In its third annual Telematic Benchmark report, global software provider Teletrac Navman found that while more fleets are using technology than ever before, it remains underutilized and, in some cases, resisted.
The report focused on the U.S., and in so doing, tracked best practices, trends and current issues facing more than 500 participating transportation organizations. In some aspects, it was a positive report, finding that the overwhelming majority of fleets — 86 percent — now use technology, while 55 percent have seen it lead to reduced fuel costs. Further, 42 percent have seen fewer safety incidents since using telematics to monitor driver behavior.
Such figures were quickly curbed, however, by some of its other findings. For example, despite the high use of technology today, most transportation organizations still lack data-driven approaches to managing their businesses as less than a quarter use analytics in their strategies. In fact, 36 percent of companies still rely on manual processes to predict hiring needs. Worse still, this extends into the future: more than half of companies — 54 percent — have no plans to implement additional technology going forward. While telematics features are used today, their full capabilities are also rarely utilized. The report found that only three of the 12 most common telematics features are used to measure vehicle status metrics: location, hours of service and speed.
“This year’s survey results reveal there’s a big difference between being a tech-compliant organization and a tech-driven one,” Sid Nair, senior director of transport and compliance for Teletrac Navman, said. “Putting ELDs (electronic logging devices) in vehicles is not a silver bullet and, ultimately, won’t help fleets solve their business challenges as the transportation and logistics industry becomes ever more competitive. Using data effectively is the key to making your fleet work smarter, not harder, but managers can only reap these benefits if they look beyond using technology strictly for compliance and commit to using data to inform important business decisions – ones that can boost productivity and minimize expenses. That’s the true meaning of digital transformation.”
ELDs are meant to monitor trucks’ movement via GPS signal, log service hours and record both engine time and speed automatically. Drivers and fleet owners have until December to switch to ELDs, if they are still utilizing Automatic On Board Recording Devices (AOBRDS) installed prior to the ELD mandate. Penalties are already in place for those working without ELDs.
However, the Telematic Benchmark report found that ELD adoption this year has been largely consistent with 2018 figures. About 66 percent of companies use ELDs for tracking, while 24 percent are still using illegal paper logs and 19 percent are using AOBRDS. ELDs remain the industry’s top compliance concern. As for business priorities, finding, developing and retaining talent amidst a driver shortage remains the top priority at 30 percent.