Motor Neurone Disease (MND) is a debilitating disease affecting thousands of people across Australia with hundreds of new cases being diagnosed each year. The disease shuts down the body and takes away the patient’s ability to eat, swallow, speak, and eventually breathe, all within a timeframe of 27 months.
Smartak believes that the fight against MND is a crucial battle that we must all contribute to, to provide effective treatment and ultimately a cure for Motor Neurone Disease. Our staff have been wearing the beanies to raise awareness and funds for the disease and all of those affected by it.
We hope that you can join Smartrak, support the cause, and purchase a beanie or donate to the Fight MND via the link below.
Fight MND - IT TAKES PEOPLE
Donate at: https://fightmnd.org.au/
Fantastic news from the AfMA Fleet Management awards, with our customer Meridian Energy taking home the 2019 Fleet Environment Award! Please share with us in giving them a huge congratulations!
During their acceptance of the award, Meridian’s Procurement and Property Manager Nick Robilliard shared their learnings and thoughts shared their learnings and thoughts. "This journey of converting to electric is not only inevitable, it’s possible... and most importantly it is necessary if we are all going to reduce our carbon emissions in a meaningful way. I highly encourage you all to continue to explore how you can electrify whatever type of vehicles you operate as we transition to a low carbon economy."
Importantly Meridian Energy highlighted the importance of telematics in being able to undertake this journey stating, "our vehicle GPS which was literally the key to unlocking this journey to electric."
If you want to find out more about how Smartrak helped Meridian Energy in optimising and managing their fleet and their transition towards a greener, EV centric fleet, check out their case study on our website.
Using Smartrak Meridian Energy were able to identify their fleet's real use profile, which supported the business case for integrating EVs into the f
A ground-breaking collaboration between software innovator, Smartrak, and GPS heavyweight, Garmin, is bringing the remote worker back into the office – digitally.
Melbourne, Australia, MAY 28, 2019 - Fully integrating workforces in the field with head office management and keeping tabs on mobile vehicles and assets has always been problematic. Inputting operational field data into IT systems has been mired by the lack of real-time information, often being reliant on paper forms and regular data entry; a practice diminished by non-compliance, inaccuracies, and week-long delays. Leaving management without the essential information to make informed decisions.
Now, a combination of Smartrak’s powerful information gathering and analytical capabilities and Garmin’s feature-packed 790 telematics tablet has closed the gap between head office and operations in the field. Improved awareness of business operations beyond the car park and significantly upgraded capabilities around worker safety is helping managers make informed real-time decisions. Operating on the open-source Android platform the Garmin 790 integrates seamlessly with many existing mobile field force management programs, providing the platform for online job sheets, reporting, timesheets, and more via customised apps.
Smartrak’s GM of Product Strategy, Meredith Palmer highlights the value of real-time in-field data. “This is a productivity, information sharing, and duty of care story that resonates at all levels of an organisation, from remote workers to the C-suite.”
Management’s dream of migrating time-consuming paper tasks to a digital platform that easily, accurately and consistently reports and analyses day-to-day remote worker and vehicle activities is now a reality with Smartrak and Garmin’s partnership.
“Superior navigation capabilities, world-class telematics and the exciting potential of the Android platform are bringing fundamental changes to our industry.” Said Troy O’Connor, CEO, Smartrak.
The seamless integration of management and remote worker environments within an integrated digital platform will undoubtedly be welcomed by organisations. The recognition of productivity enhancements and service responsiveness will help organisations deliver on their business goals. For organisations that are pursuing Mobility as a Service (MaaS), the implications are profound.
As we all get busier in our daily lives, at work or at home, we need to look at ways to achieve desired outcomes in less time.
We are also in a world of options. There are multiple ways to complete tasks, each with their own time ‘cost’. Completing a task using the wrong method will consume more time and other tasks will suffer as a result.
The Smartrak API Suite helps you access and leverage Smartrak data through automated methods to create solutions that provide more timely and low-effort solutions.
Many businesses use GIS systems such as ArcGIS to visualise assets, boundaries, terrain, and much more. These businesses are updating information in these systems daily. A lot of effort goes into maintaining that information to make sure it is current. It makes sense to have your tracked vehicles and personnel shown on the same platform alongside all the other information. Most GIS systems are capable of automatically calling APIs and displaying the data on the platform.
Smartrak has a comprehensive suite of reports that should cover most of your reporting requirements, but there is often something that you require which is unique to your business. You may want to change the way a report is displayed or add/remove specific data. Using software such as Microsoft Power BI or Crystal Reports in conjunction with the Smartrak API suite you can do exactly that. Using the built-in API tools, you can request specific, relevant data and have it populated in your own custom report.
