The City of Gatineau is situated on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Canada's capital Ottawa. The metropolitan area of Gatineau is home to almost 1.5 million people. Over a year ago, Gatineau purchased Coencorp's SM2-FUEL, its flagship fuel inventory management system. While the SM2-FUEL inventory management system accurately managed the city's fleet fuel stocks, discrepancies due to gaps in automation remained with the fuel dispensed to various equipment and vehicles, making reconciliation difficult. The City of Gatineau approached Coencorp for an end-to-end automated fleet fuel management solution, from inventory levels to deliveries to the dispensing of fuel. Discussions soon led to two other fleet management issues that had been plaguing the city for a while.
First, there was the issue of fleet maintenance planning. The city was using two separate software systems because neither could provide the proper data collection, and the maintenance management benefits necessary for efficient fleet maintenance. Data gathering and information transfer from one system to another and back again were tedious processes.
The second issue involved the management of the electric fleet. Several departments are given access to EVs, but city workers were reluctant to use them owing to unknown battery charge levels and range anxiety. The city sought more precise cost accounting in order to apportion EV running expenses to the appropriate departments that would use the cars.
Gatineau needed a single fleet management platform capable of handling their fleet's present fossil fuel consumption, addressing their fleet maintenance planning requirements, as well as lead them into the future with competent electric vehicle fleet management. Consequently, the City of Gatineau has awarded Coencorp a $200,000 order for the technology needed to properly manage their fleet now and into the future of going electric.
Coencorp president Ali Tavassoli comments, "We applaud all green initiatives being undertaken by municipal public works. The transition from fossil fuels to electric is not instantaneous and requires careful planning to maintain efficiency throughout. It only makes sense that a fleet management system should solve both current and future challenges."
The project will be deployed and commissioned in the coming months.
