Zonar Systems has announced the general availability of the Ground Traffic Control (GTC) Performance package, including its ZFuel application. GTC Performance is Zonar’s cloud-based fleet management web-application, a driver and truck analysis tool for uncovering areas for improved truck operation and performance. Fleet managers can use ZFuel to identify non-diagnostic issues with trucks as well as areas to coach, motivate and potentially incentivize drivers to achieve greater efficiencies on less fuel.
ZFuel uses telematics data collected by the Zonar’s V3 connected directly to the engine control unit (ECU) and analyzes it for a variety of factors. Then, using the data, the app ranks drivers in the system according to their total fuel efficiency – which also lists the money they could save on fuel by changing their practices behind the wheel.
“Monitoring your fuel usage by MPG alone is the way of the past,” said Brett Brinton, co-founder and chief executive officer of Zonar Systems. “If your fleet isn’t taking into account additional data points that influence fuel consumptions and making appropriate adjustments with your driver, trucks and fleet operations, then you might as was well be tossing your money out the window.”
Captured data utilized by ZFuel includes how often the driver uses cruise control, engine idle time, speed, and what gear the truck is in. These factors allow fleet managers to see an accurate measurement of fleet fuel efficiency based on the circumstances in which each driver was operating. With ZFuel, each driver earns an individualized Driver Efficiency Score, quickly uncovering performance areas in need of improvement. Fleet managers can then coach their drivers, incentivize with a proportion of the fuel saving and gamify the experience to increase driver retention while lowering fuel usage and increasing operating margins.
Benefits fleets can expect from ZFuel, according to the company, include:
- Maximizing MPG and controlling hard dollar fuel costs
- Creating efficiency scores, by driver, to uncover training gaps
- Normalizing metrics across age of truck and route terrain
- Tracking key metrics that impact fuel costs, such as speeding
- Flagging idle times outside of company policy, by individual truck profile
- Protecting against fuel theft
- Tracking driver behavior and monitor improvement over time
- Quantifying the number and percentage of miles in top gear
- Mapping cruise control
