Mack Fleet Management launched to help fleets run their businesses

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Mack Trucks is leveraging the data collected by its GuardDog Connect telematics platform to provide fleets with a suite of fleet management tools that don’t require any additional hardware.

Mack Fleet Management, announced today, is available on all Mack Pinnacle, Titan and Granite models equipped with GuardDog Connect. The program is being launched initially with Telogis, which will interpret data provided by Mack’s on-board telematics system and then present it to drivers and fleet managers via their own smartphone, tablet or computer, in an easily consumable format.

Services available through the tool include: hours-of-service; navigation; vehicle inspection reporting; and driver performance monitoring. Three packages are available: Telogis Compliance and Navigation; Telogis Fleet; and a bundled package of the two.

“It’s a use of existing hardware in an innovative way to bring more data to customers in an information-actionable way, to make decisions about the equipment or driver,” explained David Pardue, Mack’s vice-president of aftermarket business development, in an interview with Truck News.

Telogis was chosen as the initial telematics partner, because “They understand what decision makers need from an information standpoint and how to turn data into something actionable,” Pardue explained.

Mack has heard from customers that want access to important data yet don’t want to deal with the costs and installation headaches associated with traditional hardware devices.

“They add cost, they add complexity and they add distractions for the driver,” Pardue said of traditional systems. “They are looking for a way to cut out all that additional investment, and we think that’s where the Mack approach differentiates itself. It uses the same hardware we use for GuardDog Connect to provide data from that vehicle to Telogis, for Telogis to use in delivering their services.”

Kevin Moore, vice-president of global OEM sales with Telogis, said more than 140,000 commercial drivers are already using the company’s navigation services. Feedback from those drivers is collected and distributed in real-time, so drivers can be alerted to traffic situations and adjust their routes accordingly, bringing a crowd-sourcing aspect to navigation. Data is stored in the cloud and accessible using an app, available on any IOS- or Android-compatible device, or a computer.

Because the hardware is already installed, customers need only to call and activate the service to receive their secure login information.

Fleet managers can use the Telogis Fleet package to monitor driver behaviour and to better track the performance of drivers and equipment. However the bundle, offering Telogis Fleet as well as Telogis Compliance and Navigation is what Moore described as “the holy grail” for fleet managers, giving them a full range of services to ensure compliance as well as performance monitoring.

The hours-of-service program includes Canadian and US regulations and is available in French and many other languages, Moore confirmed. Mack Fleet Management can be activated on any new truck delivered since January. OBD13 vehicles delivered before that can receive the service once an aftermarket kit has been installed. Older Mack trucks can be activated as well, using an aftermarket kit from Telogis.

Pricing will depend on fleet size and other variables, but Mack officials told Truck News it will be very competitive with existing offerings that require in-cab hardware. It’s available as a subscription service on one-, three- and five-year plans. The data flow has been managed to ensure Canadian customers don’t incur roaming charges while travelling in the US, officials added.

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James Menzies is editorial director of Today's Trucking and TruckNews.com. He has been covering the Canadian trucking industry for more than 24 years and holds a CDL. Reach him at james@newcom.ca or follow him on Twitter at @JamesMenzies.


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