As an executive, you care about your people, the bottom line and compliance. Telematics (the branch of information technology that deals with the long-distance transmission of computerised information) allows you to deliver positive outcomes across all three dimensions.
1. Your people
We all agree that great people are your business' most valuable asset, but do your staff know you feel this way? Telematics solutions enable your teams to keep safe and work efficiently, particularly when they are working alone.
Under health and safety legislation, a vehicle is a place of work, requiring the same diligence and all practicable steps to ensure worker safety. A telematics solution is one of the best ways to ensure the vehicle is maintained in a safe condition, driven in a safe manner, and has appropriate health and safety equipment.
Staff members and contractors can activate emergency buttons if they are injured, feel threatened, or need urgent assistance. Solutions include in-vehicle and lone worker devices that can operate over cellular and/or satellite networks.
Driver behaviour is also monitored; enabling you to recognise those who are star performers while identifying areas where coaching will improve the safety of your staff and the public. Good driving practices not only keep people safe but also have a positive impact on fuel usage and maintenance costs. In the event of an accident or other high-impact event, the system will alert the relevant people or monitoring centre.
2. Improving your bottom line
In-vehicle telematics solutions provide the insights that enable organisations to optimise their asset composition, utilisation, and maintenance. Without this information, organisations are in danger of making inaccurate decisions based on anecdote and gut feel.
Fleet optimisation can be a complex issue. Doing it well requires sophisticated insights and analysis that includes asset utilisation by: time of day, type of vehicle, use of features (e.g. four wheel drive), engagement of auxiliary equipment (e.g. PTO, blade, etc) and seasonality. A good telematics system will capture and visualise this information, and also provide analysis and insights.
The effective maintenance of plant reduces unplanned events, which not only increase maintenance costs but also take key assets off-line when they're needed most. Telematics solutions capture critical data such as mileage, engine hours and the use of auxiliary equipment. A robust telematics solution will use these data points to alert the operator of upcoming maintenance activities, manage the maintenance process, and include the maintenance of health and safety equipment such as first aid kits and fire extinguishers.
A feature-rich telematics solution will include workflow components; enabling you to automate processes and inform your staff and customers in real-time. Jobs can be dispatched and accepted, people can be informed when a vehicle arrives at a location, and you'll have the information on the location and duration of activities.
3. Compliance
Vehicle, and health and safety compliance doesn't need to come with a high administrative cost. A telematics system captures the information necessary to ensure compliance and proactively manages upcoming compliance events. In fact, the system may be the catalyst that enables you to claim fuel tax credits or off-road Road User Charges (RUC) and make your Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) claims more efficient.
Systems that include mobile forms and workflow engine will enable you to embed safe work practices without burdening your team with endless forms. These applications enable fit-for-work, pre-start, and other checks from a mobile device; even capturing images of incidents or defects.
If you want to improve the productivity, safety, and compliance of your most valued assets; Smartrak would value the opportunity to partner with you.
