What is an On-Board Diagnostics System?
Simply put, an on-board diagnostics (OBD) system is a computer system found inside any compatible vehicle designed to monitor and regulate a car’s performance. These state-of-the-art systems are intended to collect and compile information found in sensors across the vehicle’s entire structure. This information is then used to send timely alerts to drivers of issues with the vehicle.
What Will the Installation of an OBD System Mean for Your Team?
Fleet managers rely on tools like on-board diagnostics to make real-time decisions about business and customer operations. Diagnostics management systems analyze your fleet’s every action through GPS tracking. The ability to interpret this data encourages safe and reliable driving while also monitoring vehicle maintenance. Investing in on-board diagnostics for trucks is the smarter way to analyze, track, and report on every turn, stop, mile, and driver alert. Implementing an OBD reader can improve a fleet’s productivity and help reduce accident-related driving behavior by nearly 88%.
Fleet managers can easily refine fleet operations in regards to safety, productivity, business operations, and customer satisfaction by using OBD systems. As safety is a top priority for your fleet team, OBD systems allow your drivers to meet safety requirements. These requirements then give managers the opportunity to perform assessments that evaluate vehicle health and driver performance.
Positive assessments can result in rewards through partnerships with insurance companies. Productivity and business operations are monitored through data comparisons against industry standards and your competitors. Real-time data comparisons give OBD fleet teams an advantage in the industry. Finally, tracking customer satisfaction instantaneously allows management to ensure your fleet is best-in-class. These improvements can exponentially boost productivity across all tiers of your organization and save you thousands of dollars per year.
How On-Board Diagnostics Can Improve Your Fleet
The use of OBD systems, when utilized correctly, will be able to drastically improve your fleet overall. These smart systems have the ability to generate customized reports, improve driver behavior, monitor vehicle performance, and so much more. Below we’ve compiled a list of the top seven reasons why fleet managers should be focused on investing in OBD systems.
Flexible Reporting Focused on Customer Success
Customization of reporting from the on-board diagnostics scanner results in a modular platform that can be easily viewed on a cell phone, camera, or OBD dongle. This allows the entire fleet to interpret optimal tools within the OBD device, and understand the data. On-board diagnostics data flexibility leads to success through the use of customized data and automated coaching with little effort from management.
Lower Insurance Costs and Liability Through Safe Driving
A fleet manager’s top concern is safety. When safety measures are not met, high insurance and liability costs can destroy future prospects of a fleet company. Safe driving measures through an on-board diagnostics reader drive down the cost of insurance and reduces company liability and worker compensation claims. These advanced measures allow drivers to be just as concerned with safety performance as customer satisfaction. Plus, these measures will also help combat distracted driving behaviors.
Improved Driver Behavior and Efficient Fuel Consumption
Fleet safety is a matter of life or death and the OBD system has the numbers to prove it. After the installation of the OBD system, there is a 57% reduction in driving citations as well as a 38% reduction in overall accidents. Essentially, this technology is keeping both your fleet drivers and other drivers safe from harm. Truck safety can also impact your truck’s internal systems. A study showed a 53% reduction in wear and tear on fleet vehicles after the installation of on-board diagnostics systems.
Implement Driver Rewards Through Analyzing Data of Your Fleet
Fleet managers can implement driver rewards into any fleet team in order to ensure improved driver behavior and even vehicle efficiency. With the addition of driver rewards, data is collected and categorized into seven different tiers. These include:
- engine time
- geofencing status
- fleet mileage tracking
- fuel consumption
- hours of service (HOS)
- speed of vehicle in operation
- instances of unsafe driving practices—such as hard braking.
These are all common areas of data collection and can be easily tracked and reviewed by management through on-board diagnostics monitoring.
Monitor Driver Behavior and Alert Drivers to Unsafe Practices
The best way to end bad behavior is to notify and correct your drivers the moment it occurs. Before OBD systems, this was a near-impossible feat to take on. With today’s systems, it is possible to alert unsafe practices such as hard braking and increasing speed right as they happen. This monitoring practice can help to correct these unwanted behaviors before they become a habit and the entire fleet suffers.
Up-to-Date Predictive Maintenance Alerts
As previously discussed, it is much easier to monitor your vehicle’s status before simple fixes turn into major repairs. Constant vehicle care and maintenance is just part of the fleet business, but it would cut costs and time if predictive maintenance was possible, and now it is. OBD devices allow for problems to be caught early and often, so your vehicles can stay on the road and out of repair bays.
Smoke Testing to Ensure Fleets are Being More Environmentally Friendly
It goes without saying, that the influence of carbon emissions can hurt the environment preserved for the coming generations. Luckily, OBD devices can monitor this too. The ability to test carbon emissions has allowed fleets to greatly lessen their carbon footprint to save money and the environment at the same time.
Fleet tracking can help your team’s day-to-day progress, but with the installation of on-board diagnostics for trucks, Azuga can help make sure you are the top fleet on the road. If your team is ready to improve all aspects of safety, productivity, business operations, and customer satisfaction, check out what Azuga Fleet™ can do for you. With real-time data at your fingertips, your fleet will succeed at all aspects of the job.
