During a roadshow for fleet management AREALCONTROL presented its wide telematics solutions and met RTS Wind AG, based in Bremen. RTS is a fast growing company in wind energy services as well as construction on-/offshore of wind mills.
In service, companies requires fleet administration software to keep an overview and everything efficiently under control. Parallel is the worktime recording a big issue if teams are all over the country and abroad active. The question was how to solve and to realize a plan for digitalization all in one platform to avoid double data and multiple efforts for similar structures.
Easy Engineering: What were the needs of the client?
AREALCONTROL: The fleet growth as well and it became a heavy duty to manage it including compliance with tax rules, driver’s logbook. That was the starting point. In the meantime, it came on top the CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union) with its ruling for worktime recording in May 2019.
E.E: Why did the client choose your products / solutions?
AREALCONTROL: The main reason is that Arealcontrol’s telematics platform offers a wide bunch of features for all types of vehicles, trucks, machines, assets and on top a workforce management with the ArealPilot 360° App for Android. For trucks is a Remote Tachograph Download (RTDL) needed incl. live data about remaining driving time and rests required. An option is CAN, FMS and OBD data for technical monitoring of vehicle health and maintenance.
All solutions are compliant to GDPR (General Data Protection Rules, effective May 2018) and tax rules.
In brief: A modular hardware and software structure for individual use-cases settings which can change and increase over the time.
Such a structure offers the possibility for larger enterprises with several business fields to fulfil individual requirements but have one API and integration e.g. for the HR-accounting and planning system for dispatching, worktime recording and fleet management.
E.E: What products / solutions were used?
AREALCONTROL: RTS decided for two telematics devices. One is our “OBIDY”, an OBD-tracker which is just plug’n play for vehicles with usually one defined driver who uses always the same car. For private trips the driver can switch via “mobile app” on his smartphone from business mode to private and back. In private trips is no GPS data generated but the mileage documented. That keeps full privacy (GDPR) and fulfils the tax rules for detailed driver’s logbook.
For pool vehicles which are used from a many different drivers, mostly unforeseeable while the teams are on construction sites, RTS decided for “SPEEDY” which is a device fixed in the car, connected to power, ground, ignition and a NFC-reader for driver and passenger NFC-chip registration. A hardware button is used to, just switch business/private.
For worktime recording the ArealPilot 360° App offers all features requested. Each team member has his login and can use any of the RTS android smartphones. For RTS where 8-9 activities defined which are selected by the user after login, e.g. driving, working, maintenance, pause/rest, waiting and similar. While logged in the tracking starts and after logout the tracking stops while this is private time.
By the way, since April this app is officially available in the Mercedes-Benz Truck App Portal.
RTS has many backoffice users which are daily on the platform (https://web.arealcontrol.eu) for checking worktime data including time per service order, logbook, fleet management and dispatching. With settings per user in the complex roles and rights system the platform shows the right information, no more no less.
E.E: Please describe how was the project implemented?
AREALCONTROL: Due to our experience with similar projects and onboarding procedures we guided RTS with the right questions through the project. It started with 30 vehicles and has now more than 100 active devices in the field. The installation is done via the fleet car-dealer just before delivery of new vehicles. Our backoffice supports upfront and helps if any question arises. For company like RTS we do all service, often for free, to get it successful for the customer.
Via online web-sessions we did all the training and introduction for the backoffice users to get them comfortable for daily use.
In the meantime, they admin the platform theirself, e.g. new drivers, new cars, new groups and so on.
E.E: Were there any products with special characteristics used?
AREALCONTROL: From our point of view there is not a special characteristics but the whole package is an up to date solution. Compliant in all categories (GDPR, tax), the easy combination of several features in real different categories which gives in total a “RTS solution”.
E.E: How did your products / solutions improve productivity for the client?
AREALCONTROL: The fleet management and the worktime recording changed from paper and spread sheets to real digital solution. RTS is fast growing but the same backoffice stuff has to manage a larger productive team and fleet. That is only possible with telematics solutions which helps to avoid admin work and to focus on important topics.
E.E: How important was the project / projects for the client?
AREALCONTROL: Fast growing is impossible without a slim, effective organization and processes powered by software, tools, telematics and apps which makes easier. Due to legal rules RTS (and any company in the EU) had to keep track on precise but easy worktime recording. To avoid tax payments for the fleet the driver’s logbook solution pays off itself.
E.E: What was the client feedback after implementation?
AREALCONTROL: We’re in contact every week with some phone, service calls and e-mails. All is fine and well tuned. Out of this the best feedback are further orders for the growing fleet and new team members on RTS side.
The next phase is our digital PlanBoard for dispatching and automatic dispatching. That will give the next level in efficient and optimized planning of the workforce.
E.E: How did the solutions provided improve efficiency for the client?
AREALCONTROL: Formerly there where 4-5 people busy with admin work. Now they have the requested data ready by a mouse click. The logbook is ready while the drivers confirm daily their trips. Worktime recording incl. activities with questionnaires jumps out of the platform as a spreadsheet and is after some checking ready to import for the HR-system. All done by 2-3 people for a more than double sized team than in the beginning.
E.E: Did the current situation made your company implement differently than usual?
AREALCONTROL: Sure it did. Normally there would have been several visits for meetings at customer site in Bremen. Now everything was done remotely via web-meetings, phone calls and screenshare. From that point of view is shown that we all can save many travelling efforts and costs.
E.E: What are your forecasts for the second half of 2021?
AREALCONTROL: After a very slow start of vaccinations in Europe we hopefully all get through this by this summer and can start in a regular business live with personal meetings. What we are really missing are events, exhibitions and kick-off meetings. Business wise we expect a fast growing period in further telematics, digitization in all business fields. Additionally we hope to find more partners in more countries which setup their own company as franchisee or licensee.
AREALCONTROL GmbH
T.: +49 711 60179-30
Email: info@arealcontrol.de
Web: www.arealcontrol.de