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How Telematics Could Benefit Your Business Fleet
Telematics has potential benefits for almost any business that owns and operates its own fleet of vehicles. Typically, however, it is those organisations with the largest fleets and the most complex fleet requirements that benefit most from the introduction of a telematics system. In these cases, a business can save money and may reduce workload and errors while increasing productivity and customer satisfaction levels.
While there are likely to be challenges concerned with the introduction of telematics, you could enjoy some or all of the following benefits, depending on your circumstances and requirements:
1 – Easily Locate Vehicles, Drivers, and Packages
Your fleet vehicles may be used by employees to drive to meetings, to take equipment and other items to perform work tasks, or to deliver goods and products to customers. In all cases, this means that you will have multiple vehicles out on the road, many of them taking different routes each time they are out. It can be easy to lose track of vehicles and, therefore, the driver and the items that are in the vehicle unless you carefully and proactively manage your fleet.
Telematics systems use GPS tracking that enable you to easily locate a vehicle at any time. The black box device can also be connected to the on board computer, which means that it can even be used to detect things like acceleration and braking, and even when the back door of the van has been opened.
2 – Minimise Your Fleet Operation Costs
One of the tangible benefits that businesses look for when installing and utilising fleet telematics is the reduction in fleet operation costs. One of the biggest, ongoing costs associated with managing a fleet is the purchase of fuel. By monitoring routes, by tracking fuel consumption, and by optimising your fleet vehicle usage, it is possible to reduce fuel costs, minimise wear and tear on your vehicles, and even reduce the total number of miles that need to be covered.
Minimising fleet costs can help to cover fleet telematics costs, and the reductions may even be enough to outsource fleet management requirements to an experienced and specialist service.
3 – Improve and Monitor Driver Behaviour
No matter how skilled and experienced a driver is, they may not adopt optimal driving behaviour. Erratic accelerating and braking, last minute cornering, and other driver habits can lead to an increase in fuel consumption and make it more likely that they will be involved in an accident.
A black box telematics device can be fitted to a vehicle’s on board computer. This enables it to monitor everything from driver hours to acceleration and braking. This information is then collected, collated, and can be used to identify any driver behaviours that need addressing. To ensure that drivers and employees welcome the telematics system, it is important to point out that the data collected will not be used to reprimand drivers. You can, however, use the data to implement a rewards type system or to implement training and to help your employees improve their driving.
4 – Reduce Maintenance Requirements and Costs
Another benefit that is often realised through improved driving skills is that vehicles suffer less wear and tear. Sudden braking and acceleration can lead to tyre damage, but it can also cause damage to the mechanics of the vehicle. Vehicles that are treated poorly will usually require more repairs and attract higher maintenance and repair bills. The only viable way of avoiding these additional costs is to ensure that your drivers treat their cars or vans as well as possible.
A poorly maintained vehicle will also depreciate quicker. When it comes time to sell or otherwise dispose of a vehicle, you will suffer if your drivers have been driving poorly or if you have failed to pay for repairs and maintenance when required.
5 – Improve Customer Satisfaction
There are many ways that telematics can help improve customer service. By ensuring optimal routes, you can minimise delivery times, so that customers receive items sooner. Because you can track the vehicle and monitor where on a delivery route that vehicle is, you can integrate this data with a parcel or product delivery system. Customers can log on to the system, check the progress of their delivery, and stay informed.
A well-informed customer is a happy one, and a happy customer is more likely to use your services again in the future. They will also be more likely to give your name and company details to friends and family that are looking for the kind of products or services that you provide.
Fewer breakdowns and fewer delivery mistakes also ensure greater customer satisfaction levels because it means that your service will be more reliable and timings more accurate.
6 – Manage Driver Hours and Details
A fleet manager not only manages the vehicles and routes that are driven, but they will also need to monitor driver details and driver hours. There are legal requirements with regards to the number of hours that a person is allowed behind a wheel. By utilising a telematics system, you can make sure that your drivers meet these legal requirements.
Your fleet manager can also monitor factors like break times, route deviations, and additional miles that are covered. While the clear majority of drivers are honest and complete routes efficiently and effectively, some may take extended or excessive breaks. Others may use the company vehicle, company fuel, and company time, to complete personal tasks and journeys. Through driver and vehicle tracking, it is possible to monitor and manage drivers as well as vehicles and deliveries.
7 – Increase Fleet Safety
Fleet safety is important. Business drivers, whether they be delivery drivers or salespeople heading to sales meetings and follow-up meetings, can cause or be involved in accidents on the roads. If negligence is proven on the part of your company, it may not be the individual driver that suffers the penalties and fines. One way to avoid this is to ensure that vehicles are properly and thoroughly maintained.
MOTs and services can help you to identify any potential problems and ensure that vehicles are roadworthy at the time of the checks. However, a MOT does not guarantee that a vehicle will remain roadworthy over the course of a year or six months. Regular safety checks need to be conducted by the driver and fleet manager and any problems reported and fixed as soon as possible. Telematics systems can identify some problems, and they also help ensure safety in other ways too.
Improved driver habits typically lead to better fleet and driver safety. Drivers are encouraged to adopt a safer driving style, and this means that the chances of accidents and incidents are greatly reduced.
8 – Potentially Reduce Insurance Costs
Black boxes have become increasingly common in private cars and for private use, because they offer a means of potentially reducing high insurance costs, especially for new and young drivers, as well as those that have made claims in the past.
Some insurance companies will offer benefits to businesses that have black box devices and telematics systems installed in their vehicles. Check with your existing insurer, or talk to your fleet management service, to see if you could save money on your business vehicle insurance by having black boxes fitted to your fleet.
Safer driving also means fewer accidents, and this means fewer claims made against your insurance policy. Every time you make a claim, you increase the risk associated with your vehicle insurance. This increased risk means that you are likely to see higher insurance premiums, and vehicle insurance can be a major expenditure for businesses that have a large fleet of cars and vans. Keeping accidents down means reducing risk for insurers and this, in turn, leads to reduced insurance premiums for your organisation.
Reducing costs, improving safety, and monitoring your fleet of vehicles and drivers, enables you to manage a more efficient fleet. Telematics systems may not benefit all organisations but speak to a fleet management service like Fleet Dynamic to determine whether you could benefit from the installation of these black box devices and enjoy improved fleet results.
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