GPS vehicle tracking allows fleet management professionals to make the best use of vehicle and equipment in their fleet to improve safety, reduce business costs, improve efficiencies and increase productivity. Now essential for many industries in Australia, from corporate fleets through to transport and logistics, it has become an integral part of creating a safer and more efficient fleet.
Also known as telematics, this technology delivers a host of productivity and efficiency benefits for businesses. From cross-country long-haul trips to local construction projects, it provides you with the data to stay on schedule, reduce costs and put your team and vehicles to work every day.
What are the big wins in improving efficiency with GPS vehicle tracking?
A: Up-to-the-minute and accurate data on how your assets are used and where they are at all times helps you to get more work out of your vehicles. The benefits of this include at-a-glance identification of underutilised vehicles and maintenance scheduling based on actual vehicle usage rather than by pre-set intervals, which may lead to under- or over-servicing.
Another efficiency benefit is a reduction in fuel usage. Vehicle tracking systems can help to reduce your fuel consumption with features like idling and usage reports, as well as measuring and managing actual fuel burn.
GPS-enabled telematics can also allocate and streamline job processes by identifying the closest staff to provide the best service and reduce wait times. Tracking staff location also improves safety in the event of an incident or breakdown and ensures emergency help can be provided if needed.
How else can I use GPS vehicle tracking in my business?
A: GPS tracking can be used for a variety of purposes, including equipment monitoring. Tracking when your assets are idling can help you to maximise usage, reduce equipment hoarding and drive down the cost of unnecessary assets that can otherwise be hired. For construction, mining, oil, gas and other off-road equipment applications, understanding asset utilisation is critical in measuring production and improving overall efficiency. This helps to claim towards fuel tax credit rebates, which can be maximised when working off the public road network. With the tracking of your equipment, you can also receive real-time alerts if a machine is used out of work hours to prevent theft and unauthorised use.
What about customer satisfaction and fulfilling customer requests promptly?
A: Fleet management software can organise daily workflow to help managers effectively respond to customer requests. It also allows you to view drivers and vehicles in real-time to pinpoint locations and help dispatch the best routes. When a customer calls for a last-minute job update, the dispatcher can accurately answer inquiries based on location within seconds, whether it’s current location to know ETA or a last-minute ad-hoc job and finding the best driver.
This software provides the tools needed to arrive on schedule, no matter the specialisation. It allows more efficient routing, ensuring the maximum amount of jobs are completed on time every day. With a comprehensive solution providing complete visibility across the entire fleet, companies can be prepared and stay organised to meet demands while keeping costs low and exceeding customer expectations.
How can I pinpoint inefficiencies that create customer dissatisfaction?
A: By ensuring proactive management and addressing potential issues as they arise, you can ensure total satisfaction and smooth, streamlined service for your customers. GPS tracking improves efficiency and productivity by allowing you to make real-time, educated decisions about transporting customer goods.
Delivery routes can be monitored and analysed through GPS tracking to identify the best way of delivering products and services to customers, and these routes can be changed as needed to suit both the driver and job. This can streamline job delivery processes and pinpoint any inefficiencies in routing that can then be addressed.
Telematics can also help drivers to monitor and manage their jobs on hand with digital manifests that are available in the vehicle. This ensures that all jobs are carefully tracked and allocated in a timely manner, reducing the risk of customer dissatisfaction.
How can drivers and dispatchers communicate on the job?
A: Telematics systems offer instant messaging features that empower drivers and dispatchers to actively communicate jobs and routes in real-time. Two-way communication tools allow for instant conversation and can routes messages directly to a driver’s in-vehicle device. Connecting drivers directly to back-office staff will ensure a smooth and safe journey, as well as ensuring any sudden changes are adequately planned for. It also reduces overall risk for drivers because it removes the reliance on mobile phone to communicate with drivers on the road or staff on site.
How can GPS vehicle tracking improve the safety of my drivers?
A: A fleet management solution can provide essential performance data that identifies both the strengths and weaknesses of a driver’s behaviour. Using GPS tracking to highlight behavioural risks means you can develop tailored training designed to address the most pressing issues. This performance data, which includes detailed feedback and score cards, can be used to encourage and train drivers to reinforce safety standards.
Performance data can also track important and needed change in driver behaviours by measuring them against set safety standards. With GPS tracking, it’s easy to identify whether drivers are maintaining a safe speed, braking or cornering harshly, or not following safe driving policies, allowing tailored and targeted training to address any potential gaps in their knowledge and behaviours. Improving individual driver safety can impact the entire fleet, leading to fewer incidents and an overall safer workforce.
Does GPS vehicle tracking make compliance easier?
A: GPS tracking enables businesses to align their processes with new policy and simplifies the procedures needed to adhere to complex compliance regulations through real-time data and alerts. It can also contribute essential data to a compliance management system, automating time-consuming administration processes and providing evidence that your business is compliant.
Streamlining your operations with GPS tracking allows for better decision-making and scheduling, reducing the risk of compliance violations. It also translates driver wellbeing into easily understood and tracked data, outlining how they can improve their behaviour, manage fatigue and mitigate risk to become more safety compliant.
This in turn generates cost-saving benefits for the business due to lowered insurance premiums and fewer fines for safety violations.