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  • What is Telematics

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Inform Residents with Public Facing Data

Apr
2020
23

How many times have you wished you’d taken an alternate route on your morning commute because you hadn’t realized that your city’s snowplows had yet make their routes through the road you were on? Or maybe you are tried of waiting for the bus and sick of wondering where it is at or what is taking it so long? Perhaps you were postponing on taking the trash out one morning because it was garbage day and your bins are full, only to find after work that the garbage truck hasn’t gotten through your neighborhood and your trash bins are still full. All these frustrations are pertinent in modern day civilian life; however, easy access to this information that can alleviate frustrations such as these, warming the cold glare of civilians on city public works is what MarshallGIS’s LiGO® telematics application can provide.

With MarshallGIS’s LiGO® application, gathering fleet telematics such as vehicle locations and routes taken has never been easier. Through MarshallGIS’s on-board vehicle sensors and AVL/GPS integrated services with LiGO®, information on work progress (historical and current) via vehicle locations and route distribution has made the transition of information to the public seamless and easily accessible.   

Telematics has and will continue to change the way governments and private organizations manage their work vehicles and crews, while also continuing to impact the relationships between residents of certain areas and how information is disseminated to them. Essentially fleet telematics provides a dual-purpose solution. The first, providing support to the management side of handling government and private fleets, and second in providing a platform for transparency in government operations with around the clock updates that are displayed to the public for access.

For example, The City of Tumwater has utilized this to their advantage by displaying up-to-date reports and visual data on a public facing website for residents to access any time, any place, from any device. The map tracks the location and activity of snowplows and deicing trucks. Priority routes that ensure access to critical facilities like hospitals and schools are marked to assist drivers in selectin safe routes for travel. Users can choose as much or as little information they want by choosing the number of map layers to view.

Snapshot of Tumwater Report

With MarshallGIS’s LiGO® application, all public works information such as snowplow, garbage or bus routes can be created, stored and shared with the residents within a city via integrated GIS applications populated by LiGO® telematics and GPS tracking. With up to date, easy to access information, residents of a city are sure to alleviate some day-to-day frustration with transparency of information from their local municipalities.

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Fleet Risk Management

Feb
2020
27
grey bicycle on road near black vehicle at nighttime

When managing and operating a fleet of vehicles, a number of unforeseeable issues can arise that will inevitably reduce the amount of effective risk management you availably have. At MarshallGIS, we have curated a software system called LiGO® that utilizes automatic vehicle location (AVL) and global positioning systems (GPS), in cooperation with vehicle telematics through on-board sensors of your vehicles that display data integral to operational risk management.

As the saying goes, “It is hard to manage something that you cannot see.” With LiGO®s AVL and GPS systems displaying both geographic locations of vehicles and metrics, it aids fleet managers with the ability to keep track of where vehicles are and how they are functionally operating. Multiple out-of-box event notification, reports, and alerts will keep you up to date in real-time, with any unusual activity regarding your fleet vehicles. With these metrics and information presented in real-time, fleet managers have the power to monitor events like this in the hopes that risk management increases.

In the case that an accident regrettably occurs, either to or by a manager’s vehicle, LiGO® has the capability to draw the history of tracks related to a specific vehicle. This aids the fleet manager an associated company in potential litigation. Showing real-time data that displays the geographic position of the vehicle, if it was moving or was stopped, if moving – how fast it was going, etc.

For companies that operate fleets of vehicles, the ability to track those vehicles out in the world and how they are functioning is an integral part of peak risk management in all its associated avenues. With LiGO® this tracking is deliberately easier on all accounts. Being able to minimize potential risk and maximize overall risk management is the pinnacle of operational efficiency in today’s modern world – with LiGO® the ability to reach that pinnacle is not beyond the horizon.

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The Cost of Fleet Ownership

Jul
2019
18

Owning a fleet can be an expensive affair. With all the money invested in the purchasing of fleet vehicles, it is now up to the fleet manager or director to keep costs low. A well-managed fleet can be a valuable asset, but a poorly managed one can be a money dump.

There are many areas where costs occur, mainly the buying of new vehicles, the maintenance of currently owned vehicles, and the everyday usage of vehicles.      

The main way to cut costs is by being selective with the number of vehicles that make up a fleet. Having more vehicles than needed is a waste of money. Smaller fleets need to be extra vigilant of underutilized vehicles because of economies of scale, where a single vehicle in a small fleet can have a much larger financial burden. Although this concept seems logical, in practice, it can be hard to determine whether all vehicles are getting enough usage to make them a valuable asset. This becomes increasingly evident in larger fleets. Having fleet telematics can help a manager analyze usage numbers to see if a vehicle is a valuable asset or if it should be removed to cut costs.

