Battery Power – More, Better, Faster

by Lynn Rios | Dec 12, 2019 | Fleet Management, Announcements-News, Electric Vehicles

Battery power is always in the back of our minds.

In the Telematics industry, our clients communicate throughout the workday on smartphones. Also, many run apps on phones or tablets. We use portable devices to manage work orders, complete electronic forms, report issues, receive locations and update routes. Similarly other apps capture signatures, record work completed, and document damaged freight. Furthermore, field technicians use an array of battery-powered tools to get their work done. As a result, if we run out of battery power it all comes to a screeching halt.

More EV’s = More Battery Power

Now add to this the increased use of Electric Vehicles. Seems like we are becoming more and more dependent upon battery power. That raises another big concern. As the rate we are consuming battery power increases, there is a very real risk of a battery disposal crisis in our future. Is all this battery use going to be sustainable?

Improving Battery Technology

Improving battery technology is high on the list of hot tech issues to address. Environmentally friendly batteries that charge faster and last longer will head off the potential crisis. So what is being done about it? Here are some of the encouraging projects I found.

Saft Research Director Patrick Bernard recently shared 3 new technologies being considered.

NEW GENERATION LITHIUM-ION

These batteries use different active materials to increase both energy and power. They will have very long life cycles, typically charging/discharging thousands of cycles.

LITHIUM-SULFUR

This battery has a different type of internal structure. It uses sulfur in the positive electrode and lithium in the negative electrode. As it discharges, chemical changes occur inside the battery. The reverse occurs during the charging cycle.

SOLID-STATE

Solid-state batteries use a solid compound rather than liquid electrolyte. This will make the batteries safer. The solid electrolytes are not flammable. This technology promises higher voltages, and batteries that are denser, lighter, and last longer on the shelf. These may become the future battery of choice for Electric vehicles.

Other Technologies Being Researched

Gold Nanowire Batteries are under development at UC Irvine. Researchers claim they can be recharged over 200,000 times with no material deterioration. Ultimately, this may result in a battery that lasts “forever.

Extreme Fast Charging or XFC charges batteries faster by charging them at higher temperatures. Using this method they say a 10-minute charge will add 200 miles of range on an EV battery.

Wireless Charging

Another research team reports initial success with an antenna that collects AC power from WiFi in the air and converts it to DC. It is being developed for use with battery powered medical devices. Instead of future surgeries to replace a batteries, the battery charges pretty much all the time.

Yet another startup is developing semiconductors made from organic materials. They are talking about 60-second cell phone charging and 5 minute EV charging if their research proves successful. Similarly a unique and promising technology under development uses ultrasound to wirelessly transmit electricity to a small receiver to recharge a device.

There are also preliminary reports of batteries made of foam and foldable materials, but the one that seems to be getting attention is the technology announced this past April by Nikola Corp. They plan to release details at their Nikola World 2020 conference next fall. They say they have a game-changing new technology that is more environmentally friendly than conventional lithium-ion and could double the range of passenger EVs.

One thing is certain. It will be very interesting to see what batteries look like 5 years from now.

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Top 10 Most Common Unsafe Driving Violations

by marketing fleetistics | Dec 6, 2019 | FMCSA-ELD-DVIR, Fleet Management

J.J. Keller’s List of Unsafe Driving Violations

Let’s talk about safety. J. J. Keller notes the Top 10 CSA unsafe driving violations. The FMCSA is an organization of authority in the industry. Paying attention to these scores is essential to operations.

No. 1: Speeding

Speeding violations range in severity from 1-10 dependent on speed and location. Speeding 1 encompasses speeding 1-5 mph above posted speed limit. Levels 2 and 3 are reserved for speeds 6-10 mph and 11-14 mph, respectively. Level 10 severity speeding violations include speeds 15 mph in excess of posted speed limit, and any speeding in construction zones. All of these speeding violations will affect your driver’s CSA score. Keep an eye out for excessive speed behaviors to protect your business!

No. 2: Failing to use a seat belt

This violation is an automatic level 7 for severity. Such a simple, life saving device, yet 2009 racked up over 70,000 of these violations. Failure to wear a seat belt not only affects your driver CSA score, but risks lives in the process.

No. 3: Failing to obey a traffic control device

We’re looking at a level 5 offense here. Failure to obey a traffic control device is a general category encompassing running stop signs, red lights, passing in a no-passing zone, and all other ignorance to road signage.

How can you avoid these violations? Simple. Make sure your drivers know the rules of the road and maintain awareness. This means limiting fatigued drivers, in addition to continuing education courses.

No. 4: Following too close

Categorized within “dangerous driving” this level 5 offense can be a deadly offense, and the CSA looks at it that way too. According to the FMCSA, “If you are driving below 40 mph, you should leave at least one second for every 10 feet of vehicle length… For speeds over 40 mph, you should leave one additional second”.

