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Office on Wheels
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More fleets are likely to adopt mobile communications tools as hardware, software and airtime costs decrease, experts say.
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By Stephen Bennett
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To exchange crucial information with drivers and collect data from trucks, some fleets use cellular or satellite communications to enable virtually constant contact. The ideal situation is to equip the truck cab as a mobile office that is rarely out of reach of dispatchers or managers.
Such a high level of connectivity is more common in heavy-duty truck fleets, said Todd Bloom, vice president of marketing for Isuzu Commercial Truck of America. It has not been widely adopted by medium-duty fleets, because drivers typically are not tied to their cabs for long periods and because of cost considerations. But the investment required for in-cab electronics and connectivity is dropping, “so we’re going to see more and more of it,” he said.
All commercial fleets can benefit from improved driver communications. For example, fleets that deliver cement to construction sites need to know if the weather will be suitable for pouring, and utility and telecom fleets must quickly respond to power outages.
Nicholas & Co., a food service distributor in Salt Lake City that operates in Utah, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Wyoming, uses a cellular-based mobile communications system to stay in touch with its drivers and trucks. The fleet includes five F-150 Fords with 14-foot van bodies, six Freightliner Business Class M2 trucks with 28-foot boxes and 86 Freightliner tractors.
Mobile communication is vital, said Jerry Turner, senior director of operations.
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“With skyrocketing transportation costs, it’s absolutely imperative that we know what’s happening in the trucks.”
The fleet uses Mobius TTS, a fleet management system from Cadec Global LLC, Manchester, N.H. “It’s proven to be a very reliable and cost-effective option for us. It tracks engine use and performance, provides [Global Positioning System] information, text connectivity with the drivers and numerous other valuable reports that help us manage our people and our fleet,” Turner said.
“The text-messaging feature allows near real-time communications” and is preferable to cell phones for safety reasons, he said. “We strongly discourage, and in fact have a company policy banning, any cell phone use in a vehicle while on company business. When we need to communicate with a driver, or he with us, the communication is via text messaging using their onboard computer. The texting function will only send and receive messages while the truck is parked, making it very safe to use.”<
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