Isuzu Commercial Truck of America Inc. announced that it will offer Fleet Director, the state-of-the-art telematics system from Teletrac Inc., as an option in its 2011 and 2012 model year N-Series trucks. According to the company, Fleet Director is a fully integrated, web-based solution that allows fleet managers and dispatchers to track vehicle usage in real time by sending detailed vehicle and driver performance reports. The system is accessible from any Internet-connected personal computer.

The system—backed by an industry-leading three-year/unlimited-mileage limited warranty—will be offered for 2011 and 2012 NPR-HD, NQR and NRR models beginning in May 2011. It will be available as either a port- or dealer-installed option. Availability for 2011 and 2012 NPR ECO-MAX and 2012 N-Gas models will be announced at a later date.

“Low cost of operation has always been Isuzu’s strongest suit,” said Shaun Skinner, executive vice president and general manager of Isuzu Commercial Truck of America. “Teletrac’s Fleet Director telematics system will make Isuzu trucks an even smarter, more economical choice for fleet owners and operators.”

Fleet managers can view analytics—for their entire fleet of Fleet Director-equipped trucks, for any group of trucks the user selects, or even for a single vehicle and driver—on user-friendly, customizable “dashboard-style” screen views that allow the user to summarize monitoring of various areas on a single screen. Critical performance indicators include speeding miles, harsh braking and acceleration, poor cornering and catastrophic events. In addition, Fleet Director’s history playback feature provides fleet managers with an on-screen display of every equipped vehicle’s activities and route, so that driver productivity and efficiency can be assessed quickly, the truck maker said.

The system also generates up to 18 accurate and useful management reports that document vehicle location, operational status, mileage, speed, idle time and more.
As a result, Teletrac customers have reported that Fleet Director has helped their fleets achieve:

• Fuel savings of up to 30%
• Labor savings averaging 30 minutes per day
• Overtime reductions of 15% on average
• Productivity increases of an average 12%
• Substantial reductions in unauthorized vehicle use
• Fewer traffic violations
• Improved safety

An optional on-board navigation system, available later in the 2012 model year, will employ advanced satellite mapping technology, 2D and 3D conventional road maps and live traffic information in real time—further enhancing driver productivity, Isuzu added.

“We are delighted to partner with Teletrac, a company with 23 years of experience in telematics and more than 220,000 vehicles currently in service,” Skinner said. “Teletrac has a track record of proven performance and reliability, just as Isuzu trucks do. Now, our suite of vehicle performance reporting products—the Multi-Information Display and Isuzu Vehicle Health Reports standard on every Isuzu truck, together with the optional new Fleet Director technology—will confirm Isuzu’s ability to significantly reduce cost of operation and improve safety and efficiency for our customers.”