Watch: Dangers of Following too Closely

No. 5: Improper lane change

This is an automatic level 5 offense. An improper lane change is when a person changes or attempts to change lanes without an open and clear path. Essentially, it’s cutting someone off.

It’s very difficult to receive a citation for this because it requires one of two things. Either an officer has to witness to the improper lane change, or an accident resulting from the lane change with witnesses. Even with this being the case, there were still over 11,000 citations in 2009.

No. 6: Using/equipping a CMV with a radar detector

This level 5 offense is considered highly illegal. This is primarily because it endangers other drivers on the road. Not only is speeding dangerous overall, but speeding in a CMV can be especially dangerous because of the size of the vehicle, or the cargo. In particular, semi-truck tires are not rated for speeds above 75 mph, which means speed can lead to a dangerous blowout.

Using radar detectors is a practice that enables speeding in locations not currently under monitor.

No. 7: Failure to yield right of way

Failure to yield the right of way is a level 5 offense. It is considering a dangerous driving offense, and also negatively affects your driver’s CSA score. This includes intersections, multi-way stops, pedestrians, and other traffic signage. Violations can be a result of ignorance or confusion, but either way you can control violations to the law through driver education and coaching.

Unnecessarily yielding right of way can be just as dangerous, because it is often the cause of confusion.

No. 8: Improper turns

Improper turns are categorized under level 5 severity. This violation includes failing to make a complete stop before a right on red, improper distance from roadside when performing a turn, not utilizing turn signals, and improperly executed u-turns. Behaviors resulting in an improper turn violation also result in an impact on driver CSA score.

No. 9: Improper passing

Improper passing can be very unsafe. It includes endangering other vehicles while passing, blind passing at the tops of hills or around curves, and passing on the right. These behaviors result in high-speed, deadly accidents. As such, the severity level is 5, and it will absolutely impact driver CSA score.

This violation can also be issued when passing in a passing lane, or illegally crossing designated lane boundaries to pass another vehicle. In the case of most CMVs, size generally prohibits these behaviors.

No. 10: Reckless driving

Reckless driving is a major moving traffic violation. It ranks a level 10 on the severity index, and can result in the revocation of a license or jail time. It includes driving 25 mph over the speed limit, street racing, eluding a police officer, and even passing when visibility is limited.

Clearly, this would impact CSA score, but beyond that, it can severely damage your company’s reputation. When a potential customer sees your company vehicle weaving between lanes of traffic, they lose trust in your professional image.

Avoiding unsafe driving violations

The easiest way to avoid unsafe driving violations is to educate your drivers. Knowing the rules of the road can really make an impact on your driver CSA score. Abiding by the rules will eliminate the likelihood of receiving any violations at all.

Other ways to avoid violations:

Stay alert
Wear your seat belt
Drive defensively
Participate in NSC training
Utilize driver coaching plug-ins

Read more about plug-ins and driver coaching here.

Fleet Tracking with Weather Radar

by Eron Iler | Dec 6, 2019 | Fleet Management

Weather Radar Improves Trucking Safety

Weather radar enables dispatchers to account for delayed delivery, slower travel times and HOS exceptions.

Weather Impacts Profitability

When Time Counts

When the weather turns bad, consider how frequently you check the weather radar. You recognize the importance of good weather radar and data in your personal life, but do you apply the same to your fleet management practices? Weather radar provides information on more than just rain and snow. There are weather services that can predict black ice, surface temperatures and even tornado several hours into the future. The impact of good weather radar for drivers and dispatchers cannot be overestimated.

National Dispatching

When a team of people in a New York call center are dispatching trucks across the country, they must understand the weather factors in areas they are unfamiliar with. When there is 5′ of snow on the ground it is foolish to attempt a delivery to some areas. When dispatchers are able to see areas of heavy snow or probable black ice, they can route vehicles around hazardous weather and produce more revenue than otherwise possible. Drivers arrive alive. Trucks are not stuck or involved in accidents and customers expectations are managed and met more consistently.

Predictive Logistics

Wouldn’t it be great to know what is going to be needed before you received the order so you can offer just in time delivery of inventory? Everyone is familiar with the challenge of having the right inventory on hand to meet spikes in demand. Understanding where short-term demand will take place and how to get the supplies to meet the demand, can result in significant revenue increases. Of course you have the option to continue to do business the old way and respond two weeks after the demand has passed.

With almost everything in this country moving by truck at some point, knowing how weather impacts supply on short-term demands is critical. In many industries weather impacts demand in addition to supply. If a cold snap means the corns gets picked early, having trucks available to transport the corn is vital. If more tires are needed when the temperature exceeds 110 degrees in Arizona, having a 2 day heads up to move inventory can mean a spike in revenue. Being HOS compliant means not getting stuck in a hotel for 12 hours.

