Companies that are looking for a viable solution to better manage their fleet are now adopting telematics systems. Telematics solutions offer a range of services that meet workplace health and safety needs and can reduce organisational overheads. More-and-more companies are now looking to adopt telematics to support them in tracking improvements and identifying opportunities for change.

Let's take a closer look at the improvements that companies can achieve:

1. Increased Safety
2. Reduced fuel costs
3. Minimise Insurance Costs
4. Decreased Maintenance Costs
5. Increased Productivity

Increased Safety

Safety is a key priority for Fleet Managers. With workplace health and safety being an obligation all companies now need to abide by, telematics supports them in meeting their duty of care for lone and remote at-risk employees. Companies must include a plan in case emergency strikes, but more importantly, provide their employees with the peace of mind that they are going home to their loved ones once their work is done.

In crisis situations, it is important that Fleet Managers are able to check in on their employees as quickly as possible. This can be easily done through a telematics system that connects an organisation's operating systems and will notify the correct contacts when any distress alerts have been activated.

Telematics also allows organisations to measure and benchmark driver behaviour to ensure that those using their vehicles are doing so safely. Reducing risks to staff in what is one of the most dangerous workplace environments they are exposed to.

Finally, lone worker duress devices allow staff working on their own in at risk role to discretely send alerts so that even when in a confrontational situation they have the ability to call for support without situational escalation.

Reduced Fuel Costs

Telematics can significantly reduce fuel costs through a reduction in the overall consumption by your fleet. By tracking your fleets driving behaviour, organisations can identify the key areas that are contributing to inflated costs and inefficiencies. Drivers with aggressive driving styles will on average spend 10.9% more fuel while experienced drivers can use up to 30% less fuel than a conventional driver.

Companies can also save money through improved fleet routing. Identifying inefficient routes and dispatching of more local vehicles reduces the overall distance and/or time to complete a particular route, improving staff productivity and reducing operational costs.

Minimise Insurance Costs

Telematics systems have become increasingly popular for companies that have own non-powered assets and are looking for a means of reducing their insurance costs via self-insuring or improving the likelihood of asset recovery to reduce insurance premiums and excess.

This can be achieved by:

• Tracking lower value equipment from theft. This is equipment that may not be cost-effective to cover through insurance, however, in case of a theft would result in financial and operational costs that need to be offset or minimised.
• Improve vehicle and asset recovery rates when stolen. Some organisations have leveraged non-powered asset tracking as a form of self-insuring that avoids the costs of insurance premiums whilst improving the speed and likelihood of recovery.

Decreased maintenance costs

Maintenance costs can pile up if there are issues on the road or your fleet isn't being serviced at appropriate intervals. However, these costs can be prevented and reduced through a proactive maintenance approach. Monitoring vehicle usage to remotely identify service intervals and service schedules is one of the ways companies are leveraging telematics to support the proactive maintenance of their fleet - reducing the overall maintenance costs. Monitoring vehicle mileage assists fleet managers by providing real-time information so that they can proactively organise servicing and prevent any build-up of issues that may result in further spending. This can save the company on overall operating costs as vehicles will avoid unexpected breakdowns impacting on operations.

Regularly maintaining your vehicle with simple tasks like checking tyre pressure once a month can potentially improve your fuel usage by 3% and regular oil changes can also improve fuel efficiency by 1-2%. Other benefits of proactive maintenance include improved safety for your drivers and fleet. Bobit's study indicated that 37% of respondents reported improved vehicle maintenance through the use of a telematics solution.

Increased Productivity

Introducing a telematics system to the business will provide important information that fleet managers can monitor. Information like driver behaviour, driver hours and details of routes taken are all recorded meaning that there is a feedback system which allows room for improvement within the company.

New methods of motivation for workers through gamification are viable solutions, Fleet Managers have also been adopting. Creating leaderboards for fleet driver performance can encourage safety and aligns personal objectives with company productivity and safety levels. Research has shown that the use of gamification can result in an 84% decrease in fleet accidents and 50% improvement in safe driving behaviours.

It is clear to see that there are improvements that companies can make when adopting a telematics approach. Smartrak's telematics solution has a proven track record of helping business' track and improves their efficiency, profitability and safety of their fleet and staff.