In the Logistics and Transport industry, having an effective, digitally-driven control room has become a crucial component to build competitive advantage. Whether it is for improving site security or optimising route management and driver behaviour, a control room can help unlock business opportunities that might have previously been undetermined.
Think about a control room as a way for a business to gather the necessary data that provides it with complete visibility of its shipping routes and performance of drivers, in addition to what is happening from a security perspective on-site. As the name suggests, it is a dedicated space where operators and managers have access to a wall of screens that monitor all activity taking place at a site while also incorporating route mapping and tracking functionality.
“When a business thinks about a modern control room it must consider ways to further improve visibility into its day-to-day operations. Cameras are great from a security perspective, but they can be even further enhanced by pulling in an analytical component. Intelligence derived from understanding the data being captured across transport operations will result in improved processes that can dramatically save costs,” says Ryan Norris at Itec South Africa.
From a site perspective, operators can use control rooms for several use cases. Maintaining the safety of your premises and fleet is a given. They also perform vital vehicle and people counting to help with the integrity of on-site security. Then there is managing the loading and offloading processes. They can, in real-time, flag any potential irregularities and send out alerts to the appropriate managers if something is amiss with the loading stage. Businesses can set up no-go areas and receive alerts if people enter those sensitive environments or even staff who do not have the clearance to do so.
Secondly, a control room brings with it the opportunity for more advanced fleet management. While it can track the fleet, the intent is not to do stolen recovery. After all, that is what tracking companies are for. Instead, it is about ensuring routes are optimised especially during unforeseen traffic or accidents occurring – saving time and money. Onboard cameras can provide real-time feedback on driver fatigue and flag if hitchhikers are picked up. Furthermore, onboard monitoring can send alerts if any potential problems occur. The onboard system can link to the control room with intercommunication between drivers and operators in case of emergencies.
“Itec provides an in intelligent data-driven solution that can analyse the data captured in a control room environment to empower organisations to make better, faster and more intelligent decisions with real-time information at hand. We can integrate into existing environments with a software-driven approach, so there is no need to rip and replace any existing investments,” says Ryan Norris.
The modern, data-enhanced control room can bring with it value beyond traditional security monitoring of operations and fleet. By harnessing the potential of the data which businesses have access to, they can optimise the running of their fleet operations and identify new opportunities for growth.