Weather Radar Integrated with GPS Tracking

With over 17 years of experience working with fleets, Fleetistics recognizes the need for fleet operators to see the location of their vehicles on same map during major weather events. Fleetistics customers utilizing Geotab telematics devices can choose from a variety of weather map layers depending on their location and transportation needs. Companies providing roadside assistance, to truckers, can deploy their technicians in a safer manner or change the schedule based on weather conditions to keep employees safe and customers serviced.

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Best GPS Tracking Device

by Eron Iler | Dec 3, 2019 | Fleet Management

Fleet Management from Geotab Reseller Fleetistics

Geotab Offers the Best GPS Tracking Devices

Best GPS Tracking Devices

If you are searching for the best GPS tracking and telematics system for enterprise level fleets you must have a detailed look at the GO System. Fleetistics has been a national reseller of the GO System for over 16 years and in that time there has never been a system more capable and feature rich for the investment. Enterprise class fleets choose the GO System because even the most basic plan is more robust than most competitor top of the line GPS trackers. One fleet has over 80,000 GO devices.

When searching for the Best GPS Tracking, contact Fleetistics

Best GPS Tracking App Features

This is a pretty bold statement but in 16+ years in the industry there has not been more engineering and development put into an overall fleet management ecosystem. Whether you are a small fleet looking for a basic vehicle tracking system or an enterprise class fleet operator, the GO System has a plan for you. The basic service includes features such as HD tracking (GPS logs ever few seconds), accident reconstruction data, custom and standard fleet reports, maintenance reminders, mobile app, fuel card, integration, user security, multi-vehicle route map, and more.

Best Flexibility for Small to Enterprise Fleets

The GO System system offers three service levels; Base, Pro and ProPlus. Base mode is generally for smaller fleets which need standard tracking features, although this includes a ton more with the GO System, and want an option to upgrade as their company grows. Base tracking mode excludes engine diagnostics and telematics. High definition tracking, custom reports, etc are still available. Fleet operators can upgrade the service on one GPS unit or the entire fleet based on the needs of individual vehicles or asset types.

Pro mode includes all the great features of Base mode but adds in the engine diagnostics and telematics for fleet safety. These features significantly increase the amount of data available for exceptions and analysis. Mid to enterprise fleets often start with Pro mode because of the engine diagnostics. Knowing when you have a problem on a heavy truck can significantly reduce unscheduled downtime and more expensive downstream maintenance. Telematics data provides input on seat belts and harsh driving behavior.

Module Equipment Design

Wow says it all. There are so many equipment options that reviewing them online is really the best way to understand the why the GO System is considered the best GPS tracking platform available. The GO GPS device is the only device on the market today that works with OBD and J-bus engine protocols (small and large vehicles). By providing adapter harnesses, the same GPS unit can be used on these various engine protocols. Customers can also choose from a variety of IOX harness which can be connected together to provide custom equipment configurations at the individual level. Examples of IOX equipment includes driver ID tags using NFC and a driver coaching speaker.

Best Vehicle Tracking Map

Mapping is a key component of fleet management. Being able to visualize the location of fleet vehicles and assets improves decision making. Having the best vehicle tracking map means more data that aids in decision making. Often times map data is limited or does not visualize the telematics data in a way to support operations. The best GPS tracking devices lose value if you do not have the best vehicle tracking map.

When evaluating GPS vehicle tracking solutions spend time to really think if the mapping is going to suppor your operation. There may be one or two key functions that make it great, or make it miss the mark for your operation. Get a GPS tracker to demo and run it in your fleet for a few weeks to see what you can learn when it is in use.

What Is A Fleet Management Ecosystem?

A fleet ecosystem is typically a web portal where fleet management can access many services. It is a place where various products and services are consolidated to provide more information in a single view that are targeted to a specific fleet operation.

One aspect of the Fleetistics GO System that makes it the best is the unique, industry first, fleet ecosystem. In MyFleetistics fleet managers can access multiple GPS tracking solutions, custom reporting, integration with other systems, single sign on, integration with Active Directory and more. MyFleetistics, is designed for fleet managers that need an efficient way to manage the any online technology or data.

Best 3rd Party Integrations

The newest force multiplier for fleet operations is the integration of data and services from 3rd parties. These partners are independent companies that built unique and creative value added plug-ins for the GO System ecosystem. Fleetistics and any company cannot be all things to all customers but working with integration partners means customers have the power, resources and knowledge of many fleet industry providers. This enables customers to pick and choose from a wide variety of services today or to meet future needs which may not be identified.

To learn about the Best GPS Tracking Device call 855-300-0527 today.

GO Rugged

ATV GPS Tracker

Covert Tracker

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