Jan/Feb 2005

On-board fleet management system with optional satellite navigation from Volvo

Our impression

If you develop an on-board computer and telematics system that will help operators cut fuel costs and manage drivers and vehicles more effectively, then sell it at an affordable price, buyers will beat a path to your door. The success of Volvo's Dynafleet fleet management system is a testament to that. There are already 20,000 Dynafleet units out there, and Volvo is confident that number will grow now that it has the online version fully operational.

Earlier versions of Dynafleet required office-based software to download the data and create reports. With Dynafleet On-line, all that is needed in the office is a computer and a link to the Internet. And the latest version can include high-end satellite navigation too. So m.logistics was delighted to have the chance to go to Gothenburg and try it out.

The on-board unit captures vehicle position, speed and direction, fuel consumption, distance driven, time spent idling, average speed, and time spent in top gear and in the economical band on the rev counter. It can also record load temperature, gross and individual axle weights. The driver logs on by inserting a smartcard in the Dynafleet unit, which then records all driver activity including working, waiting, driving and rest periods.

Communication with drivers is via SMS-based text messaging. The driver uses a keyboard to type messages. Communications are done on the GSM phone network. This might seem a tad prehistoric in these days of GPRS and real-time data downloads, but it reflects Dynafleet's roots as a vehicle and driver cost management system rather than as a transport and logistics planning tool. However, Volvo says it is developing a GRPS-based version, and plans to have it available later this year.

There are three levels to Dynafleet On-Line, depending on how much data and reporting you require. The basic package costs £20 per month and includes an on-board black box (called a Logger Tool by Volvo) and a reports package, but no vehicle or driver performance information or real-time messaging.

Add the messaging and reporting service and the cost is £40 per vehicle per month. Lastly, for £13 per month, there is a basic message-only package that allows the office to communicate via SMS messaging with drivers in vehicles that do not have Dynafleet.

These prices don't include the hardware costs, which range from £1,120 for the Logger Tool up to £2,600 for the in-cab keyboard and pop-up colour screen.

As you'd expect from a truck maker, there is a host of data captured on board about vehicle and driver performance. Fuel costs are the highest proportion of operating costs, followed closely by drivers' wages, so Dynafleet has always been strongly focused on managing these costs.

The Web site has functions for reports, service planning, messages, maps, driver information and administration. The reports range from an overview to detailed information about fuel consumption and journey times. It's very easy to find your way around, and there are user-definable reports to make it even faster to get the data you want. Thanks to an email-style interface, sending messages to the drivers is also easy. You can redirect incoming messages to your email inbox. There is space on the site for company announcements and news.

The Driver Information function provides quick information about how far the driver has driven, waited or rested. There are useful warnings built into the system to indicate when drivers' hours are about to be exceeded. Vehicle positions are plotted on maps down to street level.

The on-board unit records vehicle position every ten minutes, so if you're reviewing a journey, the trail is represented by a series of dots. This means there are gaps in the route trace, but how crucial that is depends on your operation, of course. Some managers are quite content to have basic historic vehicle tracking data, and if all you need is a basic route report, Dynafleet is perfectly adequate. If you need more in-depth analysis of routes and planned versus actual journey times, or geofence alerts, you may need to look elsewhere.

Satnav

Dynafleet can now be integrated with a Siemens VDO on-board satellite navigation system. You can use a single GPS antenna to serve both systems, in which case the Dynafleet in-cab screen also displays the mapping and route information, or they can be completely separate. The maps cover all of Europe down to individual street level.

Volvo says a further 8 per cent fuel saving is achievable with satnav, because drivers are less likely to take the wrong route. One advantage of the system is that it incorporates a gyroscope that detects sideways movement and speed data to calculate the vehicle's position. So the driver receives exact navigation in tunnels and other areas where a GPS signal is weak.

There's no denying the satellite navigation system is impressive. If you go off-route and ignore its attempts to get you back on track, it quickly recalculates the route from your current position. The voice instructions are clear, precise and easily understood; we experienced no evidence of the odd phraseology that you get on some satnav systems. Directions are given at just the right time when you're approaching a roundabout or junction. The maps on the screen are equally clear. You can also get RDS-TMC traffic information.

The downside is the cost. It may be the Rolls Royce of satellite navigation systems (and hence ultra-desirable), but at around £1,500 we can't see this appealing to many cash-strapped UK fleets, even on a lease basis - especially when simpler PDA-based satnav systems are now available for a fifth of that price. Owner-drivers seeking return loads from unfamiliar addresses - especially those on international work - may be prepared to fork out for it. Like couriers, they may be able to justify the ROI.

Another minor niggle is that the system includes no data on bridge heights or weight restrictions, but Dynafleet is not alone here; it's an irritating omission from all current satnav systems that we've seen so far.

Our verdict

Dynafleet On-line transfers a tried and tested system to a new medium in a practical and logical way, and therefore can't fail to appeal. It's practical, straightforward and functional, and it works. We can't fault it for what it offers.

However, considering that it's designed to make fleet management affordable to all operators, it does seem odd that the only satellite navigation offered with it is the most expensive on-board type. An Internet-based navigation application, with routes and directions squirted to the truck as and when required at a fraction of the cost, would arguably be a better fit with the Dynafleet philosophy.

What Dynafleet really needs, though, is a GPRS-based communications system in place of the slightly old-fashioned SMS-based approach. GSM can only take the cost management function so far. Satellite navigation and real-time tracking go hand in-hand-hand. We're encouraged to learn that a GPRS version is on the way, and wait with keen interest to see what it can offer.