INDUSTRY CONNECTIONS Higher Ground
LATEST OEM-SOFTWARE PARTNERSHIPS BRING FACTORY-INSTALLED SCHOOL BUS TELEMATICS TO CUSTOMERS
WRITTEN BY JULIE METEA S
chool bus shoppers now have a larger selection of the must-have, mobile technologies needed to better tap into the world of Big Data and
Internet of Tings (IoT). Business partner- ships between school bus manufacturers and software vendors are introducing a new breed of school bus telematics that aim to outwit the technologies offered just a few years ago. Te next wave of technology adoption
brings a higher level of visibility to student and driver monitoring, vehicle performance, guideline compliance, maintenance schedul- ing, remote diagnostics and mobile resource management through Web- and telecom- munication-based applications. Telematics adoption had been slowed
by limited capabilities and school budget constraints for integrating new technologies into a fleet of school buses. Now, school bus operators are getting past legacy systems and bits of wireless technologies that had been installed through the years.
CLOUD CAPABILITY HITS THE PAVEMENT
By the coming school year, some students
will ride with the industry’s newest version of electronic eyes, ears and brain that together provide, in real time, a complete status of the bus. School districts are promised tools to help decrease total cost of ownership. Trough a partnership, Tomas Built Buses and Zonar Systems collaborated to build an integrated telematics system, available as standard equipment on the 2016 model-year Saf-T-Liner C2. Zonar’s next-generation V3 telematics and GPS solution will then roll off the production line and on to customers on Oct. 1. Te technology will also eventually be available on all other Tomas models. “We strongly believe telematics are the
wave of the future, but they’re here now,” commented Ken Hedgecock, vice president of sales, marketing and service at Tomas, to Zonar customers during its user conference in San Antonio last April. Tomas developed a multiplex wiring
16 School Transportation News June 2014
system that controls vehicle components and allows multiple electronic messages to travel back and forth through a datalink. Te wiring bundle connects to Zonar’s plat- form, which transmits engine data in real time and crunches information for insight on vehicle performance, electronic vehicle inspection data, driver behavior and student passenger monitoring. “We can monitor many safety features
that are unique to school buses, such as stop arms and warning lights. We are extremely safety conscious, and the Zonar system will provide insight into either maintenance or safety concerns in real-time,” said Jed Routh, product planning manager at Tom- as Built Buses.
2014 TOP GLOBAL TRENDS FOR COMMERCIAL VEHICLE TELEMATICS
The Importance of BIG DATA Analytics and Business Intelligence Telematics Vendor Dynamics Government Mandates
Testing New Waters (such as truck platooning) Source: Frost & Sullivan
Customers have no upfront investment
to acquire the physical system, but there is a monthly subscription fee to receive data from the platform. Data captured through the Zonar system
is integrated and accessible to a variety of systems and users. Drivers interact with data through mobile devices. Maintenance utilizes remote diagnostics data for shop scheduling. Transportation directors analyze historical data for improved decision-making. And parents receive student ridership notifications. “It is all about providing the right infor- mation to the right person at the right time.
And the exciting thing is, we can do this today,” said Andrew Johnson, vice president of marketing at Zonar.
TELEMATICS TRANSFER With trucking brands like Freightliner
and Western Star, Daimler Trucks North America already had partnered with Zonar on telematics options for trucks, including the Detroit Virtual Technician Onboard Diagnostic System. Tat sparked the conversation between Daimler subsidiary Tomas and Zonar to work on the telemat- ics solution for school buses. Last fall, Blue Bird and Synovia an- nounced a similar from-factory telematics solution. Te news from Tomas and Zonar signals to the industry to expect more inno- vation and OEM/supplier partnerships to emerge, especially in the global commercial truck industry, where advanced telematics is witnessing a revolution. In its 2014 Strategic Outlook of Commer-
cial Vehicles and Telematics, research firm Frost & Sullivan foresaw a year-over-year growth of 18 percent, as OEMs continue to expand their partnerships with aftermarket telematics vendors, especially in Europe and North America. Established vendors — such as PeopleNet, Trimble, Telogis, Fleetmatics, Omnitracs and Masternaut — will explore and increase their presence in Asia. Frost & Sullivan also predicted solutions
integration will continue in automotive and transportation for the purposes of driver be- havior monitoring, prognostics and vehicle maintenance. Such capabilities can lead fleet managers to fuel savings, vehicle uptime and improved safety. “Big data analytics and business intel-
ligence will strengthen OEM and after- market telematics vendors’ offerings in predictive maintenance and diagnostics. Tis could reduce the average repair time by 25 to 50 percent and the warranty costs by 2 to 3 percent, resulting in higher customer satisfaction,” noted Nandini Tare, a Frost & Sullivan industry analyst who has complet- ed extensive analysis on the global commer- cial vehicles telematics market. l
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