The Work Truck Show kicked off in Indianapolis with the Green Truck Summit and first-ever Fleet Technical Congress education sessions today.

General session topics at the Fleet Technical Congress included connected vehicles’ impact on fleet operations, integrating multiple data streams to enhance decision-making, and vehicle replacement strategies.

The day was kicked off by a keynote address from Ed Peper, U.S. vice president, General Motors Fleet, about the rise of new chassis designs, autonomous technology, and fuel options and how these changes will affect the relationship between OEMs and fleet managers.

He cited General Motors chief executive Mary Barra’s vision of achieving zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion. To reach this goal, the company is growing its core business while investing in electrification and autonomous technology.

Educational sessions featured insight from fleet managers, suppliers, and other figures in the fleet industry for their perspectives on connected vehicles, vehicle maintenance, integrating data from multiple sources, vehicle replacement, and mitigating risk with vehicle data. 

George Survant, NTEA's senior director of fleet relations, led the event and noted a common thread between all of the sessions. The speakers highlighted the importance of data, technology, and other tools. But taking advantage of those tools requires fleet knowledge, which is where the fleet manager comes in. 

“It’s really about the integration of your experience and your tools,” Survant said.