New Data From Masternaut Shows Commercial Road Usage Dropped by 20% During February’s Wintery Conditions
Huntingdon, 23 February 2009 – Data released by Masternaut, the UK’s leading online Telematics Service Provider, indicates that the effect of this month’s heavy snowfall was a 20 percent drop-off in road traffic across the UK. The lowest road daily fall in usage was 25 percent. In contrast, many gritting vehicles were being used for an average of 18 hours per day throughout that week.
Masternaut tracks almost 50,000 vehicle based assets and records in excess of 10 million live vehicle positions per day through Masternaut, the Internet-based Mobile Resource Management (MRM) and vehicle tracking suite. This data is also used by one of the UK’s leading live traffic information providers, to deliver its service. After recording their lowest levels on Monday 3rd and Tuesday 4th, traffic started to recover on the Wednesday and Thursday, only to fall to 82 percent of its normal level on Friday 6th.
“It is no surprise to see that there was some drop-off in traffic on the roads during a week of heavy snowfall, but for there to be 1 in 5 commercial vehicles not travelling represents a dramatic effect on the productivity of these organisations and the economy as a whole,” commented Bill Henry, CEO, Masternaut.
“Our technology collects positional data every 20 seconds, which means we have access to a very large amount of high quality information. This information helps identify many of these trends that run throughout UK fleets. A big part of using the Masternaut system for individual organisations is assessing information over a length of time to identify trends within the fleet – and this is an instance where we can clearly see productivity dropping off in a particular week. This kind of information is valuable to every one of our 2,000 plus clients,” continued Mr Henry.
“Our technology collects positional data every 20 seconds, which means we have access to a very large amount of high quality information. This information helps identify many of these trends that run throughout UK fleets. A big part of using the Masternaut system for individual organisations is assessing information over a length of time to identify trends within the fleet – and this is an instance where we can clearly see productivity dropping off in a particular week. This kind of information is valuable to every one of our 2,000 plus clients,” continued Mr Henry
Masternaut is Masternaut’s industry leading, scalable suite of Internet-based Mobile Resource Management (MRM) and vehicle tracking tools. The high quality data relating vehicle and job performance is captured in conjunction with location information, reported and analysed through Masternaut. This allows meaningful business decisions to be made using up to the minute information on operational performance. Powerful reporting capabilities facilitate effective management of operational costs and productivity; support strategic initiatives around Carbon footprint; and increase compliance with legislation including Duty of Care and Health and Safety. The strategic importance of Masternaut-generated information extends beyond vehicle tracking into the heart of the enterprise: Fleet derived information can be directly integrated into a range of business systems to improve the efficiency of the entire organisation. Masternaut provides the business-critical information that organisations need to execute a clear and rapid path to return on investment.
“Home delivery organisations have a massive cost and operational efficiency burden, because they have to coordinate complex routes, maintain a high level of service for their customers and remain competitive on price,” commented Steve Towe, Managing Director, Masternaut. “Abel & Cole’s vehicles typically make between 60 and 100 separate drops every day. We are providing them with the tools to dynamically manage the entire fleet, ensure delivery schedules are adhered to and managed most effectively. Online visibility and activity reports allow Abel & Cole to take steps to reduce its carbon tyreprint.”