Since 2011, Scania, globally, has shipped trucks pre-installed with the Scania Communicator telematics hardware which provides access to Scania’s proprietary fleet management services (FMS), and within a decade, the number of connected Scania vehicles globally has grown to over 500,000 connected vehicles.
Scania trucks equipped with telematics hardware have been operational in the Middle East since 2014 without activation of FMS due to compliance challenges with local data regulations. However, the development of strong data protection and internet of things (IOT) regulations in the region is making it easier for the adoption of telematics.
Marek Rucinski, services director, Scania Middle East, says: “This year, Scania introduced FMS in the UAE and Qatar with full compliance with the data regulations in these two countries. Expansion of these services to other GCC markets is subject to approvals from local authorities.
“Scania fleet management services (Scania FMS) encompasses all vehicle connectivity and data-driven services for managing trucks and drivers. Scania FMS is segmented into two packages for the UAE and Qatar – the Monitoring Package and Control Package.”
The Monitoring Package is a free-of-charge service that provides a quick overview of a fleet. It tracks parameters such as fuel consumption, idling, coasting, harsh braking, CO2 emissions, etc., and sends periodic reports (weekly, monthly, annually) to the customer via email. Scania customers with no prior knowledge of fleet management can use this service to monitor trends, which are indicated with arrows: green arrows for positive trends and red arrows for negative trends. This provides a comparative analysis of vehicle parameters and enables the Scania customer to identify problems and take corrective measures. In addition, customers get access to the Scania fleet management portal (FMP) for service planning.
The Control Package is the all-inclusive set of services available for a monthly subscription fee. The Control Package comprises four essential services: fleet position, vehicle performance, driver evaluation and service planning.
Fouad Ghezawi, service sales development manager, Scania Middle East, says: “Unlike the Monitoring Package in which reporting is done via email, the Control Package provides access to real-time data via a dashboard on the Scania FMP and Scania Fleet mobile app.”
The fleet position feature provides the status of the every vehicle including their on/off status, moving direction and accumulated driving time. The vehicle performance feature provides engine, fuel and environmental reports. The service planning feature keeps track of maintenance plans and repairs. Scania FMS simplifies the interpretation of fault codes by translating them into messages that can be easily understood by drivers and technicians without the need to refer
to a manual.
The driver evaluation feature enables fleet managers to assess driver behavior periodically through a grading system that ranges from A (best) to E (worst). The grading system identifies and tracks good and bad driving behavior, and the benchmarking enables drivers to pursue higher goals with regard to safe and efficient driving and fleet operators to address skill gaps by optimizing their training programs.
“Such corrective measures can have a significant impact on fuel consumption and vehicle wear. Our studies indicate that an improvement in driver grades from E to A can result in savings as much as 15% of the annual fuel consumption, which is significant considering the rise in fuel prices around the world,” says Fouad.
“Currently, the Control Package covers the full scope of Scania FMS in the Middle East, and therefore, we offer the four services as a combined package. We can offer the services individually if there’s demand in the future, which is in line Scania’s philosophy of offering modular solutions for hardware and services,” says Marek.
The Control Package has three variants – Control 10, Control 5 and Control 1 – with the same functionalities but segmented according to the frequency of data transmission. In the Control 10, Control 5 and Control 1 packages, data is transmitted every 10 minutes, 5 minutes and 1 minute, respectively.
“The Control 10 variant is sufficient for 99% applications in the Middle East, and therefore, we offer it as the default advanced package. Control 1 is required only for some critical applications where the customer needs vehicle data updates every minute, for example, during the transportation of certain hazardous or explosive goods or in rescue and oil and gas applications,” says Marek.
The Scania FMS subscription applies only to the service and not the hardware, because the Scania Communicator comes as a factory-installed unit on all Scania trucks. The Scania Communicator telematics hardware can be retrofitted on Scania trucks as old as the 2010 models as well as other truck brands.
“We also offer similar telematics hardware for trailers that works in an integrated manner to enable tracking of both the prime mover and trailer as a single unit. Subscriptions to Scania FMS, including the free subscription to the Monitoring Package, are formal agreements between Scania and its customers that are in compliance with local data protection laws,” says Marek.
The impact and value of real-time data on fleet operations
Marek points out the intrinsic value of Scania FMS is the access it provides to historical and current data about vehicle utilization, driver behavior and road conditions collected from over 500,000 connected Scania vehicles around the world, which is then combined with regular feedback, advice and customized training from Scania as well as its dealers.
“Having a vast and growing database as a reference enables us to match with high accuracy a fleet’s operating conditions with similar profiles around the world and perform a comparative analysis to provide the best solution customized for the region. In contrast, a telematics service from a third-party vendor requires additional expenditure on the hardware. Furthermore, a third-party telematics provider would be able to provide only a small fraction of the data that Scania FMS can provide, which limits the scope of data analytics for fleets,” he says.
One of the biggest advantages of real-time data, according to Fouad, is increased flexibility for maintenance, which transforms into a dynamic process instead of a fixed schedule. “This sets the stage for predictive maintenance where an algorithm can estimate with high accuracy the probability of failure of a part or the right time when a part should be replaced. By getting vehicles connected, customers have the possibility to avail more advanced services such as Scania Flexible Maintenance, Fleet Care or ProCare, to name a few,” says Fouad.
“With more visibility of vehicle and driving parameters and the ability to make data-driven, proactive decisions, fleet operators will see a positive impact in the form of reduced operating costs, and therefore, a lower total cost of ownership.
Scania Data Driven Services together with professional support from Scania network create the partnership platform between Customers and Scania. As we say in Scania to our Customers: “For the only business that matters. Yours,” says Marek.
Scania is featured as a market leader in the PMV Manufacturers Power List 2022.