5 Ways Telematics Can Improve Fleet Productivity

Telematics is a software that is essentially a mix of telecommunications and informatics to track an asset, in this case, a fleet vehicle’s location, safety metrics and engine diagnostic reports.

Telematics can really be applied to almost all types of vehicles, and therefore, this is the main reason why fleet managers choose to analyse their vehicles in their fleet using vehicle telematic because in this way it can improve the productivity of the fleet.

How Do Telematics Work?

A telematics system collects GPS tracking and the unique data related to that vehicle to transfer via the cellular network, satellite communication, mobile data and GPRS to a central data server. This information is then analysed and converted into metrics that make sense to a fleet manager.

How Do Telematics Improve Overall Fleet Productivity?

1. Monitoring Safety

Telematics, by tracking measurements such as seat belt usage, harsh braking and speeding, improves the safety of company drivers while also increasing overall road safety and company efficiency. Additionally, the recorded journeys provided through the Fleetsmart journey replay also exhibit (it has a dash cam) where any reported incident occurred in the chain of events weeks or months after it happened, helping to either clear up, or substantiate, any disputed incident should it occur.

This saves time during investigation and reduces false claims. Such valuable insights improve safety results, reduce the costs of accidents, and, ultimately, reduce legal costs.

2. Reduces Fuel Costs

Telematics can help reduce operational expenditure, by making routing more efficient. Better vehicle tracking allows for better routing: this helps prevent traffic jams and accidents, reducing travel times on journeys and saving on fuel. Improved fuel use has immediate financial advantages, especially at times such as these having the highest prices ever for petrol.

3. Reduces Idling Time

Idling/idle time refers to the time during which your employee sits and does nothing that contributes to profits (this may be within his control or out of his control). 

Reasons why an employee cannot report to work on time may include :

• Stopped at a rest stop/sleeping
• Warming up the vehicle
• Stopped to use a phone
• Gridlock traffic or toll booths
• Queuing up to load or unload at suppliers’ or customers’
• Stopped to process documentation

Furthermore, data from telematics software provides better accuracy in time when a vehicles engine is just on, not moving and also from the journey report many fleet managers one will be able to see where they have excessive idle times building up a routine pattern. This would make drivers much more aware, thus having a positive impact on time spent idling helping save the business a lot of money.

4. Proactive Preventative Maintenance

A Telematics system can also determine probable maintenance and allocate the required repair time before it impacts productive hours. Much of the fleet maintenance (oil changes, for example) are done on a schedule; however, other issues identified by early warning can result in preventive maintenance, which can save time and money. Some Telematics services that recognise certain vehicle trouble codes to alert fleet management in real time and help in making sure drivers are aware of new issues.

5. Improves Communication (Organisational And Customer)

Telematics certainly improves the smooth running of communications, with business-to-business internal and external (to customers or clients) in particular. If there is fleet management or logistics control at HQ or a central hub, for example, constant communication with several drivers who are stationed all over the country could be a telecoms and signalling headache. But telematics actually provides reliable, crisp, two way communication, based on real time tracking information and digital GPRS communication.

It also means giving customers better live communication, with timescales and updates that are based on real data rather than anecdotal information. This clarity enables better support for customer enquiries and responses to customer issues by creating a shared understanding between the organisation and the customer through better information flow.

By making the processes transparent, customer satisfaction will be enhanced, as transparency and honesty feature as two extremely high-ranking values in an overall customer experience.

Should I Use Telematics?

Telematics had a clear potential to help increase productivity and employee efficiency while improving fleet operations, reducing vehicle idling and unsafe driving behaviours, fuel and vehicle maintenance costs.