SkyGuard improves services

FLOWOOD, Miss. AND SAN FRANCISCO - SkyGuard, a provider of fleet management systems, has partnered with two companies to improve its services.

SkyGuard and SpeedGauge, a provider of software and services for real-time analysis and utilization of commercial vehicle GPS data, have reached an agreement to offer SpeedGauge services to SkyGuard’s commercial fleet customers.

SkyGuard provides the customer’s vehicle location and speed information collected via GPS to SpeedGauge whose web-based application analyzes those data points in real time. This integrated service will enable customers to identify and act on a broader range of high-risk driving behavior, thus lowering fleet operating risks that result from excessive speeding.

Since 2005, the SkyGuard system has captured vehicle speed and location information, allowing customers to set a desired threshold for notification, but until now they have not been able to easily tell if their drivers were exceeding the posted speed limit.

SkyGuard has also reached an agreement to integrate its services with Garmin’s commercial Portable Navigation Devices (PNDs).

This integrated service will enable SkyGuard’s customers to create and optimize daily routes for their drivers, send those routes directly to the drivers at the beginning of the day, and send schedule updates and text messages to the drivers throughout the day using the PND as the source of communication. The total solution provides customers with the benefit of reduced fuel consumption, increased efficiency, enhanced safety and greater customer satisfaction.

Both the PNDs and SkyGuard‘s web-based application have been enhanced to work together, seamlessly. The PND is connected to the SkyGuard telematics device installed in the customer’s fleet vehicles. Once connected, the customer’s dispatcher has the ability to send individual addresses or full pre-scheduled routes directly to their driver’s Garmin PND where they appear on the screen in chronological order. When the addresses appear on the PND, the driver can generate turn-by-turn directions with only a few taps on the screen.

When finished, the driver indicates that the job has been completed by a few more taps, then moves on to the next address in the route. The enhanced service also allows for simplified text messaging between the dispatcher using the application and the driver using the PND. Drivers can easily see the message on the dash-mounted Garmin screen and quickly select a pre-programmed response with minimal distraction. This creates a safer, more accurate communication method than cellular phones.