The onset of Internet of Things in the transportation and logistics segment has revolutionized the way fleets are handled. Its advent has made it possible for fleet companies to keep a live track of their load-distributing vehicles and manage end-to-end fleet operations from a few clicks or taps on smartphones.
While the applications and benefits of IoT in the transportation sector are immense, one application that especially stands out is weight monitoring. As the name suggests, this application allow fleet companies to track the weight of on-road trucks from far-off locations in real-time, while they carry cargo to their respective locations.
Subsequently, this help companies (and fleet managers alike) to ensure that the cargo is not stolen while it is en route and that the right amount of cargo is delivered to the receiver.
What’s the Need for a Fleet Weight Monitoring System?
Cargo theft is one of the major concerns in the logistics vertical. Even in countries where transportation businesses are at their peaks, cargo theft is a big issue.As per a study by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, more than 24 cargo thefts are reported every day in the United States. This makes cargo theft a $15 to $35 billion problem in America alone.
Globally, this amount culminates into several hundred billion dollars. Furthermore, when a transportation business comes in to collect and deliver a shipment from the sending party to the receiving party, it becomes its responsibility to ensure that the cargo is safe during the course of the shipment. Failing in doing so creates a negative impression about the company in the market that hampers its business drastically.
With weight monitoring systems, fleet companies can ensure the safety of the cargo being shipped until it reaches its destination.
The advanced technical architecture of the IoT system, allow companies to collect real-time data associated with the weight of their trucks while they carry loads on roads. The weight sensors affixed on their axles, measure the weight and transfers it via gateways on a cloud server, from where the weight of the truck can be monitored and supervised in real-time.
This hence makes it easier for the companies to keep a keen eye on their trucks and make sure that the cargo is secure.
Here are some benefits that an IoT based weight monitoring system offers to a fleet
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Remote Monitoring:
The IoT technology, unlike a wired system, is completely cable-free and hence is appropriate for transportation businesses that scale over thousands of miles. Its wireless architecture and high-end telemetry features allow the weight data to be collected from the fleet trucks moving on roads and transmitted to fleet managers that operate from far distances.
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Advanced Analytics:
Advanced analytics is one of the main features of IoT technology. The large amount of data gathered over a period of time allow companies to leverage it to improve its operational efficiency. With in-built data processing capabilities; charts, graphs, and other visuals can also be created that makes it easier for companies to visualize data and detect bottlenecks.
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Real-Time Alerts:
Since the weight data is ingested in real-time, the IoT systems can also be customized to gain alerts and notifications as soon as a discrepancy occurs. By setting up threshold and tolerance values, a range can be defined; outside which an alert is sent to the fleet operatives to alarm them about a decrease in truck’s weight; indicating a possibility of theft. The operative can then communicate with the truck driver and solve the issue as soon as possible.
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Highly Scalable and Modular:
Since the IoT systems are completely wireless, the weight monitoring solution is scalable for a fleet of very large size. Also, the solution can be customized to gather other data values as well. By installing a myriad range of sensors and pieces of hardware, data related to the truck’s geographical location, engine condition, tire pressure, and even the temperature in reefer trailers can be monitored. Hence, the solution can be modified for truck maintenance and cold-chain transportation.
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Multiple Channels Supported:
The wide spectrum of telemetry data gathered from IoT systems can be visualized on different devices like mobile phones, computers, tablets, and even wearables. Furthermore, since IoT systems support all communication protocols and standards ranging from Local Area Networks like Ethernet to Wide Area Networks such as Cellular & Satellite, the data can be ingested over very large distances.
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Effective Regulatory Compliance:
Also, the implementation of a weight monitoring system enable companies to ensure that the truck’s weight is well within the standards set by the regulatory agencies. By keeping truck axle load in the permissible range, companies can ensure that their trucks do not damage or destroy roads and prevent their drivers from incurring heavy fines caused due to overloading.
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Better Customer Service:
Fleet companies are bound by a contract to ensure that they deliver the goods safely without any damage. By using weight monitoring and measurement system powered by IoT technology, companies can share details to their clients about the cargo and the truck carrying them until it reaches their doorsteps. This enable transportation businesses to give a better service to their clients and convince them that their cargo is safe during the entire shipment cycle.
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Better than Manual Weight Measurement:
Traditionally, weighbridges are used to measure the weight of the truck along with the cargo it carries. While it is effective to take accurate one-time weight measurement of the truck, it doesn’t offer clear visibility of the live truck’s weight reading while it is moving. IoT weight measurement allow users to keep a track of truck’s weight at all times that makes it perfect to protect the goods from theft.
