How WebNMS Fleet Tracking and Management solution benefits fleet operators implementing the AIS-140 regulation – A Deep Dive

 The public transportation system, today, is considered the backbone of an economy, especially in a country like India where the number of vehicles running on the roads is increasing day by day. Traffic congestion and the associated slow mobility can have an adverse affect on both the quality of life and the economy. Be it for governance purpose or for the convenience of Passengers, It is essential to make public and commercial transportation safe,efficient and connected. To emphasize the importance of connected and digitized transportation, the Indian government came up with an intelligent transport system (ITS) which is a segment of automotive industry standard AIS-140. The ITS is a universally accepted standard system specifically tailored to gain better control over public transport system in India by utilizing the existing transport infrastructure. It is believed that ITS would narrow all traffic-related concerns and also help Regional Traffic Office (RTO) in tracking a vehicle in case of an emergency.

AIS-140 is a set of prerequisites that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) along with Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) has bought up to ensure better efficiency, quality, comfort and safety among all type of commercial transportation in India including public and private.

The new regulation is an advantage for the automobile industry as it emphasizes on two mandatory requirements in a GPS tracking device – emergency button and vehicle location tracker. Vehicle tracking will help the relevant authorities to gain control over their Mobile Assets, monitor the route taken by the vehicle and query its location at any given point of time, which would in turn help in regulating the traffic as well as keeping a track of the vehicle timings and schedules.

The main objective of the ITS initiative was to reduce on-road traffic due to exponential growth in number of vehicles, to enforce all traffic rules, avoid accidents, monitor and control delayed schedules, avoid passenger inconveniences and decrease vehicle-involved crimes .In a release, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), through its notification, had announced that the new vehicles registered after January 2019 should be equipped with AIS-140 trackers. This initiative will drive a massive increase in telematics adoption in the already growing Indian market.

The role of Technology in empowering AIS-140 adoption

With the rapidly growing technologies like Internet of Things, AI, ML and IoT driven fleet telematics, the adoption of AIS 140 seems profound and strategically beneficial for commercial fleet operators. Besides promoting safety and efficiency in public transportation system across the country, AIS 140 adoption can help streamline commercial vehicle operations. In addition to tracking and knowing the whereabouts of the moving assets, owners and operators can now gain vivid details of consignment conditions, vehicle health and maintenance, driver behavior, delivery details and plan fleet operations proactively based on insights and data. 

WebNMS Fleet telematics solution is a dedicated suite of capabilities to run secure and proactive fleet operations. The solution is a great way to ensure safety and run data driven fleet operations in congruence with government’s AIS-140 policy. The solution is a perfect blend of tools and features that empowers the operators and business owners to keep track of their moving assets and manage people, assets and process from a single portal and mobile based application.  As the government is keen on keeping track of all the commercial vehicles,ensuring safety and streamlined operations, it would be of great advantage for business owners to take stock of their current fleet operations and get smart fleet operations on board. 

Besides tracking the vehicle, the solution offers insights of the health of vehicle including other parameters like fuel monitoring, driver behavior data etc. It could be a great tool to unify multiple aspects of the fleet operations like driver performance, cost benefit analysis. The solution aims to leverage IoT technology with data driven operations and insightful decisions. It empowers the business owners with round the clock visibility, reliable data for decisions, and streamlined operations. Fleet operators can now onboard their vehicles on to WebNMS IoT Platform, become AIS-140 compliant and benefit from round the clock monitoring and tracking of their assets.

For example, consider cross-country logistics of commercial container trucks carrying perishable goods. Apart from keeping track of the vehicle in transit, driver behavior, delivery schedule, fuel and other asset parameters, it is also essential to trace the storage conditions within the container to ensure quality and conclusiveness. This prevents loses due to damaged goods and also focus on vendor management. 

Similarly, IoT powered fleet telematics can boost quality in industries like pharmaceuticals, FMCG, agricluture and high value assets where the quality of goods transferred has to be kept in tact, IoT driven fleet tracking and management can help save 

Some of the key aspects of the solution that ameliorate the AIS-140 regulation:

  • As mentioned, government has made it a mandate to imbibe AIS-140 in regular commercial and public transport operations. As per the mandate all commercial vehicles must be must be fitted with AIS compliant devices.
  • These vehicles will become subject to continuous, proactive monitoring for security compliance. 
  • All the vehicles which come under the AIS-140 mandate will also be connected to a vehicle tracking server manned by the Indian government This will ensure safety and  legal compliance specially in case of commercial vehicles involved in tourism, with an option to retrieve data from government logs in case of absolute critical emergencies
  • WebNMS Fleet telematics solution will enhance fleet operations by adding value to the tracking and security compliance move. 
  • The solution will provide fleet managers/operators and owners with a myriad  of capabilities like real-time vehicle tracking, driver behaviour monitoring, fuel utilization data, consolidated view of their complete fleet, route planning, geofencing etc.
  • According to a survey, fuel expenses account for almost 45% of the total expenses involved in fleet operations. By using our AIS-140 compliant fleet management system, fleet managers can reduce the fuel expenses up to 10 – 20% by optimizing routes.
  • The fleet management solution is customized to fit user preferences. Individual customized user interface for fleet managers and drivers will simplify the complexity and enhance user experience. 
  • WebNMS fleet management solution is capable of raising immediate alarms in case of emergencies. The alarm can be initiated by the driver or passengers when the fleet is in motion. The alarm will be sent as a message/notification to mobile devices as well as to the central NOC.
  • With the help of historical data, trend charts, real-time insights and constructive trip report , alerts, and actionable insights, it becomes easier for the government to run citizen friendly operations, the fleet operators to identify areas of inefficient practices and curb them for improved operations.

In order to combat the operational challenges and bring home digital transformation in transportation industry, the AIS-140 compliant device and solution will be the way forward. Standardizing transport industry is the most viable solution, enhancing and ensuring top-rated efficiency. This is why Govt. of India began prioritizing these issues, which has resulted in Intelligent Transportation System (ITS). The new AIS-140 regulation enforced by the Indian government will be a good way to kickstart the untapped potential of an otherwise cluttered and unorganized commercial telematics segment. WebNMS aims to catalyse the initiative with it’s digitally transformative fleet tracking and management solution. To  explore the solution and request demo, visit the website.