How to Take Control of Your Fleet with Vehicle Telematics Data
When your employees are out on the road, do you know how they’re really driving? Are they braking hard, sitting curbside for extended periods, or respecting speed zones?
The good news is, there’s fleet monitoring technology, called telematics, that solves this problem. Vehicle telematics data provides real-time insight into both drivers and vehicles, giving you a clear picture of what’s happening with your entire fleet.
Do I Really Need Fleet Monitoring Technology?
You may have a vague sense that your costs are higher than you want them to be, but won’t know where to start to reduce them effectively. To remain competitive you need to know the costs that impact your business.
Aren’t Driver Abstract Reports Enough?
Many companies pull driver abstract reports to get a sense of an employee’s driving history. These reports show if there are any major incidents in a driver’s past, such as accidents or speeding violations.
While driver abstracts are useful, they don’t give enough information on their own. They only provide a historical account of incidents, not real-time driving behaviour.
Telematics: The Solution for Fleet-Wide Optimization
Vehicle telematics data provides real-time insight into both drivers and vehicles, Telematics gives you thousands of data points that report on both driver behaviour and vehicle health, in real time and historically.
Safety
Reduce or prevent accidents, lower insurance premiums, and maintain your organization’s public image
Cost Reduction and Sustainability
Telematics helps reduce fuel waste by monitoring idling time, speeding, and rapid accelerating and braking.
Efficiency
Monitor and optimize every route that drivers take, so they can avoid traffic jams, construction sites, and other unproductive situations.
Case Study: On Side Resoration
On Side Restoration is Canada’s largest emergency restoration construction company with offices Coast to Coast. In 2017 they implemented Foss National’s Full Risk Safety Program. We spoke with James Lapierre, Director of Operations at On Side to learn more about how implementing telematics has helped internal operations and has contributed to time and money saved.
Work efficiency and productivity has seen a significant increase, also reducing the site visits that need to be made by the management team. Workers know what they are being measured on and as a result work more in alignment with what their hours should be.
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Reports that Help you Save
Shows idle duration and costs associated with idling
We have been leveraging this pre-trip inspection “Drive App” for our operators to take greater accountability for the vehicles and their maintenance.
A tool we have just started using that will help us understand environmental impact beyond fuel usage.
We have used this to track on a weekly basis our driver behaviour based on speed, harsh cornering / braking and acceleration. Unfortunately our YoY reflects a decline in performance, although it should be noted that 2020-2021 was a banner year for safe driving habits due to pandemic traffic levels.
How to Choose a Telematics System
You have options when it comes to choosing a telematics system. You can install telematics into any vehicle, regardless of age, make, or model. This gives you the ability to view and report on fleet-wide data on a single platform. Third party telematics systems organize your data in a way that’s optimal for fleet use.
OEM telematics provide benefits such as:
- No device or hardware installation costs.
- No downtime related to device installation.
- Increased access to OEM proprietary data, including tire pressure,
- Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTC), and attribution signals that assist in optimizing vehicle health.
Even though most new vehicles will eventually come with telematics installed, your fleet is likely made up of new and old vehicles, and several different makes and models. So relying solely on OEM telematics won’t give you the integrated, fleet-wide data you need to make accurate decisions.
4 Areas to Consider When Choosing Your Fleet Telematics System
As you evaluate potential providers, prioritize these four main categories:
Ease of Use and Data Integration
Ability to Meet the Needs of your Company
Positioning to your Drivers
Total Costs
Geotab: Lowering Fuel Costs and Boosting Fleet Efficiency
At Foss National, we partner with Geotab to provide our customers with leading telematics technology that’s designed to help lower costs and increase productivity.
Geotab’s OEM integration solution uses OEM data with Geotab’s proprietary fleet management platform. The integration provides you with one-platform fleet telematics solutions with no hardware installation required. Other benefits include easy, remote andcontactless activation, secured access to proprietary data, and no downtime as a result of telematics device installation.