Supply chain and logistics service provider Cargo Carriers is the first Mer-cedes-Benz South Africa (MBSA) client to break through the 100 active vehicle mark using the FleetBoard telematics solution.

The logistics company currently operates 102 active Mercedes-Benz Actros 3 vehicles that are fitted with the FleetBoard system, which enables fleet managers to operate their vehicles in an economically efficient manner by reducing fuel consumption and managing logistics processes better.

The solution also offers objective and comparative data from each vehicle in the fleet and provides an overview of the operational performance of all the vehicles and drivers.

The FleetBoard system provides information about the operating fluids in the vehicles and the monitoring of fuel levels and consumption. Drivers’ performance can also be viewed and managed, which reduces downtime and ensures the best possible maintenance planning.

When a driver gets into the vehicle, he or she has to insert a FleetBoard driver card for identification. The driver is supported by easy-to-manage technology and a convenient navigation system.

A pilot client test, during which three FleetBoard-fitted vehicles and six drivers were used, confirmed that the installation of the telematics solution on vehicles of Cargo Carriers can reduce fuel consumption by up to 9% for each vehicle, says MBSA Trucks divisional manager Clinton Savage.

Cargo Carriers joint CEO Murray Bolton says FleetBoard has also enabled the company to reduce the downtime associated with breakdowns and vehicle running and maintenance costs, while improving vehicle uptime.

“With FleetBoard, we can manage our fuel consumption, reduce our operational costs, track our vehicles and proactively identify vehicle problems to prevent vehicle failures. We are also able to cross-check and compare vehicle variables against the desired efficiencies, such as comparing fuel consumption with vehicle load.”

Besides monitoring fuel consumption, Cargo Carriers uses FleetBoard to indicate drivers’ handling of the vehicle. This enables the company to implement a training system to fine-tune driving skills and ensure a long operating life for its vehicle fleet.

“It is not about changing the nature of the individual’s driving style; it is merely about finessing their driving skills,” says Bolton.

How It Works
Savage says the position of each vehicle can be identified by means of satellite and the data is transmitted to and from the vehicle using mobile radio technology. The advantage of the mobile network is that, wherever there is a mobile network, a connection to the vehicle will also be established.

FleetBoard tracks the vehicle every ten minutes and produces a fuel report at the end of every day, he explains, adding that the data is accurately processed and recorded at Mercedes-Benz’s European Data Centre, in Stuttgart, Germany.

Further, the telematics solution enables various levels of management to compile a report using the relevant groupings of data and it provides information that other monitoring systems do not, says Bolton.

“A benefit of FleetBoard is that, unlike other monitoring systems, it presents already analysed data.”

From a vehicle manufacturer’s point of view, saving on the vehicle’s fuel consumption is a priority to ensure that the vehicle has a lower total cost of ownership for the fleet owner.

More importantly, the preventive failure analysis that FleetBoard provides can reduce vehicle downtime during breakdowns, says Savage.

He explains that, based on the preventive failure analysis, MBSA can offer the client a reduced maintenance plan, which, in the long term, is a sustainable method of reducing the total cost of ownership.

At Cargo Carriers’ depot in Sasolburg, 40 vehicles are fitted with FleetBoard, 20 of which are brand-new Mercedes-Benz Actros 3s, and undergo in-house MBSA-accredited maintenance and services.

“Maintenance is a big factor in the life of a truck,” says Cargo Carriers divisional technical manager Kevin Fisher.

The MBSA-accredited service workshop features break testers, a Star diagnostics system, with service and maintenance work undertaken by two MBSA-accredited mechanics.

Each time a vehicle enters the depot after returning from a delivery, the vehicle is washed and its tyres are checked. The vehicle is inspected at the workshop, after which it is only then deemed ready to be released for another delivery, explains Fisher.

The service intervals on the older trucks at Cargo Carriers are every 22 500 km, while the newer trucks are scheduled for a major service every 40 000 km.

Cargo Carriers divisional driver trainer Johan van Heerden says the major benefit of installing FleetBoard on the company’s fleet is the resultant change in the style of driving.

“FleetBoard enables Cargo Carriers to identify aggressive driving habits and, through preventive training, the company can reduce fuel consumption and damage to vehicles.”

As driver are well trained, many of Cargo Carriers’ older vehicles register well over one-million kilometres during the time in which they are in operation, even under significantly harsh environments, such as cross-border runs and in stop-start conditions.

He says the average fuel consumption for a vehicle carrying a maximum load of 50 t is between 45 ℓ and 46 ℓ per 100 km.