Fleet management
Fleet management, fleet management or fleet management is the management, planning, steering and control of fleets of vehicles ( fleet ). Here, distances of vehicles ( trucks, cars, boat, train, bus), coordinated and determined taking into account influence of certain parameters. Problems to be detected early by a fleet management, fixed or bypassed from the outset. A special form represents the rail-road, intermodal or multimodal transport, which combine several means of transport for the movement of goods together investigated.
Today, there is often talk of digital fleet management, meant is a software or an application on a Web server that supports with data from the Global Positioning System and computerized order proposals, as well as digital representations, the dispatchers. Discharge disposition, optimized path planning and associated cost reductions are the main objectives of fleet management. Technological progress makes it possible to GPS data for monitoring ( control as well as control) of the fleet " on tour" to use.
Applications
For the term " fleet management " there is no fixed definition. Many providers which offer fleet management, have different conceptual views. Fleet management usually involves fleet management and controlling. In this vehicle can be installed that will record data at regular intervals and stores them either in an internal memory, from which it can then be read later or automatically sends the data at intervals via GPRS or SMS to a data server a device. A simple device configuration collects only the position data of the vehicle via GPS. If the data logger is additionally connected to the vehicle diagnostic system, data from the on-board diagnostics can be retrieved and collected. This results in not only a profile of the distance traveled, but it can also be the current driving situation and the operational state of the vehicle are monitored. An additional acceleration sensor can provide data on extreme braking and acceleration maneuvers and so possibly indicate an accident. If previously defined limits are exceeded, the operator can an alarm message via SMS or via the data server (Machine to Machine) to be delivered. Among the interesting values include the following:
- Vehicle speed ( but this could be said of the calculated GPS data )
- Engine speed
- Coolant temperature
- Fault memory
- Fuel consumption at bus and truck on the CAN bus
In older vehicles without CAN -Bus can be approximately calculated from different measurements then the fuel consumption.
Mainly comes fleet management in companies with a larger stock of company cars, trucking companies, taxi services, car rentals, rescue, and in shipping used. Basically, one speaks of fleet management, if you daily number of vehicles waiting to put maintenance and has to coordinate. The provision of cargo securing systems in road transport falls within this remit, as well as the exchange of lashing after the discard criteria. Increasingly more contact through web-based solutions. These are, inter alia, interesting for service organizations in the field of crafts.
Fleet in Germany
In Germany there are about 1.6 million company fleets with almost four million vehicles ( 2011). To the area of responsibility of the fleet managers include some complex issues such as the organization of the fleet insurance and claims management or cooperation with leasing and fleet management providers. The interests of the fleet managers and fleet managers are represented among others by the Federation fleet management. Further developments to the fleet managers provide among others, the DEKRA Academy, the TÜV Rheinland Academy or the bfp fleet management academy.
Criticism
The options allow the fleet management system together with a data logger the driver full control. This can lead to an impairment of personal rights. For the affected no unobserved movement is no longer possible, since he is under pressure to adapt and how (for example, by the employer ) are expected to behave. Therefore, there needs to be a balancing of interests between the control interests of the operator and the privacy interests of the person concerned. The legal basis for the use of a monitoring solution can be created between employee and employer, inter alia, by the consent of the worker in the employment contract or a works agreement. It is also very careful as it is with the rights of located persons who are not a party to the service provider (for example, passengers in a supervised taxi or bus). The secret tracking (eg, a spouse) is not permitted by data protection law.