles while reducing the chance of lost or stolen
cargo. The additional of Fleet Security and Control to a fleet management system
gives a fleet manager preventative measures to address cargo damage and loss.
Remote Vehicle Disabling Systems
Remote vehicle disabling systems provide authorized users at remote locations
the ability to prevent an engine from starting, prevent movement of a vehicle,
and to stop or slow an operating vehicle. Remote disabling allows a dispatcher
or other authorized personnel to gradually decelerate a vehicle by downshifting,
limiting the throttle capability, or bleeding air from the braking system from a
remote location. Some of these systems provide advance notification to the
driver that the vehicle disabling is about to occur. After stopping a vehicle,
some systems will lock the vehicle's brakes or will not allow the vehicle's
engine to be restarted within a certain timeframe.
Remote disabling systems can also be integrated into a remote panic and
emergency notification system. In an emergency, a driver can send an emergency
alert by pressing a panic button on the dashboard, or by using a key-fob panic
button if the driver is within close proximity of the truck. Then, the carrier
or other approved organization can be remotely alerted to allow a dispatcher or
other authorized personnel to evaluate the situation, communicate with the
driver, and/or potentially disable the vehicle.
Fleet Management Replacement and Lifecycle Management
The timely replacement of vehicles and equipment is a process that requires the
ability to predict asset lifecycles based on costing information, utilization,
and asset age. The industry standards for asset lifecycles are produced annually
by Mercury Associates, Inc. (http://www.mercury-assoc.com), which are calculated
using the CARCAP modeling resource. These numbers are used to establish the
expected date for a type or class of equipment, which can the be used to
identify replacement dates and funding requirements.
Funding requirements are also an issue, because many organizations, especially
government, purchase vehicles with cash. The ad hoc nature and traditional low
funding levels with cash has put many operations in an aged fleet. This lack of
adequate funding for replacement can also result in higher maintenance costs due
to aged vehicles.
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