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Not all Fleet Management (FM) system providers want to have their products fitted to every vehicle on the road. Some choose to evolve gradually, growing their footprint according to the 'quality rather than quantity' maxim, ensuring that their products really work and that they can offer real hands-on service to their customers. One such company is Power Protect. Paul Collings reports.
With just over 34 years in the engine protection business, Power Protect has made a slow but steady foray into the FM system arena, developing technology products and service methodologies that address the cost-critical operational areas of transport operations.
"We started developing FM systems that could integrate with our existing engine protection systems in the late 1990s," says Jacques Brummer, sales and marketing director at Power Protect. "We now have two state-of-the-art FM systems that offer 'live' tracking and 'passive' data recording with fully customizable reporting functionality."
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DELIVERING DAILY BREAD
Blue Ribbon Bakery’s Nissan Diesels perform optimally with Power
Protect’s customized, integrated attention to detail.
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Taking ownership
The Alrode-based company, apart from producing engine protection systems (EPS) that effectively prevent truck engines from reaching critical failure point, has added a comprehensive bureau service to its FM systems offering. "A common shortcoming in this industry is that transporters buy FM systems, use the data for a few months, then delegate the responsibility of managing the system to someone lower down in the company who doesn't fully understand the company's critical success factors," says Brummer. "As a company, we take ownership of our client's data via our bureau service and customize our interaction with our clients according to their needs."
One of Power Protect's larger clients is Blue Ribbon Bakery whose fleet of bread delivery trucks operates nationwide, often in informal or rural areas. "We've become an integral part of their business, adopting a hands-on approach to addressing their critical issues. With our Fleet Runner 400 and Logic Telematics platform we deliver information in the form of summary reports that address key performance areas such as how the vehicle is being driven (full tachograph information), where it goes, how often and where the load body door gets opened and so on," Brummer explains. "These reports allow Blue Ribbon management to benchmark their distribution units, evaluate the profitability of contracts, vehicles and drivers, as well as bring real intelligence to assist in their logistics planning."
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Jacques Brummer with a
Power Protect Engine Protection System (EPS) demo unit. |
Remote diagnostics
The fact that Power Protect FM systems integrate with its EPS enables further cost savings. "We are able to prevent excessive idling as it occurs," continues Brummer. "The Fleet Runner GPRS signal will inform our control centre immediately when an exception occurs and on permission from the client, we are able to shut the vehicle down. This ability to monitor and control engine functions also allows us to ascertain what has caused a breakdown, what parts are needed to repair the vehicle and thereby dispatch the necessary parts and personnel to fix the vehicle as efficiently and cost effectively as possible. Obviously, reducing vehicle downtime is always going to drive overall costs down considerably."
Always a better way
Having comprehensive vehicle and driver data packaged by the Power Protect bureau into 'executive summary' format has enabled Blue Ribbon to implement a successful driver incentive scheme as well as boost the company's marketing efforts by pinpointing (via GPS) the location of 'spaza' shops. "The Fleet Runner system has helped Blue Ribbon get a clear picture of its distribution network and how better to service it. As a company, Power Protect has not only integrated Telematics with advanced engine management technology, but our consultants, through a solid understanding of transport and a firm belief that there is always a better way to drive down costs, are successfully integrating our products and services with our clients' operations," concludes Brummer.
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