Fire Apparatus Telematics: Turning Data into Readiness

Fire apparatus have evolved into data-generating assets that have the capability to feed intelligence to departments that are willing to adopt telematic systems.

At its core, telematics combines GPS tracking, onboard diagnostics and wireless communication, to provide real-time data to emergency vehicle technicians and officers. This technology is used widely in other sectors as generalized fleet management. It can reshape how fire departments reduce risk, plan for purchasing and maintain operational readiness.

Predictive maintenance

Even with due diligence and daily apparatus checks, historically speaking, maintenance almost always has been a reactive process that’s based on what was reported. Great driver/operators often notice subtle clues that indicate potential issues, but in the end, a check engine light, failure during operations or even a failed test is what gets an apparatus to the maintenance bay.

Telematics rethinks this process, no longer waiting until a warning light indicates the need to seek maintenance. Through continuous monitoring and even established parameters for automated alerts, telematics systems always watch engine performance, fluid levels and stressors on the apparatus. This reduces downtime and extends the life span of apparatus. Maintenance can be scheduled before a serious condition takes a front-line apparatus offline during peak hours of the day. Departments that embraced this technology often report fewer catastrophic failures, stabilized maintenance budgets and predictability of apparatus performance.

Real-time readiness

From the earliest days of my career, I was taught that firefighters’ primary job is to be ready for whatever comes their way. Telematics offers perspective and true real-time visibility into a department’s readiness. Operational chiefs can identify the location and status of every apparatus in their district at a glance.

This also enhances dispatch decisions based on proximity and operational status. Particularly for larger metropolitan departments, integrating telematics into their computer-aided dispatch can improve outcomes vastly for emergencies for which quick response times are essential. Imagine dispatching the closest unit while also considering apparatus health and readiness.

Safer responses

Collisions during responses remain a significant occupational hazard for the emergency services. Telematics can help to reduce that risk.

How many of you remember passing a vehicle on the road that had a bumper sticker that read “How’s my driving?” and a number to call. Long gone are those days. Telematics often is capable of tracking driving behavior through the capture of speed, braking patterns, acceleration and seat belt usage. Again, with preestablished triggers, these systems can provide real-time alerts to unsafe behaviors.

I know what a lot of firefighters will say when they read this: “Big Brother is out to get you.” This isn’t the case, and, in many instances, this captured data was used to clear firefighters of alleged wrongdoing in post-accident investigations.

It also is important to understand how being observed changes people’s behavior. Have any of you plugged an insurance company’s safe driver discount module into your personal vehicle? Essentially, this is telematics for the company to review and to identify how safe your driving behavior is to help to save you money. When people know that they’re being watched, there’s an added sense of accountability, particularly when it’s followed through with and acted on.

The best use of this technology by the fire service often is the addition of a coaching aspect to ongoing or annual driver/operator training programs. Imagine the benefit that’s provided when one walks into training with an analysis sheet of individual past driving behavior.

Although all of this is meant to improve safety, better driving habits also reduce the wear and tear on apparatus, to provide hidden cost savings.

Relieving budget issues

Every department, no matter how well that it’s funded, has budget restraints. There always will be more to do than the funding allows. Telematics might have a significant startup cost, but it’s a long-term investment that offers a compelling return on investment.

Monitoring fuel consumption, idling time, route efficiency and, ultimately, driver behavior are aspects of these systems that help to alleviate budget pressure. Considering the fuel prices today, helping to reduce fuel consumption can save a lot of money per year.

Reduced maintenance costs are another benefit of deploying telematics. I can’t tell you how many times that my department had to call after-hours technicians or get an apparatus towed before we were able to replace a neglected vehicle.

Proactive maintenance often is scheduled during normal hours of operations and reduces emergency repairs that result from catastrophic failures by extending component life through proper maintenance.

Telematics also has the capability to provide comprehensive reporting that aids departments when they budget for annual maintenance costs. Beyond the year-to-year operational budget planning, telematics is gaining traction as a key source of data in apparatus replacement planning. Age is one of the worst indicators to use when deciding the timing of replacement. Usage patterns, engine hours, maintenance history and identification of conditions that will mean future expensive repairs all can help a department to replace apparatus before they become a drain on the annual budget. Using data to assist with capital expenditure is key to keeping a department sustainable.

Accountable & transparent

Everyone who’s in the fire service typically loves accountability unless they are the ones who are being held accountable. However, in this case, telematics doesn’t play favorites. The most advanced users of telematics have public-facing dashboards that demonstrate a high commitment to department transparency. The captured data tell a story better than any chief can when it comes to requesting taxpayer support for budget requests. The numbers also are valuable of showing how capable that a department is of serving the community. Telematic data easily can show where responses are occurring, increases in utilization and extended response times and provide evidence-based rather than opinion-based decision-making.

Beating adoption barriers

Despite the advantages that are described above, there still are challenges to implementing this technology in a department.

Initial costs, data management, integrations with existing systems and even department culture are hurdles that must be overcome. That said, these barriers slowly are coming down as apparatus manufacturers add telematics as a standardized option, which reduces the requirement to purchase a third-party option.

Most telematics systems are moving to cloud-based services, which means that there are minimal hardware requirements to use the system.

These two factors alone address the accessibility issues that most departments might face along the way. However, they also reduce startup costs.

Another common issue is managing the data overload that can occur. Establishing SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) goals for implementing telematics helps to focus a department on the data that are most pertinent to it and aids in establishing alerts to unsafe behaviors or for when maintenance actions on an apparatus are required.

Standard in the making

Telematics offer a huge return on investment, provide comprehensive statistics on use, help to provide real operational readiness and reduce unforeseen negative effects on the budget. The barriers for use are going away quickly, and the only question is when will your department get on board with what’s becoming an industry standard?

Fleet Management

Geotab's fleet management platform helps fire departments to keep emergency vehicles mission-ready through predictive maintenance, real-time GPS tracking and driver-behavior coaching. Departments can receive engine fault alerts before vehicles fail mid-response, reduce costly idle time, and gain complete visibility into apparatus location and status. With FedRAMP authorization and data security that's trusted by government agencies across North America, Geotab gives fleet managers the data to protect both crews and budgets. 

Fleet Readiness

Emergent enhances operational awareness across the fireground through real-time fleet and incident-response software. Help your crews to tackle the latest reporting standards and simplify documentation in the moment with the company’s all-in-one platform that’s built for today’s fire service and connects all of a department’s pumpers, trucks, ambulances and other fleet vehicles directly to live dashboards.

Fleet Optimization

Fleetio’s fleet optimization platform helps organizations to manage vehicles, equipment, maintenance and operations within a single system. The AI Service Advisor improves high-volume repair decisions by automatically identifying and prioritizing issues that need attention. As maintenance is completed, the platform evaluates each repair in context, to allow routine, low-risk jobs to proceed automatically while flagging exceptions for review. With real-time visibility into service history and cost benchmarks, teams can make adjustments on the spot and keep work moving.