Upgrading the OEM software found in light- and medium-duty vehicles can give fleet managers similar operational parameter controls that you have come to expect in heavy-duty operations, thus reining in the impact that variables like the drivers themselves have on the cost efficiency of their trucks.
“The vehicles themselves are actually quite predictable and consistent to manage,” says Marco Della Torre, chief technology officer of Derive Systems, which provides engine software solutions for light- and medium-duty vehicles from the likes of Ford, Lincoln, Chevrolet, GM, Chrysler, Nissan, Toyota, PACCAR, Mercedes, Caterpillar, Cummins and Detroit. “Making your fleet more efficient and safer is important to the bottom line of your fleet, so the ability to upgrade your vehicle software means guaranteeing these results and making them predictable and consistent in the way that only managing vehicles can do.”
According to Karl Weber, senior vice president of enterprise sales at Derive, Active Vehicle Management (AVM) software can be used to install ideal driving patterns into a vehicle and helps to control driver-controlled behaviors like speeding and extended, unnecessary idling.
For example, Weber says, AVM can be used to program a vehicle to limit vehicle speed at 5 MPH above the posted speed limit or give drivers who have been idling for a set period of time an in-cab notification and automatically shut down the engine after the policy-defined idle period. It can even lock smartphones when vehicles aren’t parked or prevent the engine from starting if the driver’s seatbelt isn’t fastened, he added.
“We’re doing what we can to manage the capability of the vehicle rather than trying to go have a post-conversation with the driver that says, ‘I need you to [try and not do this],’” Weber says. “Active Vehicle Management is technology that allows you to then eliminate some of that unwanted behavior by managing the vehicle, and it’s very complementary to telematics.”
For more insight on AVM software, check out the on-demand webinar in which Della Torre and Weber share more on what this technology is capable of. To watch, head over to fleetequipmentmag.com/webinars. Then click the “On-Demand Webinars” tab and click again on “Make Your Fleet Safer and More Efficient with Simple Vehicle Software Upgrades.” Then register to watch the recorded webinar.
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