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With our rugby, soccer and cricket teams suffering several recent humiliating international defeats, it's reassuring to know that there are SA teams out there scoring big, both locally abroad. Sure, they're not kicking balls or flailing bats, but they are flying the rainbow flag in all corners of the globe, showing the rest of the world what fleet management and teamwork are all about, reports Paul Collings.

The lead article in this special report discusses the selling of FM (Fleet Management) and Telematics solutions by European truck OEMs. While this emerging trend indicates a need on their part to differentiate themselves from one another to greater degrees, it has in fact been foreshadowed by our local OEM offices and their partnerships with leading SA FM system developers, most notably DigiCore and CI-OmniBridge. 

DigiCore and DaimlerChrysler SA 
South African Breweries (SAB) runs a fleet of several hundred trucks, delivering product to both large and small customers. The continent's largest brewer outsources its fleet management to debis Fleet Management (dFM), a division of the DaimlerChrysler Group of Companies, but a truly home-grown enterprise. 
 

Ashleigh Davies-Payne, emphasizes the value of 'risk transfer' at Auto Africa 2006.

For companies wanting to focus on their core business, transport can be entirely managed by dFM ensuring total 'risk transfer' of mobile assets, says dFM chief operating officer, Ashleigh Davies-Payne. "With services that span the complete range of vehicle management functions, SAB benefits in several ways through its fleet management contract with debis. The residual risk of vehicle ownership is transferred entirely to dFM. Cost savings are realised from vehicle procurement all the way through driver training, real-time tracking and exception reporting, regular maintenance and servicing, insurance cover, licencing, accident and fines management to vehicle remarketing."

These services are all governed by the data generated from DigiCore's C-track FM system, installed in SAB trucks. The fact that C-track integrates with other back-office systems like SAP and SAB's ETA (estimated time of arrival) system allows for seamless information flow where vehicle and driver information combines with other business-related data to form a complete picture of the fleet's efficiency.
 

DigiCore provides the technology-backbone upon which debis Fleet Management can hang a host of services that take the hassle out of owning a fleet of trucks.

According to Leonard Volschenk, SAB depot manager, Denver, "as a customer relationship tool, C-track enables the truck to communicate with SAB clients directly, in the event of a delivery delay, without the need for head office intervention. It allows us to concentrate on running our business without having to worry about the little things. C-track takes care of those for us."

CI-Omnibridge and Scania
The concept of 'per-kilometre-billing' is catching on in the vehicle repair and insurance industries. Scania is pioneering this approach in the truck market with its FMS product. The technology enabling Scania's per-kilometre-billing offering is supplied by CI-OmniBridge, world leaders in FM and Telematics systems development. Says Theunes van der Westhuizen, manager, Fleet Management Services, Scania South Africa: "The technology from CI-OmniBridge, the FM Communicator, reads and records Scania CANbus data as well as gathering information from other sensors on the rig, including the trailer. Via our Bureau service, clients receive automated billing, actual kilometres travelled, repair and maintenance details as well as other useful management information. 

"The benefits of the Scania FMS is that apart from all the savings truck owners get from the improvements in driver and truck performance, the cpk-billing option means maintenance and insurance costs match the cash flow of each vehicle."
 

On-vehicle instrumentation and monitoring hardware from CI-OmniBridge fitted to Scania trucks enhances fuel consumption, component lifespan and vehicle utilisation.

Geotab in North America
In October 2003, US-based company, Orkin Pest Control (a division of Rollins Orkin), contracted SA FM system developer, Geotab, to equip 4000 of its vehicles with monitoring systems. "This R18 million contract was borne out of the need for Rollins Orkin to improve safety and compliance for all vehicle operators," explains the Geotab press release. "The system required precise recording of trip information including any violations for speeding, seatbelt use or vehicle use after office hours. An in-vehicle alert was required to notify drivers of any speeding or seatbelt violations."

The system is used by local branch managers reconcile daily trips with job tickets; specifically time on site, trip route deviation and order of service calls, says Geotab public relations officer, Lisa Lewis. "The system reports help reduce mileage and ensure efficient customer delivery times. Any speed, seatbelt, harsh braking, engine idling or after hours use violations are immediately addressed with drivers."

The system is configured for four tiers of authorised users, adds Lewis, "branch, region, division and administration personnel each have password access to the vehicles assigned to their specific branch, region or division. The system has been successful in assisting Rollins Orkin to reduce losses by over R60 million annually, while also reducing gross miles driven by 15 million miles, a saving in fuel and fleet maintenance costs of over R30 million."
 

Local haulier, Careful Carriers, has improved its customer service, reduced costs and improved the accuracy of their overtime payments using Geotab's GO Key system, a passive FM system that downloads trip information regarding driver and vehicle performance. Careful Carriers are keen to install a system that monitors in real-time the length of time that truck passenger doors remain open. Geotab's GO LIVE system, a real-time GPRS tracking will allow the company to see if its drivers are giving lifts to passengers.