Maintenance of fleet vehicles is another important area of management. The costs of oil changes and basic repairs remain predictable, as long as they are done on a set schedule. Pushed off repairs, or forgotten about repairs end up costing more in the long run.  

Finally, vehicle usage plays a major role in the total cost of a fleet. And it can be the hardest to manage. To make the most of an asset, fleet vehicles need to use the shortest routes and idle less to cut fuel costs. They also need to be treated well. Unnecessary wear and tear can lead to extra maintenance costs, and possibly shorter vehicle life spans.

Managing a fleet is a balancing act, if well balanced, the fleet will pay for itself. Underutilized vehicles, failure to keep up on maintenance and poor usage habits by drivers can tip this balance. Managers need reliable data to keep balance.  

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An Abundance of Supported Devices

May
2019
8

One of the hallmarks of a great telematics solution is that it can integrate and work well with the numerous other components of what makes a telematics system. Telematics systems, like many other IoT technologies, are usually comprised of two main components; hardware and software. LiGO® is the groundbreaking software that MarshallGIS has developed to serve the fleet management and automatic vehicle location needs of numerous private and public sector organizations.

Hardware for telematics is often interchangeable. A good telematics software system is one that can integrate and communicate with numerous other work systems and hardware systems. Our LiGO® software holds an advantage to most other systems due to its ability to integrate, and communicate with an abundance of different supported devices.

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What do you want for your Solution?

Mar
2019
18

Telematics is a broad term used to describe a variety of services that can be provided by connecting vehicles with devices that can track and monitor a number of metrics for your fleet. Telematics is GPS tracking, vehicle sensor monitoring, engine diagnostic measures, job and dispatch management, maintenance management, and everything in-between. Choosing to apply a telematics solution to your fleet does not force you to apply all these measures, but also doesn’t limit you to any single part of the solution.

As with telematics, “Fleet” is also a broad term. Both public and private sector fleets perform a range of duties. One solution does not fit all, and it is common for management teams to request all kinds of customizations as to track the data that really matters for them. Some organizations just wish to be able to organize dispatch jobs by closest most available vehicles. Others, wish to track time spend in GeoFence areas to monitor productivity and other metrics. While others still, just wish to track the accurate location of their vehicles at all times.

You can imagine how quickly an organizations’ “telematics” requirements could get complicated. LiGO®, the telematics solution developed by MarshallGIS takes all this into consideration. We put an emphasis in our ability to customize, and integrate with organizations’ existing systems.

LiGO® fully supports and is capable of interfacing with OBD II and J1939 ECU through our hardware through this we are capable of acquiring all the metrics mentioned in the blog as well as accurate real-time vehicle tracking for light, and heavy duty vehicles. Our software engineers are constantly formulating new reporting capabilities that enable fleets to gather the data that actually matters to them. We make an effort to offer our customers customized telematics solutions that fit their operations.

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Informed Residents, are Happy Residents

Feb
2019
22

At this point we’re starting to sound like a broken record, repeating the impact, and importance of IoT innovations in the automotive and public sector spheres. Every couple of years’ new technology comes around that completely reshapes one or more existing industries. Telematics, is no exception to that phenomena.

Telematics has, and will continue change the way governments and private organizations manage their work vehicles and the crews that manage them. Moreover, Telematics will continue to impact the relationship between residents of certain areas, and how information is disseminated to them.

How many times have you wished you’d taken the alternative highway to get to work because you hadn’t realized that your cities snowplows hadn’t yet made their routes through the road you were on? Maybe where you live doesn’t snow often; still, bus routes, traffic congestion, garbage pickup routes and times, the list goes on. My point is that there are many criteria residents of certain areas depend on to get their daily tasks completed.

Essentially Telematics provides a dual purpose solution. The first, providing support to the management side of handling government and private fleets (that we’ve gone over numerous times on previous blog posts), and the second in providing a platform for transparency in government operations with around the clock updates.

The City of Tumwater has utilized this to their advantage by displaying up-to-date reports and visual data on a public facing website for residents to access any time, any place, from any device. The map tracks the location and activity of snow plows and deicing trucks. Priority routes that ensure access to critical facilities like hospitals and schools are marked to assist drivers in selecting safe routes for travel. Users can choose as much or as little information they want by choosing the number of map layers to view.

User friendly Map gives residents of the area the ability to assess roads.
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Right Sizing Public Sector Fleets

Feb
2019
4

With the advances in technology and the automotive IoT world, telematics solutions such as LiGO® are beginning to have much more far reaching positive effects. Not only are telematics improving management of many large government fleets; it is also improving the ability of these organizations to operate in a manner that aligns with people and governments push towards more sustainability and reduction of overall greenhouse gas emissions as per Executive Order 13693.

