x
- More +
No matter what size fleet you manage, you’ll almost certainly benefit from using telematics. Fleet telematics systems cut costs, improve employee performance, reduce carbon emissions and can even improve customer satisfaction. Years ago they were seen as an expensive luxury that few fleets could afford, today the price has fallen drastically, and it is increasingly […]
No matter what size fleet you manage, you’ll almost certainly benefit from using telematics. Fleet telematics systems cut costs, improve employee performance, reduce carbon emissions and can even improve customer satisfaction. Years ago they were seen as an expensive luxury that few fleets could afford, today the price has fallen drastically, and it is increasingly the case that few fleets can afford not to adopt telematics systems.
Better drivers, lower costs
Telematic systems track data from the vehicles in your fleet, allowing you to monitor the performance of each driver and their vehicle. This allows you to see the driving patterns of each employee, to see if they are wasting company money by driving in a time or fuel inefficient manner. Drivers who, for instance, are accelerating and braking too harshly can be told to improve performance and offered training or driving feedback. Some drivers have used up to 30% less fuel after altering their driving patterns, significantly cutting the cost of running your fleet.
Beating the traffic jam
It’s not just about driver performance though. Often your fleet will under perform because of traffic and congestion. Telematics systems can integrate with scheduling systems and provide information about the current speed of each vehicle to a central computer that then uses this data – along with traffic data from other sources – to re-route other vehicles to avoid traffic problems. Drivers who fail to respond to the new route guidance will trigger an alert in the fleet controllers office, allowing them to get in touch with the driver to put them back on course.
Telematics also offers other benefits such as the ability to inform customers of precise delivery times using geofencing, allowing fleet managers to keep track of vehicle condition and servicing schedules, and allowing better compliance with monitoring of CO2 emissions and driving hours.
Which technology?: mobile vs embedded
The main problem for fleet managers today is choosing from the range of different telematics technologies available. The biggest choice is between embedded telematics and mobile technology. There’s no clear winner between the two options, although broadly speaking those who want lower costs should opt for mobile telematics while those who want the most data should go with embedded technologies.
Embedded systems are directly integrated into your vehicle, giving them easy access to all the data the vehicle produces. They, therefore, produce more accurate data on factors such as vehicle and driver performance. However embedded systems are more expensive, tie you to one telecoms provider and have a tendency to become outdated and require replacement. Mobile systems, while tracking less data, are cheaper to adopt and offer better real time tracking. Click here to read more.
Whether you opt for mobile or embedded, you’ll still be able to make significant savings using telematics. Fleets that adopt telematics frequently report cost savings of over 10%, and fleet managers often wonder how they managed to monitor their entire fleet before they adopted the technology. Fleets that specialise in home delivery are finding it easier to win contracts from merchants when they integrate telematics based deliver timing systems for end customers. It’s time to ensure your fleet isn’t left behind by adopting telematics today.
