Beating Driver Fatigue on Long Hauls
In an era where every dollar of spend is scrutinised and budgets have become tighter than ever, running a government fleet is challenging. Not only are you expected to do more with less, but you need to demonstrate that you are doing it well, and maintaining a safe fleet while you’re at it. You may even be required to comply with standards that don’t apply to the private sector. Sound familiar?
To juggle these demands, you need a clearer picture of what’s happening on the road and out in the field. Telematics and GPS fleet tracking software gives you valuable insights into your drivers & vehicles as well as a new level of insight into the operation, meaning you can make the right decisions, quicker and more effective. What if you could organise your drivers more efficiently and stay on top of on-going operation costs? With the right tools, your fleet can continue to set the standard.
Maximise Your Budgets
Delivering the best possible public service doesn’t necessarily mean throwing money around. Funds wasted on excess fuel use, harsh braking and speeding often goes undetected as it can be “too hard” to spot each instance. With GPS vehicle tracking, you can see just where the problem areas are and take steps to eliminate it, such as driver education or maximising route efficiency. When fleets are funded by multiple departments in the organisation, untangling who is responsible for which costs often relies on guesswork. You can directly see all vehicle activity across the board in real-time and generate accurate reports to validate charges with telematics fitted across the fleet.
Utilise your Assets
Every minute matters on the road and being in the know is essential. Vehicle location data means that when jobs are completed, a proof of service is generated and can be easily converted into a report. You can see all on-site activity and improve your asset utilisation. If you’re sending two vehicles out on a call, but the data indicates that only one is required, the other vehicle can be sent on another job. With information, such as when a vehicle is due for a service or when a driver completed their last shift at your fingertips, you scheduling decisions become easier. GPS tracking system data can be analysed to give you insights that would have been impossible to see in the past, such as a machine that requires more maintenance than average, which may indicate a deeper problem.
Adhere to Policy
Reducing your carbon footprint and cutting down on carbon emissions is not only good practice but an important issue across Australia. Australian government fleets are unable to procure vehicles that do comply with certain environmental conditions. While the green vehicle guide is a great resource for fleet managers to ensure their vehicles are low emitters of CO2, keeping track of vehicles specs and their upkeep costs is an entirely different matter. Inputting your entire fleet’s specifications into the solution in an easy to read format. You can view each asset and compare your fleet to industry standards to easily adapt and change in according to future trends.
Running a safe fleet is just as important as an efficient one. Monitoring driver behaviour through a fleet management software means unsafe behaviours such as speeding and harsh braking can be brought to light with real-time alerts with the ability to replay events. Risks can be addressed as or before they happen to avoid potential disasters. By extension, your fleet then has no trouble complying within polices such as Work, Health and Safety Act. Many government vehicles require being on road or on site for extended periods, meaning they require regular rest periods. Further implementing an fatigue system means you can keep an eye on worker hours, to help manage payroll and schedules for your drivers. Data is updated immediately and sent back to the office in real-time allowing you to not over-schedule drivers. They can get the rest they need to be at their best when serving the public.
Whether you operate on the local, state or federal level having telematics in your fleet mean you can effectively serve the public and not end up getting served.