Pool fleets are often the hardest to manage. They rely on people understanding the rules and, more importantly, following them. You need to keep the right number of vehicles, know where they are being parked, and ensure they're left clean and tidy as well as refueled.

One of the most important aspects to successfully running a pool fleet is key management.

Feedback from our customers is that one of their biggest headaches once a fleet is up-and-running is ensuring keys are managed effectively. Critical to that is they are returned to the right place and on time. We've been told stories of people taking keys for their booking first thing in the morning, even if their booking isn't until the afternoon. Others return from a booking and head out to lunch (or home) with the keys, not thinking of the person who needs the car next.

Another issue is people booking a vehicle, following all the procedures but then taking the wrong keys and therefore the wrong vehicle. This can cause headaches for you as well as other staff with bookings.

While there is no simple answer to all these issues, Smartrak's latest offering the KeyMaster enables better management of keys. The KeyMaster is a secure cabinet installed on your premises. It holds keys in their own slots within the cabinet. The keys are locked in place and are only released to an appropriately authorised person through entering a pin or using their access card.

Additionally, linking the KeyMaster to Smartrak's Pool Booking system will give additional value to your organisation and to the KeyMaster system.

Smartrak's Pool Booking module communicates with the KeyMaster to let it know what vehicle a person has booked and therefore the keys required. When the booker logs into KeyMaster it will only release the keys for their booking. If the person has no booking, no keys will be released. This stops people taking the wrong keys or taking vehicles without a booking.

When a booking is finished the booker has a simple, single location to return the keys. When they open the cabinet, the keys can be returned to any slot and the KeyMaster / Pool Booking system integration will update where those keys are located for the next booker.

Smartrak's KeyMaster cabinet will also remove the need for people to manage keys manually. No more keeping keys at the front counter, in a cupboard or on a rack. They are secure and ensure vehicles can only be used when appropriately booked. To ensure access in case of a power outage, network issue or administrative requirement, there is a failsafe access override. This is only available for authorised staff.

Smartrak's KeyMaster solution is great for taking your Pool Booking system to the next level. It will alleviate much of the pain associated with key management and free up your time to focus on managing the fleet as a whole