Ontario Electrical Contractor 17 With the evolution of open APIs from differ- ent GPS telematics suppliers,  many utilities have also integrated GPS information into their outage management platform, in order to display a visual of the outage incident, the current location of all vehicles and their status, which helps to drive faster response times and restore power more quickly to customers whether a single downed power line has caused an outage, or weather has affected thousands of customers in a province. Combining ELD and vehicle maintenance technologies enhances automation and reduces operating costs While utility companies have been working towards automation in the field for years, the ability to create a maintenance ticket immediately from a digitized pre-trip inspection is relatively new. It’s eliminated the administrative burden associated with filling out paper reports,  dropping them off at the end of shift, having someone manually enter the defect(s) on the vehicle, and prioritizing repairs within the shop. Using electronic logging device (ELD) technology (soon to be mandated in Canada) integrated with cloud-based vehicle main- tenance technology,  the driver performs the pre-trip inspection and identifies the defect within the ELD software. A ticket is immediately generated in the maintenance solution and prioritized based upon how the defect is classified (i.e., vehicle is drivable or not). The progress of the ticket is captured in the maintenance software and an estimated closure date is assigned, which is visible to all staff involved and allows managers to view ongoing maintenance costs in real-time.   This type of automation provides a number of cost-saving opportunities to utilities. Because all inspections are performed in the field using tablets/smartphones, drivers no longer need to complete paper forms, thereby increasing workforce productivity. It also substantially decreases hours upon hours of administrative processing time (e.g., manual data entry, audit of paper logs) and the overhead associated with excessive paperwork. Utilities also benefit from improved data accuracy by eliminating manual, error-prone paper-based practices, plus data is centralized in one location and made accessible across the organization. Finally, automation prioritizes repairs, with much less administrative effort, which shortens repair response time and gets vehicles back on the road more efficiently and quickly. Paperless is possible! In a data-driven, mobile-focused world, truck- based paper is one of the last remaining items in an increasingly paperless supply chain. While it’s not necessarily easy, paperless is possible. With routing, mobile and telematics solutions, companies have new ways to purge the paper and hit the gas on getting out in front of the competition. How is your organization going paperless? Let me know: varone@descartes.com. 1.  Has your company gone paperless for routing? 2.  Does your company use ELDs/on-board computers today? 3.  Are key customers asking for enhanced service levels where automation could make a difference? As Vice President of Mobile Telematics Solu- tions, and one of the founders of PinPoint GPS Solutions, Vince Arone, P.Eng.,is responsible for guiding and assisting our Enterprise Fleet clients with simple yet powerful applications to improve their fleet operations. He man- ages sales of Geotab and SkyBitz platforms, including ELD, into key markets such as Transportation, Construction, Utility and Waste Management. Vince joins Descartes from the PinPoint acquisition in 2018 and has past experience with multinational tele- communication companies such as Ericsson, Siemens and Lucent.