The use of AI in fleet management can help fleets keep their vehicles longer, while saving lives, time and money.
AI tools can make recommendations about services needed or anticipated problems and repairs.
As a result of an ongoing semiconductor shortage and supply chain issues, new cars are in short supply, with delivery times stretching as far as a year.
The Effects of the Semiconductor Shortage on Fleet Management
The semiconductor shortage is affecting customers of all kinds, but none more than fleet buyers. The shortage means many fleets, from rental car companies to police departments, cannot replace vehicles as often. This results in a growing reliance on older vehicles and increased resources devoted to servicing them.
As opposed to simply replacing vehicles, which was often the strategy before because it was more cost-effective than making repairs or keeping up with ongoing maintenance, fleet managers need to invest more in inspections, monitoring, and repairs.
How AI Can Ensure Safety and Effectiveness for Fleet Managers
By using AI Fleet Management solutions, fleet managers can ensure that the vehicles they deploy remains safe and in the best condition. AI fleet management solutions increase driver accountability, examines a vehicle’s performance, and determines ways to ensure it remains up to industry standards. Furthermore, AI fleet management will also recommend ways to bring vehicles up to code, or detect problems before they occur.
"Fleet" is often associated with rental cars and taxis. However, fleets can include;
- police and rescue vehicles
- transportation for government safety inspectors and regulators carrying specialized equipment
- delivery vans and trucks to bring much-needed supplies to consumers
- institutions like schools and hospitals
- and much more
Operators need to have vehicles they can rely on; if the vehicle fails, lives may be at risk.
Until the supply chain backlog is resolved - which could take years, according to experts - fleets of all kinds will have to make do with what they have. In order to accomplish that, they will have to go beyond their routine inspection and repair procedures.
Improving Vehicle Inspections with AI
Artificial intelligence can help with these deep-dive inspections, as easy-to-operate mobile apps can be used in conjunction with standard vehicle equipment like security cameras to document the condition of fleet vehicles. This creates an objective and updated record. Apps can remind drivers to log inspection reports upon starting and finishing a shift, while cameras can record vehicles, and details about their condition, coming in and out of services. This data can be uploaded to a central server so that advanced data analysis tools can process the images, cataloging them in an easy-to-use format for fleet managers, body shops, inspectors, and other suppliers to review.
Meanwhile, sensors can track data on driving habits, brake use, wear and tear, and other internal vehicle information. Based on analyzing a wide range of data, AI fleet management tools can recommend the services needed or expected problems and repairs.
Tracking driving habits and ongoing vehicle conditions also make drivers more accountable, ensuring that their vehicle is treated better, that the drivers are aware of its condition, and is picked up and returned on time. This can also help extend a vehicle's life or at least keep it in better condition.
The use of AI in these fleet inspections will not only make for safer driving and safer vehicles, but it will also reduce the amount of labor required to ensure that vehicles are fit for the road. Currently, most such inspections are carried out manually, which is both labor-intensive and subject to human error.
Using advanced data analysis to automate the inspection process will help ensure that inspections are done on a regular basis, which reduces the risk of fatigue-driven error.
Advanced AI analysis systems could make the difference between poor and ideal performance for your fleet- perhaps even between life and death.
