European finished vehicle carrier Hödlmayr has signed a deal with safety technology supplier Wabco for the supply of a fleet management system across all of its car carriers.
Wabco’s fleet management division, Transics International, will equip around 610 vehicle carriers with its TX-SKY onboard computers, along with mobile and document management applications. Transics will also install its web-based back office system TX-CONNNECT to manage driver, truck, trailer and cargo management.
In a statement Wabco said the system would enable Hödlmayr to monitor its fleet of trucks in real time, using information on location along with route adherence, vehicle speed and delays to support key operating decisions. The system integrates with Hödlmayer’s own transport management software.
Installation will take place at select customer sites, as well as at Transics and Wabco certified service partner locations. The fleet is expected to be fully equipped by the first quarter of 2016.
“After a period of comprehensive testing and evaluation we chose to equip our entire commercial vehicle fleet with Transics’ suite of advanced fleet management solutions,” confirmed Markus Formann, head of corporate purchasing and fleet management, Hödlmayr International. “Transics’ systems integrate easily with our existing software. They allow for maximum flexibility and adaptability to meet Hödlmayr International’s present and future business needs. We are also excited about Transics’ and Wabco’s extensive service network to help maintain the performance of our fleet across Europe.”
The system captures data on driver behaviour, such as braking, speeding, signalling and evasive manoeuvers according to Wabco. Hödlmayr now has a direct link between trucks, drivers and its home office. Furthermore, Transics’ FMS offering seamlessly integrates with Hödlmayr International's own transport management software.
Speaking at the recent annual meeting of the Association of European Vehicle Logistics (ECG), Didier Nulens, global sales, marketing and operations leader for Transics, pointed out that for much of the wider trucking sector, the uptake of this sort of technology has been lacking. He said only around 15% of trucks are using a telematics-related fleet management systems, while just 6% of trailers are equipped for this, and only 3% of fleets are using remote diagnostics like tyre pressure monitoring. The usage of such technology for the vehicle logistics fleet itself seems likely to be even lower.
However, the potential for such systems is enormous, Nulens said. With most new trucks equipped with many sensors, there will be more opportunities to harness such systems (read a full report on the meeting here).
Wabco took over Transics last year and now offers customers, including Hödlmayr, a service that combines its own commercial vehicle systems technology and service network with Transics solutions.
