www.ecao.org 16 GOING PAPERLESS O Of the millions of fleet vehicles on the roads every day in Canada, only a small percent- age are managed by paperless operations. In various markets, however, such as the utility industry, leading fleet operators are shifting gears away from paper and toward automated routing, mobile and telematics solutions. The reality is that taking the paper out of fleet operations can dramatically lighten the load. Automated routing and scheduling enhance on-time performance and customer satisfaction Companies with manual routing practices often struggle with the significant amount of time and resources required to plan and restructure routes. For organizations with a bigger fleet and/or larger service territories, the situation is only exacerbated, negatively impacting driver productivity and operational efficiency. In addition, paper-based routing offers no visibility into driver location or work performance, hampering customer service. Automated routing and scheduling technology moves the ability to plan work, schedule and dispatch orders/crews, optimize routes, and communicate with the field to a completely paperless environment. Using technology, field managers view schedules for the week ahead and pre-plan routes as required. Dis- patchers manage orders and activities in the field in real-time, and actions like reassigning work orders, responding to customer changes on the fly and managing exceptions are things that can be done virtually instantaneously. Going Paperless with Automated Routing, Mobile &Telematics Technologies Companies also see where their vehicles are in real-time and can either make a manual deci- sion as to who handles an order or have the system to suggest a cost-effective alternative on an existing route. Decisions are then pushed out wirelessly to the appropriate driver’s mobile device. With more intelligent route planning and more reliable field delivery environments, companies drive up on-time performance, turn work around more quickly in the field and enhance customer satisfaction while driving down mileage, fuel consumption and vehicle idle times. Integrating mobile and telematics data with other enterprise systems createsgreateroperatingefficiencies Utilities are also analyzing how the collection of integrated data from the field can assist in many levels of the planning cycle. For example, collecting data such as bucket truck on site, stabilizers enabled, utility lights on, and PTO running to drive the bucket on the vehicle can enhance safety by helping safety managers quickly identify situations where the proper protocols have not been followed. Before telematics capabilities like these, utilities had to drive out to site to perform random site safety inspections. With technology, safety inspectors are better prepared prior to site visits. By Vince Arone,VP, Mobile Telematics Solutions at Descartes