Designers, here's a high-growth industry that's improving safety, reducing fuel costs, and creating savings in capital expenditures.
Jon Simmons
Versatile product design contributor with 12+ years of experience in design systems across property tech, streaming TV & e-commerce
Fleet management software tracks a fleet of vehicles and drivers across a range of metrics - and across time and geography. Since 2019, the federal government has required that commercial trucking vehicles have: an engine diagnostics port and and an ELD, electronic logging device. These devices are required for drivers to be able to track their hours and their current driving status. With that technology in place, software companies were able to add some small functionality and create an entire industry around improved safety, decreased fuel costs, less capital expenditures due to deferred maintenance - and more.
Foundation
Technology, terminology, agencies
Fleet management software is built in part on regulations rolled out at the federal level start in the 2010s.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) - A federal agency tasked with regulating the trucking industry
Dec. 16, 2019 - Date when operators were required to be in full-compliance with ELD rules rollout happening over the last 5 years
Electronic logging device (ELD) - An electronic device that records record of duty status, hours of service, driver information, geo-location, engine data and more.
Engine diagnostic port - The ELD plugs into the diagnostic port in order to receive data from the engine regarding miles driven, motion status and more.
Record of Duty Status (RODS) - From FMCSA: Driving, On duty not driving, Off-duty, Sleeper berth
Hours of service (HOS) - Specifies the maximum amount of time drivers are allowed to be on duty, and specifies hours of rest
What does an ELD record?
Date
Time
Location details — Vehicle position is recorded in latitude/longitude coordinates. Geo-location information includes the approximate distance and direction to an identifiable location corresponding to the name of a nearby city, town, or village, with a state abbreviation.
Engine hours — Engine hours refers to the number of total hours the engine has been running since initially manufactured. This is regardless of whether or not the vehicle is moving.
Miles driven
Identification information of the driver, motor carrier, and vehicle
Engine power status — Engine power status measures the amount of power that an engine can exert, typically expressed by kilowatt or horsepower.
Vehicle motion status
Duty status — Duty status records vehicle movement whether the driver is on or off duty.
How companies extended the ELD and created a huge value win for customers
'Fleet management' isn't just the 2019 ELD mandate - it's a host of solutions built on regulations rolled out over the last decade
The promise of safer roads, improved profits, lower capex, and less pollution
The outcomes include safer roads, savings on insurance and gas, less pollution, saved time, improved profit margins, and less capital expenditures on failing equipment.
This exists because of a confluence of intertwined technology: GPS, 5G wireless networks, AI, and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
Imagine a trucking company - they can install devices that monitor:
The driver's attention and focus
The state of the engine, fluid levels, fuel levels and consumption time between maintenance
Acceleration, deceleration and g-force of the vehicle
The location and route of the truck
Scheduled breaks, stops and arrival times
Answering important questions for operators
Machine learning and AI can process the (sometimes overwhelming) amount of data and create insights for operators that can be displayed on a dashboard that helps them answer key questions, such as:
How can I ensure that my drivers are minimizing risky driving habits?
Are there more efficient routes to choose?
How can I make sure that proactive maintenance is followed?
Design challenges and areas for growth
For anyone that loves designing infographics and helping people make financial decisions on data, this is an ideal industry.
There's also an element of hardware that has live inside the vehicle. AI is used to create insights about the data in real-time.
Further, companies are expanding into new areas looking for ways to differentiate themselves from the competition. This creates novel, high-visibility projects where designers can make an impact.
Opportunties
The mandate for nearly all commercial fleets to have ELDs in conjunction with a so-far low level of awareness means that this industry is poised to deliver high value to a growing numbers of businesses - a recipe for the 12-15% growth projected in the next 5 years.
Large players in the industry
Formerly KeepTruckin, Motive was founded in 2013 to help the trucking industry maintain compliance with new regulations from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The ELD mandate greatly increased adoption of their product, as did expansion to an international market in addition to expansion to adjacent markets such as construction, oil and gas and field services.
Founded in 2000, the company started by providing GPS tracking of vehicles, expanding into fleet management solutions over the following decades. In 2006 Geotab introduced a device that plugged directly into the OBDII (engine and transmission diagnostic ports) in vehicles.
Started in 2015 by the co-founders of Meraki (acquired by Cisco in 2012), Samsara focuses on the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), with a particular focus on fleet management and telematics. In 2022 Samsara went public on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "IOT." The company continues to refine its offering, with customers in transportation, logistics, construction and food and beverage.
Started in 2012 in Birmingham, Alabama, Fleetio created user-friendly software to streamline fleet management tasks. Starting in 2016, the company focused on improving data analytics and reporting. In 2021 Fleetio launched its Partner Network, a program to integrate 3rd-party applications and services with the Fleetio platform, moving towards an end-to-end solution desired by customers.
Starting in 2006, Verizon started developing telematics solutions for fleets. Verizon is known for its extensive range of features and is suitable for large fleets with complex needs. Powered by a trio of acquisitions, Verizon was able to become one of the largest, if not largest, players in the telematics space. By 2020 they had launched the AI Dashcam, a driver safety solution that provided real-time feedback and insights using artificial intelligence.
Co-founder and creative director at RS Creativ
6moJon, thanks for sharing! Quite interesting information! 👍