A Wide Ranging Solution For Trucking Operators

After a period of transition the combination of Bridgestone and Webfleet Solutions is offering a wide ranging solution for trucking operators.

The breadth of this solution means that Bridgestone customers are no longer just truck operators buying tyres or tyre management. The Webfleet Solutions integration with Bridgestone means the company is offering, what it calls, a full mobility solution.

This is a data driven solution, and not just a tyre data solution, but a solution utilising data about the whole vehicle and the behaviour of the driver.

Integrating the different sets of data is useful to the customers. For example, if a truck is recorded by the telematics to be travelling 80 per cent of the time on the open highway and 20 per cent of the time in urban environments, this information is useful to Bridgestone in selecting the correct tyres to be used on that truck. It gives Bridgestone a better picture of what the tyre it is supplying is expected to do.

“Basically the way we look at it is that our foundation business is tyres and then we are adding telematics and software solutions to enhance our relationships,” says Christopher Chisman-Duffy, Sales Director at Webfleet Solutions Australia. “Part of our offering is that we go and check pressures on all of the tyres and the solutions we can now offer enable us to have tyre pressure pressure monitoring that is live.”

Getting access to real world data on each individual truck and trailer, especially with consistent tyre pressure monitoring and maintenance should enableBridgestone to better tailor tyre selection for the individual customers in a much better targeted way.

Webfleet Solutions is looking at providing information to the operator to help them optimise costs. Aiming to provide the lowest cost services for a truck. If an operator is not optimising everything possible, fuel costs and maintenance costs go up. Driver behaviour will also affect costs, including tyre costs. So, if you bring all that information together for a fleet they can make informed decisions.

It’s not just tyres

Like many of the Telematics based suppliers, Webfleet solutions are getting into the in-cab camera game with a camera system mixed into the overall telematics solution, with forward and rear facing cameras. These cameras are being enabled with software to detect things like fatigue and distraction for improved safety outcomes.

Webfleet Video was recently launched onto the Australian market. This system uses technology from both Webfleet Solutions and Lytx, a global provider of video telematics solutions for fleets, integrated on one platform, users can access and manage both their vehicles and their in-vehicle cameras from a single interface.

Forward facing and optional cabin facing HD dashcam event footage is displayed alongside driving data to give operators the full context of road incidents. Users can request video from a specific time and position of a previous trip or instantly livestream from the road, to take action immediately when an incident occurs.

“For the fleets we serve, safeguarding drivers is crucial,” says Christopher. “And the more accurate a picture you have of what’s occurring on the road, the more protection you can give them. With footage from the road, drivers get clear examples of how they can drive safer. It further provides evidence to protect them if they’re targeted by a fraudulent claim.

“AI takes things a step further. Rather than just reacting to incidents that already happened, it proactively prevents dangerous situations from developing in the first place. It utilises algorithms that are based on Lytx’s more than 20 years of high quality data collection to deliver 95 per cent accuracy on motion alerts.”

Webfleet has an open API, which means that it can be integrated well into other systems within any trucking operation like maintenance, dispatch, invoicing and asset tracking.

In terms of electronic work diaries, the Webfleet system currently uses the StepGlobal EWD, fully integrated into the system. However, Webfleet says it is developing its own EWD for use in the future.

Within the system the telematics will monitor Covid hotspots and identify which drivers have been in particular hotspots when, and also determine whether they wore the correct PPE and followed the Covid protocols when necessary.

The fact of the matter is, there are a lot of trucking operators around the world, who are dealing with Bridgestone already on a day-to-day basis. This integration with the Webfleet Solutions system enables a company which is already regularly in the lives of operators to extend the breadth of service it can offer.