WORK TRUCK SHOW -- Auto and commercial fleets using OnStar-equipped General Motors vehicles will be able to use Telogis’ location intelligence platform to collect data on vehicle and driver performance that can help reduce costs and improve safety, the companies announced March 5 at the Work Truck Show in Indianapolis.

“It makes telematics easy,” said Amy Hart Phillips, vice president OEM business, Telogis.

The partnership allows fleets to “leverage their existing OnStar system” via an application program interface with Telogis’ cloud-based fleet management platform to deliver management tools without adding extra hardware, she said.

David Lohmeier, manager, new business, OnStar, said that “what’s really different about the system is that Telogis provides a platform to process the data.”

The Telogis offering is the first commercial application to utilize OnStar’s proprietary APIs (application programming interface), introduced last year. Application developers have been able to work with GM through a secure online portal (http://developer.gm.com/) to design applications and services for the OnStar system.

“The APIs are being commercially released,” Lohmeier said. “We do the heavy lifting and allow our partners to access the data,” collected by the onboard system. In the case of the Telogis platform, that data includes information on vehicle location, odometer, fuel consumption, maintenance information and other data.

He said the partnership is in part a result of customers requesting more integration between their vehicles and the various systems they use in their operations. Fleet managers don’t want to have “multiple devices in the cab,” he said. By integrating with the OnStar system, fleets can get the kinds of data they need without adding hardware. Plus, the OnStar system, like other OEM-installed systems is covered under the vehicle’s warranty meaning repairs or service can be made at any GM dealer location.

The Telogis fleet telematics solution will be available on OnStar-equipped GM vehicles this spring.