Some of the APIs listed under the Periods category for use in this type of application are:
Another use of APIs is to avoid double management, whether it be updating user credentials or vehicle details. In the case of a user, you already have a process for creating new members of your business and entering all their credentials but have to repeat the process in other applications. This won’t be necessary if you were to automate the process by getting the Smartrak User Management API to do the work for you. The API allows you to create users, enter/update their credentials and even remove them if they no longer require access.
In a world where there’s an application for just about everything, it is quite common to find crossover in data needs. Here’s one such example accompanied by the solution.
You may think: “If only my lease or asset management software could automatically update the odometer readings for all vehicles as this information already exists within Smartrak”. Sure, you could export it from one and import into another but that may not be the quickest way to complete the task. It would be better if you didn’t have to do anything at all. Provided the lease or asset management software has the capability, your problem is as good as solved by making use of an API.
This is a lot quicker than walking around writing down odometer values. (For those of you thinking that this poor vehicle has a very high mileage, the reading is in metres.)
If you think there is a possibility you can claw back some of your precious time through the use of the Smartrak API Suite. get in touch with your local Customer Success Manager to discuss your options.
Many of us will be aware of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, and the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, which represent workplace health and safety laws in Australia and New Zealand. These laws aim to reduce the number of serious, work-related injuries and deaths.
As a manager, business owner or H&S officer, one of the challenges you may face is where to start. Everyone has a responsibility for safety. Responsibilities spread across businesses, their officers, their workers, and even through to the people entering the workplace, such as visitors.
The emphasis is on being proactive, which means taking steps in advance to identify and manage those risks. This includes assessing the potential for work-related health conditions, as well as the injuries that could occur.
From the moment a staff member arrives at their place of work, their safety needs to be managed and any risks mitigated. No matter where they are working, inside a central workplace or offsite, their safety is the organisation’s responsibility. This includes travelling in a company-provided vehicle, a privately-owned vehicle that is used for company business or any other form of transportation.
In terms of risk assessment, review which workplace risks should be dealt with first. Risks with potentially significant consequences, such as chronic ill-health, serious injury or death, should be at the top of the priority list, as should those that are more likely to occur
Keep in mind that once risks have been identified and eliminated or minimised, some element of risk may remain.
Some examples of risks that need to be addressed include:
Does your company have people undertaking compliance or enforcement roles, such as Fisheries Officers, Parking Compliance Officers, Environmental Health Officers, Investigators, Security personnel, Building Inspectors, or even Health and Safety Inspectors?
All of these ‘front line’ roles face persistent and similar risks to their personal safety. In most cases, these risks revolve around their interaction with the public and the environment.
There are some simple ways to identify areas of risk and generate ideas on how to manage this risk.
One typical challenge a company may have is that no single supplier will be able to address every aspect of a company’s H&S risk.
There may be value in grouping staff roles and examples of risks faced and then prioritising those risks that require immediate addressing. This may assist with building a ‘Requirements document’ that can be used to approach potential suppliers with some clarity of your specific needs. Some of the questions within this might include:
Within Australia and New Zealand, there are suppliers that provide some or most of the solutions an organisation may require.
Look for suppliers with proven track records delivering these services to organisations in industries such as yours. Some suppliers have more success in particular sectors such as government, utilities, not for profits, etc. Ask around the sector you operate in to identify the top suppliers.
In Australia, WorkSafe has several resources that are accessible from its website. These include Quick Guides, Fact Sheets, Tool Kits and Case Studies.
There are also companies within New Zealand that specialise in tailored health and safety audits, reviews and advice.
Pink shirt day is about the community coming together to stop bullying by celebrating diversity, and promoting positive social relationships. Kōrero Mai, Kōrero Atu, Mauri Tū, Mauri Ora is to speak up, stand together and stop bullying. Smartrak came together on this special day to support the cause and raise funds as a form of solidarity.
Smartrak believes that bullying has no place in society and on the 17th of May showed support to the cause by wearing a pink shirt to work.
We hope that you can join the movement and make positive changes to the community by donating to the Mental Health Foundation that led the Pink shirt day.
For more information, head over to: https://www.pinkshirtday.org.nz/
Smartrak is excited to be attending the Australasian Fleet management Conference (AfMA) which will be held at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. Running between the 23rd and 24th of May, the AfMA Conference is designed to highlight the road ahead for fleet managers including a range of topics from technology to government policy. The event is a perfect opportunity to create knowledge transfers between experts and practitioners in the industry.
