Hopefully this doesn’t apply to anyone and pardon my assumption. While on a conference call this morning, I happened to look out the window and watch something that’s proven not very shocking. A delivery vehicle, not FedEx, not UPS, but another large carrier just did a three point turn in front of the window; except it did not really make the turn. Instead drove into the curb, over the grass and back down onto the road!
I don’t know about you, but if that was my personal vehicle, I wouldn’t do this; well, unless I had a big 4×4 like seems most Texans have. Why not? I think it’s rather obvious, right, a delivery truck is designed to effectively drive on the road and deliver packages, not go off road driving. Not to mention the damage to the front suspension and steering mechanism. Based on the look on the drivers face, this was not the first time doing this either.
Further, what about the tread of the tires? I’m quite confident that the sidewalls are not designed for wear. Ever seen a vehicle with it’s whitewalls scraped down and you can’t read the words anymore? Sure, we all have, take the corner too tight and it’s a “curb check” and someone in the car thinks it’s funny… But long term driving like this creates a potential unsafe driving condition and risk of sidewall blow outs…
What if you could manage your fleet assets using a well known application? IBM Maximo has an industry solution for managing Transportation assets, including vehicles like this and many more. Lots of capabilities that can help maintain these vehicles as well as additional capabilities around driver log, Warranty recovery, Telematics integration, etc.
How about IoT, wouldn’t this fit? I think so. Let’s install a sensor and if the vehicle quickly “jumps” off the road, why not send an alert? I bet the driver would be more aware of their surroundings if they knew this was being tracked. Let’s not think of this as “big brother watching;” rather, keep everyone aware that it is a company asset, and someone else might drive that vehicle tomorrow. Sensors on the side of the vehicle might also help prevent side swipes and other exterior damage. How many of you have seen these white vans with damage? I wish it was surprising; however, I’ve seen way too many with new paper plates still attached! The damage appears to be caused by running into a safety pole (seen both yellow and red marks) or other type device.
It’s kind of like your laptop / tablet you might be reading this blog from, it’s a company asset; shouldn’t more companies have the control to know what’s happening to their assets? Hopefully I’m not creating any enemies here, but I think companies should know how their assets are being used…
