Use Cases
UPS Telematics Initiative Reduces Fuel Use
Published: June 17 2011, Automotive Fleet
UPS plans to have 32,000 vehicles in the U.S. and Canada equipped with telematics
technology by year end.
When a UPS driver returns to a package center at the end of the work day, the data
(generated throughout the workday) is uploaded to a computer and then transmitted to
UPS’ data center in Alpharetta, GA. From there, the data is analyzed where information
related to vehicle maintenance is fed back out to operational systems in the package
centers.
The company was able to adopt a conditions-based preventative maintenance schedule
by using the available data in this way. Vehicle-installed sensors provide data on
components acting outside normal parameters. After delivery trucks return to package
centers, if the provided data indicates vehicles have issues, UPS service technicians will
then diagnose the potential problems to determine whether maintenance is necessary.
UPS began its telematics initiative in 2008. One metric from the program includes vehicle
idle time by 15 minutes per driver per day (which adds up to 25 gallons of fuel per driver
annually). UPS said it’s evaluating the telematics initiative for use in its UPS Freight and
European small package operation.
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