Smartak is located at booth #7. Be sure to speak to one of our experts, gain insights on our full solution suite, and get a hands-on demo of our devices.
More information can be found here:
https://afma.net.au/conference2019/
Today is a milestone for Smartrak. Today we’ve determined that as a company, we want to be sure that the companies we choose to work with, share our core values. So today, we’re withdrawing our support for anything and everything related to Facebook and have redirected this budget to other channels.
The incident in Christchurch hit close to home and was a tipping point for Smartrak to consider its position around having Facebook as a partner. How that footage could be published and shared, unchecked, without basic automation to prevent it, isn’t a technology problem. It’s a choice. A choice that Facebook has made.
With just a small amount of research, we see repeated examples of hate, violence and extremism being spread, unchecked, across Facebook’s platform. Examples include the Christchurch incident, an AFLW footballer being trolled (unchecked) because she dares be athletic, and the almost daily stresses of cyberbullying that relate to teenage suicide.
So, at Smartrak we’ve decided that enough is enough. We can only hope that more companies follow. Ultimately if the corporate world were to take a collective stand on what it expects from its social media partners, perhaps we could drive change.
I am all for allowing free speech, but when this speech is nothing more than hateful, anti-social, and violent content, these social media services (Facebook) become platforms for the harmful edges of society. The users of these services don’t deserve being subjected to these negative and harmful perspectives, and we at Smartrak want no further part of it.
Sincerely,
Troy O’Connor
General Manager
Smartrak
It’s common knowledge that a primary goal of all fleet management teams is to reduce the amount of capital spent on vehicle fuel. Whilst cutting fuel costs seems simplistic in theory, the problem is the majority of organisations will not strategically analyse how they can efficiently reduce their fuel spending. Here are four helpful tips you can implement in your operations to make noticeable savings.
Often organisations become so fixated on how they should best arrange their fleet to reduce costs that they don’t consider other alternatives. Rather than applying typical fuel reduction techniques such as dispatching smaller or more fuel-efficient vehicles, fleet management teams should seek alternative transport solutions. A common example of this could be employing the services of a local courier if your transport needs are small parcel deliveries within city centres.
Leading fleet management teams will always question the importance of every fleet journey. Taking the time to carefully pre-plan each of your fleets journeys can often result in findings that will significantly reduce the amount being spent on fuel. Costs are cut on fuel when organisations take note of details such as not travelling in busy traffic periods or only sending one vehicle out to two closely located destinations.
Educating your fleets drivers on the importance of “smooth driving” is one of the easiest ways to save dollars being spent on vehicle fuel. Avoiding harsh acceleration and heavy breaking when making a journey will not only improve fuel savings by up to 10 percent, but also significantly slow the process of wear and tear of the car and tyres.
It is essential that Fleet Managers understand that first and foremost, the purpose of a fleet is to serve the needs of the business. Continually questioning the rational of the fleet system being used to reduce the distance driven during fleet journeys is the most effective way to save money from fuel use.
The dangers of driving on Australian rural roads are hard to ignore when you consider more than half of the nation’s road fatalities occur on either rural or remote roads. With two-thirds of the Australian population residing in metropolitan areas, it’s difficult to understand why this epidemic receives such limited attention.
1. Every year at least 700 lives are lost on rural roads, with thousands more injured.
2. Urban road crash rates are decreasing at a much faster rate than rural crash rates.
3. (In the Year 2000) The risk of dying in a rural compared to an urban crash was 4.2 times higher.
4. Rural road crashes make up under half (48%) of road fatalities, despite more than two thirds (69%) of the Australian population residing in metropolitan areas.
The increased legal travel speeds on rural roads are a major reason why crashes often lead to more serious injuries or death on rural roads. Additional, characteristics that are typically associated with a rural vehicle journeys such as unsealed roads and extensive travel times also drastically contribute to the risk of a crash. Fleet management teams should take it upon themselves to educate drivers on the importance of slowing down, taking their time, and understanding the dangers of these roads.
Releasing drivers of tight and times unrealistic timeframe pressures for deliveries or meetings would remove the “rush factor” and allow drivers to focus on driving safely. Another action organisations can take is to implement fatigue management policies so fleet drivers are not driving vehicles on these unsafe rural roads whilst feeling fatigued.
Recent studies have found that an astounding 30% of hospitalised rural drivers said they were distracted immediately before the crash. It is imperative that organisations can do everything possible to ensure that they are not causing any of these distractions.
The fact of the matter is that it is impossible to remove all the dangers associated with driving on a rural road. It is, however, the responsibility of the organisation and fleet management teams to ensure they have done everything possible to make sure the journey is as safe as possible.
