Driving on highways or major roads you’ll have noticed a lot more trucks, buses and couriers on the road. A lot more.
If you’ve ever wondered, how do transport companies keep track of their fleets, know if their drivers are driving safely, monitor the mechanical operations of their trucks, and factor in fuel efficiency, the answer is – telematics.
Telematics, refers to the convergence of telecommunications and information processing. With the rise of internet connectivity and the wide array of telecommunication networks (cell towers), companies can install devices onto each vehicle to track and monitor their cars, trucks, equipment and other assets by using GPS technology and on-board diagnostics – on the road, any location, 24/7.
For over 20 years, Oakville company Geotab has been providing telematic solutions to transportation companies around the world.
In 2000, Neil Cawse emigrated from South Africa and founded Geotab locally with a vision for a safer, more sustainable world.
What started as a small family business in the basement of his Oakville home, Geotab has grown into a company with over 50,000 customers in 160 countries and more than 700 partners.
Mike Branch, V.P. of Data Analytics for Geotab joined the company in 2016 and credits the location of post-secondary institutions like the University of Waterloo, University of Toronto, McMaster University and Sheridan College as being key to Cawse locating the company in Oakville, not to mention the access to highways and the U.S. border.
"Cawse pinpointed Oakville for the quality of life for his family, but also access to the education system," explained Branch.
Geotab has 2,200 employees worldwide with some 800 located in it’s global head office, right here in Oakville.
The telematics data that Geotab processes can range from speed of the vehicle, to harsh braking or acceleration, to the efficiency of the engine which indicates the amount of fuel used and even the air quality emitted by the vehicle.
As you can imagine, this represents a huge amount of data. Geotab helps companies sort and make sense of this data to make better informed decisions.
"The old way of monitoring fleets was to create a scorecard to monitor brake wear and tear, how much you speed, you didn’t have your seat belt on,etc," said Branch. "The new way of looking at it is we’re trying to prevent collisions. Were you driving in the rain, the snow? Were you driving into the sun as you came onto the Gardiner?"
"From the perspective of road safety we have a huge impact there. We also talk about the sustainability side of transportation, de-carbonization, helping to control idling, route optimization, better utilizing the fleet as well."
As an example of Geotab’s global status, the company recently was awarded two important accolades.
ABI Research ranked Geotab as the #1 leader in commercial video telematics. According to ABI Research, "Cameras and AI enable the detection of behaviour events which can offer valuable insights into operations, safety and performance."
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Geotab’s GO Telematics Kit received an exclusive Executive Order from the state of California Air Resources Board, known for its tough air quality regulations, allowing transportation companies to use Geotab on their vehicles.
No other telematics company has received this approval for trucks operating within California or even entering the state.
The company has its own technology and software driving the telematics industry forward, but it also offers others in the field to collect detailed data unique to their specific needs.
"What we’ve done at Geotab is create a partner ecosystem," said Branch. "We are a platform that others can build businesses on top of, both local and international partners. The data might come from our own device that plugs into the vehicle or an OEM connection. We take all of the data and turn it into something insightful. Otherwise you’re dealing with 70 billion records a day and how do you make sense of all that data?"
One way that Geotab is 'making sense of all that data' is to use generative artificial intelligence.
Branch explained, "We’re trying to make the report(s) more conversational so this is where we look to AI. Now I can ask, ‘what are the most productive vehicles in my fleet?’ and it returns to you in a chat interface."
"Innovative technology and AI is alive in Oakville," observed Branch. "There’s a massive ecosystem of talent and technology. You don’t have to go to Silicon Valley to find it. It’s right here."