Getting the Most Out of Your Telematics Data?

by James Menzies

CALGARY, Alta. – So you’ve finally bought into a telematics system that allows you to track your assets and know where your people are at all times. Hell, you can even tell if they’re speeding or driving the company truck to the grocery store during their downtime.

What more can you ask for, right?

According to Valen Technologies, most fleets with a telematics system in place aren’t tapping into its full potential. And the company says it can shave between 10 and 30 per cent of a fleet’s insurance costs by doing so.

Dax Craig of Valen Technologies says his company’s system works with existing telematics systems to pinpoint problem areas that are leading to collisions. The data required is already being provided by existing systems, but it’s not being taken advantage of, he says. It’s the first system of its kind and designed to use existing information in a manner that can help trucking companies reduce their insurance claims.

“There’s a wealth of data there that fleet owners have and insurers have as well that quite frankly, they’re not using and they don’t understand their value in terms of safety,” insists Craig.

“We give fleet owners the ability to take all that data and analyze it in a way that gives them the ability to increase safety.”

Say, for instance, a driver has encountered numerous problems while driving at night, or on a certain route, yet has a clean driving record at other times of day or on other routes. This may go unnoticed without Valen’s system. Craig says the system identifies these trends and allows fleet managers to make scheduling adjustments that reduce the risk of an accident.

He refers to Valen as a decision-making company that utilizes predictive modeling to help its users make better decisions. In the trucking industry that would typically revolve around scheduling.

While Valen’s customers haven’t yet received reduced rates from their insurers, Craig says he fully expects them to achieve a quick payback based on their reduced claims costs.

“We show transportation companies how to drive safer and that in turn lowers insurance costs,” he insists. The Valen system works with the hardware provided by most telematics service providers. Craig says that while he doesn’t anticipate the system will ever be mandated by law, he thinks insurance providers will aggressively promote it.

“There are companies going out of business because they can’t afford insurance and we think this gives them something to really sink their teeth into,” Craig says.

Craig says fleets ranging in size from four trucks to several hundred can reap the rewards of the system. It has just been launched and can be ordered immediately.

For more information visit www.valen-technologies.com or www.fleetriskadvisors.com.


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