The development of Fleet Management (FM) and vehicle tracking systems is based largely on the convergence between a number of different technology platforms to ultimately deliver user-friendly, feature-rich functionality that enhances business performance while reducing operational risk. It is an industry that's constantly changing and as new ideas enter the arena, they are incorporated into existing offerings as value-adds. While 2007 saw a host of new innovations enhance FM system functionality in general, the vehicle tracking industry has set its sights on integrating its services with FM technologies.   reports on the year's FM and tracking highlights.

When it comes to information and communication technology (ICT), the term 'bleeding edge' can conjure up two scenarios - one where the very latest, relatively unproven technology is let loose on an unsuspecting public, bleeding it of money and sanity, and the other, smart technology that really works and is 'ahead of cutting edge'. 

In the FM and tracking industries, the last decade in South Africa has seen much 'blood-letting' as well as a few genuine success stories. In between the cell operators cutting their rates, satellite services becoming more accessible, web software becoming more powerful and vehicle electronics becoming more sophisticated, fleet managers have just entered a 'brave new world' where the notion of 'total visibility of mobile assets' is practically a reality, even in 'darkest' Africa.

The mergers
The joining of vehicle tracking and FM services under one roof is not a new approach. DigiCore has made a global 'empire' out of it and continues to sign new fleets around the world. For two local vehicle tracking giants, FM services once shied away from are now offered as part of a full asset protection package. 

The tracking companies in question are Matrix and Netstar who, having merged recently with FM solutions providers, OmniBridge and Comtech respectively, have put to rest what seemed to be a rather irrational duplicity in vehicle productivity and security technology.

"Fleet management systems allow for effective utilisation of the fleet, for example being able to identify which vehicles are over or under-utilised, whereas tracking is a subset of that. In short, tracking systems protect your mobile assets, while fleet management systems ensure the efficient use of your mobile assets," says OmniBridge MD, Charles Tasker. "Combining the functionality of the two systems into one box allows for really effective planning and budgeting, and reports can be combined to provide information in a great amount of detail."
Says Andy Baker, MD of Altech Netstar: "This acquisition not only gives us a broad and deep suite of high and low end products, it also positions us well to significantly increase our service offerings to a more diverse range of customers." 
According to Frik van Staden, COO of Skygistics, "in my personal opinion, these mergers were bound to happen. The tracking market is pretty much saturated and the end-user market is becoming more educated, demanding more in the way of services and applications. Tracking companies need to meet these demands and merging with established FM providers is one way of doing it."

New hardware
The introduction of FM products to local truck buyers by OEM, Scania, is surely a foretaste of things to come where CAN-bus technology is leveraged by FM developers to produce greater levels of data integrity. Although Scania has its own proprietary FM software (Scania FMS), it uses Omnibridge's hardware and bureau service. 

"Fuel usage, vehicle speed, engine revolutions per minute (RPM) and power takeoff (PTO) are read directly from the CAN-bus using the popular FMS (J1939) standard," explains Tasker. "This not only allows for the processing of more accurate data, but makes installation of the on-board-computer (OBC) much easier. With the new FM300 Communicator (CAN) solution there's no need for redundant and costly sensors that were previously required to capture data. What's more, wiring requirements are reduced and reliability is improved."

As cross-border truck traffic increases, the demand for reliable bi-directional satellite communications increases. FM 'black boxes' from the likes of GlobalTrack, DigiCore and OmniBridge combine satellite communications (using Small Data Packet System, or SDPS) with cell-based GPRS platforms.

"Cell network coverage is really patchy north of our borders," says Van Staden, "and setting units up for 'roaming' is tedious and expensive so satellite communication is now the preferred route for trucks operating in the sub-Saharan region."
 

GlobalTack integrates bi-directional satellite communications with GPRS to send data.

Sexier software
This year's big news for fleet controllers is the integration of Google earth satellite photographs into FM mapping software by vendors such as Observer Technologies, DigiCore, GlobalTrack, Scania FMS and OmniBridge.

"Users are able to move seamlessly between the Google maps and their default maps in the FM-Web system. They are able to access normal, satellite and hybrid views of the Google maps, and the Google maps and the FM-Web system are in sync in terms of coverage, resolution and updates", says Tasker.

"Other mapping enhancements include improved zoom and pan controls, the ability to measure points on a map and extensive map display and usability enhancements. Map labels are significantly enhanced and now display additional information such as speed, vehicle position, vehicle heading and important events associated with the vehicle."
 

Google maps can be zoomed in on to get street-level information

Getting the best out
All technology vendors will emphasise the need to make FM systems an integral part of an operations daily workflow process. Having the right personnel to do this is crucial to ensure benefits are derived from the system. Operators can use bureau services or run their FM system in-house. Whichever route is chosen, 'blood spills' can be avoided by insisting on proven functionality and well defined service level agreements between FM system suppliers and fleet customers.