Jul 14 2008
It is now easier for haulage firms to gain control over fuel consumption and emissions. The latest generation of Volvo’s Web-based transport information system, Dynafleet, makes it possible to monitor in detail the environmental performance of each vehicle in the fleet.
“Dynafleet undergoes constant development in close dialogue with our customers,” says Per-Anders Grösfjeld, marketing manager for the transport information system at Volvo Trucks. “Record-high fuel prices and increased haulage industry interest in climate and environmental issues are among the most important forces driving this development. With the latest upgrades, we have a powerful tool that offers an even better overview of fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. This is valuable both in daily operations and for instance in driver training that focuses on economical and environmentally optimised driving.”
Among other things, the haulage company now gets detailed reports on every truck’s and driver’s fuel consumption in various driving conditions. Another new feature is that it is now possible to see how much AdBlue has been used in the exhaust treatment process, the number of starts and stops, average speed and how heavily loaded the vehicle was during various phases of each shift. In the system’s environmental report, it is possible to see how emissions are affected by the quality of fuel used. All so as to give the haulage company the best possible basis for making decisions for the future. If the AdBlue level drops below the permitted level, the haulage firm is automatically notified
The new version of Dynafleet also makes it easier to meet the EU requirements for regular registration of driver times. Using a function called Driver Data Upload, each driver can transfer his or her personal operational information from the tachograph to the haulage firm without even getting out of the cab. The procedure is simplicity itself: the driver takes his driver card out of the tachograph and inserts it into a special card reader that is linked to the truck’s Dynafleet unit. The information is then uploaded to the company’s site on the Dynafleet server where it is stored in a safe way. The haulage company also automatically receives information indicating which drivers have uploaded their data in time and which have not yet done so.
The first truck manufacturer in Europe to offer such a facility, Volvo launched its own in-house-developed transport information system back in 1994. Since then, about 36,000 units have been sold. Today’s Web-based version, Dynafleet Online, currently has about 10,500 customers who subscribe to the various services offered by the system.
New functions in Dynafleet
- New reports, including overview, environmental report, fuel monitoring and AdBlue monitoring.
- Driver data upload, for simple transfer of registered driver times from the digital tachograph. (Optional service for customers with Dynafleet Operate).
- Assistance request. (For customers with Dynafleet Operate.)
- Turkish language version. Dynafleet is now available in a total of 16 languages, including the most recent addition, Turkish.