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Ask any Fleet Management (FM) or vehicle tracking company about their clients and the first thing they'll tell you, no doubt, is that no two transport operations are alike. This is not a difficult reality to comprehend considering the multitude of applications and management styles making up our broader road transport economy. There are some companies though that have a multi-faceted sphere of operations and getting one FM/tracking system to manage all vehicles from a single platform will always prove challenging.
Paul Collings discovers one that does.
One of South Africa's leading BEE companies right now is a multi-disciplined organisation called Bosasa whose services include providing security personnel for both private and public properties, prison catering and state-owned real estate management. A fleet of 200 vehicles keeps Bosasa on the rise but it's not been an easy road to finding the right FM/tracking system supplier to ensure its wheels roll efficiently.
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Partners in precision -
Bosasa’s Frans Vorster and Observer Technologies’ Marihette
Hattingh.
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Replace, relax
According to Frans Vorster, Bosasa's transport manager, "our previous FM/tracking system had a fluctuating cost structure based on the number of SMS or GPRS transmissions made between vehicles and base in a month. This made it extremely difficult for Bosasa management to plan ahead and budget with certainty. The system was also proving to be too expensive so we put out a tender for a new supplier."
The tender was won by Observer Technologies which for the last 18 months has helped Vorster and Bosasa tighten control of its vehicle fleet and add value to its many offerings. "The Observer system comes at a fixed monthly cost per vehicle," says Vorster, "which immediately addressed the initial problem of cost predictability. Above this is the fact that the system gives us a common information platform from which to manage not only vehicles and drivers, but security personnel as well as certain aspects of our contractual obligations."
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Bosasa’s sophisticated fleet
control room equipped with trained personnel and the best
equipment. |
Stopping the buck
Due to the broad scope of business services Bosasa executes, Vorster had to formulate a strategic plan where business needs could be matched with system capabilities. "We were looking for three primary functions," says Vorster, "tracking, Fleet Management functionality and customized reporting. The Observer system covers all the bases, allowing us to monitor not only our vehicles from one office but our security personnel as well. The system is now an indispensable management tool to help cut vehicle costs through savings on fuel, brake pads and speeding fines. We've also eradicated unauthorized trips."
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Ensuring the gear runs
smoothly – Bosasa has its own inhouse IT service division,
Sondolo. |
Vorster says Bosasa is phasing the Observer system in slowly to ensure it 'embeds' smoothly within the organization and its 17 trained users. "We have a sophisticated control centre and our area managers also have access to the system via laptop. Once we've trained users, we train them again, and then again so they fully grasp the functionality. Observer Technologies has consultants who are always available to assist in this as well as the ability to customize the system to fit our needs. The combination of technology and people in this relationship has allowed us to reduce our fleet running costs by at least 15%."
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