Using telematics Fleet managers are not only able to monitor vehicle metrics that have an effect on emissions; but also are able to set threshold limits and other forms of reductions in unesescary utilization of equipment and work force. Following the model of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ telematics, when properly implemented might enable managers to decide when to decommission vehicles that have very low usage times. it could also bring to light the opportunities to synchronize work orders and vehicle usage between drivers.

At the end of the day, the best decisions, are data driven decisions. Actions made based on accurate metrics provided by a good telematics solution.

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Green your fleet with Telematics

Jan
2019
25

With the advances in technology and the automotive IoT world, telematics solutions such as LiGO® are beginning to have much more far reaching positive effects. Not only are telematics improving management of many large government fleets; it is also improving the ability of these organizations to operate in a manner that aligns with people and governments push towards more sustainability and reduction of overall greenhouse gas emissions as per Executive Order 13693.

Using telematics Fleet managers are not only able to monitor vehicle metrics that have an effect on emissions; but also are able to set threshold limits and other forms of. Following the model of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ telematics, when properly implemented might enable managers to decide when to decommission vehicles that have very low usage times. it could also bring to light the opportunities to synchronize work orders and vehicle usage between drivers.

At the end of the day, the best decisions, are data driven decisions. Actions made based on accurate metrics provided by a good telematics solution.

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Telematics for your Winter Fleet

Telematics for your Winter Fleet
Nov
2018
21

With winter quickly approaching many in the US prepare for the festive season. Christmas and Thanksgiving are some of the good things that go hand in hand with the winter season. For many fleet operations, however, it isn’t all festivity and jolliness.

In the public sector, fleets are required to be prepared and ready for service 24/7.  Large populations rely heavily on an effective snow removal, and road management fleet to ensure that their daily routine goes by unimpeded.

MarshallGIS has had many successful projects that implemented LiGO®, our very own GPS Automatic vehicle location (AVL) to monitor many aspects of winter fleet operation. Our expertise in systems and controller integration puts us a cut above the competition. When it comes to acquiring special vehicle data, look no further.

LiGO® is equipped with many tools to help the user achieve the benefits. LiGO® can provide, live “real-time” views of your vehicles and the current location of one or all vehicles in the fleet. Expanded vehicle data includes current address, current speed, the direction of travel, time stopped (if applicable) and verification of last data transmission. With LiGO® the easy to use query tool makes it very simple to do an “on-demand” query to request the immediate location of a vehicle.

LiGO® system also provides the ability to connect to an onboard device, sensor, system or controller.
Examples include:

  • Power Take-Off (PTO) Tracking
  • Sweeper
  • Plow position
  • Spreader/Spreader controller
  • Thermometer
  • Sprayer
  • Paint Stripper

LiGO® is compatible with most industry-standard controllers for vehicles like snow plows. our experienced developers have produced numerous custom solutions for customers with specific requirements. Real-time photo updates, or connecting to controller outputs and displaying this information in a usable format.

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Winter Fleet Preventative Maintenance

Winter Fleet Preventative Maintenance
Nov
2018
21

For fleet managers in harsh winter bearing States, the seasonal festivity is juxtaposed by what it means for vehicles. Mechanical breakdowns, high repair costs, and upticks in vehicle accidents an unfortunate, but fairly preventable reality.

Harsh weather conditions due to high winds, freezing temperatures, slippery roads take a toll on any vehicle. Fleet vehicles which are on the road for longer periods of times than average, require additional oversight, and maintenance. Preparing your fleet vehicles for winter and its importance cannot be understated.

Below are just a few tips to get you started:

  • Understanding and utilizing correct fuel: Seasonally enhanced fuel in colder environments can save fuel-economy from deteriorating. Managers also have the option of using special additives to increase power and fuel economy. We recommend that the choice of additive be heavily researched.
  • Checking vehicle lights: Something as simple as a dysfunctional blinker could cause easily avoidable damages. This is especially true in the winter seasons when the roads are slicker than usual.
  • Keeping appropriate water and fluid levels: Engine coolant does not age well replacing old coolant with fresh antifreeze added is a must. Water can sometimes freeze in fuel storage tanks and filtration systems. This can cause extensive fuel system damage to fuel pumps and injectors.
  • Tire pressure must be checked every few weeks: Ensuring tires are pumped and the thread is at least the AA recommended 3mm for winter driving. Driving on underinflated tires can also cause unwarranted wear. Driving on overinflated tires can reduce grip and increase the risk of damage from road debris and potholes.
  • Battery Maintenance: A very common winter breakdown issue, as cold weather can affect the chemical reactions that aid in holding a charge.

Above is a fraction of the preventative fleet maintenance steps managers should take to ensure their fleets are operational during winter. We recommend fleet owners and managers perform extensive research on keeping vehicles operative in the winter seasons.

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  • Inform Residents with Public Facing Data
  • Fleet Risk Management
  • The Cost of Fleet Ownership
  • An Abundance of Supported Devices
  • What do you want for your Solution?

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