Fleet technology – where is it going ?
WORDS BY SCOTT ELKINGTON
In May , Bridgestone ’ s Webfleet turns 25 . It ’ s almost unbelievable how much has changed and evolved over the last 25 years . Back then , it was the halcyon days of 1999 – VCRs were still a thing , unleaded was 70c a litre , and mobiles had buttons .
There were other things too – like street directories , manual shifting , and roll-down windows – relics that some in the workforce have never used or seen ( not to make anyone feel dated ).
Only upon reflection do we see and acknowledge how far technology has progressed in changing our daily lives .
Today , we can stream videos to watch footage anywhere , anytime ; we have GPS devices and services that help everyone navigate wherever they are ( no more multiple directories for different regions !), and everything is a touch screen , allowing for more functionalities in the same confined space .
Even critical infrastructure has come and gone – Telstra ’ s 3G network was publically launched in 2002 and will end in June this year – a solid innings of 22 years .
This technological evolution has also affected fleet and vehicle management — much for the better . We have seen the evolution of telematics devices , from simple navigation aids to comprehensive vehicle data capture devices , laying the foundation for every modern fleet management solution .
And it hasn ’ t slowed down .
As vehicles continue to push the limits of technology in new ways and become increasingly complex in both operation and engineering , granular insight and data has become key to keeping operations and costs under control .
In the past fleet managers had to rely on reams of paperwork to check vehicle odometer readings , vehicle checklists , or fuel status . Likewise , if something was starting to go wrong under the hood , it was up to the driver to inform
16 ISSUE 46 APRIL 2024 / WWW . AFMA . ORG . AU