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3 September, 2010 |
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Royal Mail 'saves £4 million' with vehicle tracking package
 Royal Mail says it has reduced fuel use by more than 10 per cent, saving £4.4 million, through a package of measures in which a key element is vehicle tracking with the C-track system. The tracking system has been fitted on 8,000 vehicles in the Royal Mail fleet. Objectives of the programme included improving route planning and analysis, enhancing driver performance and increasing management control. Royal Mail says it has accessed real-time and historical fleet data provided by the system to monitor the effectiveness of the driver risk assessment initiative. To date, driver productivity has increased by 3 per cent, accident rates have been reduced by 20 per cent, and instances of speeding are down by more than 60 per cent. 
Major features in latest issue: see links at column head, PLUS: Smarter scheduling Messaging system that cuts down delivery failures Conference report: Telematics and vans – perfect partners It's time we cleaned up our act
Tesco implements Microlise solution on Continent and in UK
Tesco has announced that it is implementing a transport management solution from Microlise throughout its store delivery operations in Central Europe, Asia and the United States. The decision follows trials in Slovakia in late 2009. The retailer has not revealed much detail about the project, but it already has various other telematics systems in place in its UK operations, including an Isotrak system for tracking and monitoring vehicles, and a Daimler Fleetboard system focusing on reducing CO2 emissions. Microlise points out that its systems tend to focus on a variety of fleet functions including productivity, operational costs, customer service, driver safety and fuel economy.
'Free' mapping as Ordnance Survey rewrites the rules on data charging
Significant parts of Ordnance Survey's digital mapping portfolio are now available to use free online. The radical change in charging policy at Ordnance Survey is the result of a long-standing drive by the outgoing UK Government to make data of all kinds more accessible to the public. This has forced the Ordnance Survey – traditionally highly protective of the copyright in its maps – to adopt a whole new policy towards its output. Exactly how the change will affect third-party commercial products is not clear, since the scheme requires the mapping to be publicly available on the Internet (and not restricted by licence or password), and the user-company is not permitted to charge for the application or data. These stipulations to some extent allay concerns that the move might prompt a commercial free-for-all in the mapping world.
'Range anxiety' makes telematics a must-have for electric vehicles
'Range anxiety' is one of several factors that will make telematics a 'must-have' in electrically-powered vehicles in the future, according to a new report by Frost & Sullivan. The consultancy says telematics will become standard on such vehicles, rather than optional, as it remains on conventionally-powered vehicles. As will be evident, range anxiety sums up a fear among drivers of electric vehicles that they will run out of charge before getting home or reaching re-charging facilities. Frost & Sullivan sees telematics playing a key role here. Systems will give drivers constant battery condition alerts, the company says; it will allow remote monitoring; display the nearest charging locations; help with re-routing in the event of difficulty in reaching the intended location; and calculate the most efficient time to re-charge.
Satnav for £2.99 per country
 The inexorable downward pressure on satnav is reflected in the latest product from UK supplier Navmii, which has launched an iPhone satnav application called Navmii GPS Live for just £2.99 per country. In case that sounds ridiculously cheap, the company insists that it is a proper satnav application, offering 'everything you would get from an in-car satellite navigation unit'. Bear in mind that the target audience is holidaymakers touring in Europe, and that the price applies per country. On the company's web site, you'll find the full price quoted as £19.99. However, we still think that's impressive value for a system that combines map-based and voice instructions, and covers France, Germany, Spain and The Netherlands.
DigiCore buys into Minorplanet
 In a surprise move that seems to confirm predictions of consolidation in the telematics market, DigiCore has taken a minority stake in the UK operations of Minorplanet, which is known to have been experiencing difficulties in the current depressed economy. The deal sees DigiCore injecting £3 million into the Minorplanet operation, for which it gets a 25 per cent share in a new business set up by Minorplanet's owners. This company will own all Minorplanet's UK assets, including its customer base. In the initial announcement, the two companies said the deal would provide immediate financial stability for Minorplanet, admitting that the company had been contending with 'significant financial problems that have severely limited its ability to sell and raise lease finance'.
Speed surge for Panasonic's upgraded Toughbook
Little more than a year after the launch of its flagship Toughbook CF-30 ruggedised laptop computer, Panasonic has come up with its replacement, the CF-31. It's quite a leap forward. Panasonic says its Intel Core i5 processor delivers twice the performance of its Core 2 Duo predecessor. It's rated at 2.4GHz, but that's only half the story, since it uses Intel's Turbo-boost (variable speed) and multi-threading technology to provide performance that outshines its apparent specification. Alongside this, you get 2GB of RAM, upgradeable to 4GB. The top-of-the-range model also has a switchable graphics capability, allowing users to switch between the enhanced graphics performance of the dedicated ATI Mobility Radeon high-end HD 5650 graphic chip, with 512MB dedicated RAM; and the internal Intel HD graphics, saving power on the move. |