Is telematics essential?

With the advent of Internet of Things (IOT), customers are becoming more aware of the value in transforming real-time operational and logistical data into actionable information impacting operations and productivity, observes Ruchi Ahluwalia, Director, HR, Marketing & Communications, Scania CV India. To this end, connected vehicles and service solutions are being developed specifically to equip customers with real-time logistical data from across their fleet and operations to take decisions based on facts.

  “The movement and utilisation of capital-intensive transport equipment necessitates remote monitoring on a 24×7 basis,” explains Ashim Kumar Mukherjee, Technical Advisor, Belaz-Enrika Mining Equipment Services. “For this, the dumper or tipper should have telematics-enabled monitoring facilities. Tippers are typically GPS monitored. Dumpers are also GPS monitored but as mining dump trucks operate within a closed mining boundary, repeater station-based telematics are also used to monitor dump trucks.”

 Telematics technology yields real-time data on all the operating parameters of the machines to a person sitting at a remote location or, say, in a back office, explains Ranjit Ravindran, Business Head, Mining, Voltas. The data can include the number of trips made, fuel consumed per shift, traffic in the mines, on-board diagnostics, etc. “The Online Integrated Truck Despatch system is being used by all big miners in India, including Coal India, Vedanta, Reliance and Tata Steel. This helps them monitor and optimise production in a hassle-free manner,” he says.

Tata Motors has over 100,000 vehicles plying on Indian roads enjoying the benefits of its fleet telematics solution, Tata Fleetman. This solution facilitates real-time monitoring, geo-fencing, trip review, alert reporting and trip management. It also monitors any unauthorised vehicle movement and pinpoints the exact location of the vehicles.

Deepak Kumar, a Tata Motors customer, was able to retrieve his consignment of copper wires worth crores from a local gang who had stolen his 4018 trailer. The local police used GPS mapping by Tata Fleetman services. In fact, K M Trans Logistics has institutionalised the safety debriefing of drivers based on driving incidences recorded and transmitted through Tata Fleetman, and thereby improved its overall safety record.

“With the help of Tata Fleetman, Tata Motors has established a proactive maintenance intervention process based on the real-time fault code transmission,” says Rajesh Kaul, Vice-President and Product Line Head – MHCV, Tata Motors.

Sanjay Kumar, General Manager, HEMM, Reliance Sasan Coal Mines pragmatically brings the discussion back to practicality, saying “telematics is useful from the service point of view but it cannot replace on-ground support, which we feel could be better. India needs more trained technicians with in-depth knowledge to support heavy vehicles working in mines.”

CHARU BAHRI