Weighing and biotechnology equipment servicing firm Sartorius has equipped 19 vehicles with the system from VDO Dayton NavComm in a move it predicts will improve efficiency and enhance safety.
The system combines turn-by-turn satellite navigation equipment with its on-board computer and mobile communications credentials. It directs the driver to their chosen destination while keeping the fleet manager informed of their progress.
Sartorius divisional manager of service, Steve Hall, said: 'We considered road safety issues when choosing the system. With NavComm we are able to send a message to the terminal in the vehicle for the engineer to read when it is safe to do so.
'Previously, the only option was to use a mobile phone. A secondary benefit is the associated cost-saving with text messaging.'
The move comes as a growing number of fleets look at the dangers of using mobile phones on the move. The Government is currently consulting on proposals to ban the use of hand-held phones while driving altogether.
Hall added: 'A good proportion of our work is reactive. We have customers such as laboratories and drug companies working on blood products who depend heavily upon the availability and accuracy of their instruments. Should the need for service arise, we are required to respond extremely rapidly, which is where NavComm comes in.
'The system allows us to track the nearest engineer with the appropriate skills and then guides them from wherever they happen to be to the customer.'
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