Author: Victoria Gole

Improve Fleet Management With Professional Fleet Consultants

Posted on | by Victoria Gole

 

Fleet Consultants Help You Improve Fleet Management

 

Many companies are already well aware that implementing a telematics fleet management system is very useful in terms of security, cost reduction, and quality of service offered to their customers. Unfortunately, there are many cases where they lack the necessary experience to implement these solutions within their organization. This can be anything from training on how to effectively communicate to drivers and unions about the system, management process changes, demos of how to achieve ROI, and other necessary training activities. For these reasons, our fleet consultants offer professional services to our customers.

Understanding company challenges, technical goals, and requirements are some of the key responsibilities our team takes on. Our highly trained fleet consultants help our customers during these processes in the following ways:

  • Business Case Production: Analysis of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and customer needs, recommendations, and demonstrations of the functionality of the solutions.
  • Change Management: Communication programs such as management training and how to properly introduce GPS tracking to your drivers.
  • ROI Consulting: Benchmarking in multiple areas, demonstrating substantial savings, tracking obtained improvements, and detecting non-compliance areas.
  • Various Training activities: Different levels of training for various departments (eg. management, admin, middle managers, and best practices manuals to maximize the systems benefits).

One of the most common activities for our fleet consultants is the demonstration of tangible benefits during a pilot program. This can be a challenging activity because benefits should be demonstrated with a reduced number of vehicles and drivers in a relatively short period of time (typically only one or two months). This is the best way to demonstrate the solution benefits to the potential customer. Benefit areas depending on the company can be quite different and can vary depending on customer activity and targets.

The most typical areas of potential benefits (KPIs) are:

  • Maintenance: Consistently servicing on time to reduce wear & tear
  • Day-to-Day Efficiency: Improved daily operations through reactive planning and detailed route analysis.
  • Route Planning: Reduced travel time through optimization, visualization and measurement.
  • Utilization: Use percentage, amount of time at location, straying from job site.
  • Out of Hours: Tax compliance and proper overtime validation.
  • Risk and Duty of Care: Driver behavior such as speeding and idling, monitoring CO2 emissions, lowered insurance.
  • Fuel: Reduce use through details on consumption, and identifying idling and driver behavior.
  • Contract Adherence: Billing evidence, SLA compliance.

GoFleet works along side our customers to help measure their KPIs in order to improve driver and fleet performance, and ultimately achieve the desired ROI.

 

Get in touch with one of our fleet consultants to find out
how you can optimize your business and save money:

1-888-998-1122 | [email protected]

 

Original Article By: Antonio Venutelli, European Solutions Engineer at Geotab
http://www.geotab.com/blog/professional-services-can-help-companies-improve-fleet-management/

 

Best Practices for Rolling Out Large Fleets

Posted on | by Victoria Gole

 

Large Fleet Rollout

 

Rolling out a large fleet can be slightly more complex than installing the devices in 5-10 vehicles. But, if you take the right approach with a mix of planning, monitoring and resources, it will help you complete the rollout on time and achieve the quality results you’re looking for. The guidelines below will help you better manage your project and provide a general overview of the items it is important to consider.

Objectives

Communication is key; all project objectives should be effectively communicated and understood by everyone involved to make sure the roll-out is on the right track from the start.

These include:

  • Outlined reasons for the implementation – what needs to change?
  • Determine short and long term goals
  • Understand the ROI results that are expected to be achieved
  • Relate to our 5 main pillars to consider the main focus:
    Fleet Optimization, Productivity, Safety, Expandability, Compliance
  • Create measurable objectives

Planning

Quite often, certain key factors are overlooked, which can have a negative effect on a project before it even gets started. There are many elements to consider when planning a deployment of Geotab GO devices in a large fleet:

  • Recognize the scale of the project: identify whether it is a national or local rollout, single or multiple locations, and the number of vehicles.
  • Determine who is involved: from administrative staff to project managers, ensure each individual knows what they are responsible for and has the skills necessary.
  • Communicate effectively: share documentation within your product team and actively communicate.
  • Shipment/Delivery of Equipment: Ensure realistic shipping and delivery times are taken into consideration when determining the dates of installation.
  • Installation Schedule: When planning a large rollout, creating an installation schedule is key. You will need to consider the following: number of installers/team members doing the install, vehicle variations (necessary harness), locations, estimated time per install and vehicle availability.

Example of an installation schedule:

geotab gofleet blog install schedule

Once installation is complete, it is important a training schedule be put together. We offer training sessions Monday, Wednesday and Friday every week at 2pm EST and you can have your entire team join the sessions.

Kick Off Meeting

Before the rollout, setup a meeting to review the implementation plan to ensure everyone is working towards the same expectations and achieving the same goals. It’s also important to clearly set out how changes throughout the project will be communicated and handled between all parties involved. Additionally, this meeting allows you to discuss any concerns your team has and additional items that you may not have considered.

Track Progress

You want to keep the project on track and meet deadlines as best as you can. The better you keep to your deadlines, the faster the rollout, the faster you’ll start to achieve savings and increase the productivity of your fleet! It is common to have changes occur throughout the deployment of the devices but as long as you effectively manage these changes you should still be able to stay on track. Hold weekly meetings to keep everyone informed and address any problems.

A completion tracker can be a great way to keep track of of the planned versus actual progress for both the rollout and training. Check out the following example:

geotab gofleet blog completion tracker

Follow-Up

About a week after rollout, we will set up a time with you to evaluate performance. We will ensure you have everything you need to move forward and will determine anything else you may need from us. We are happy to set up monthly reviews with you to look at ROI results and set up new goals moving forward.

Keep the project simple, set realistic milestones and expectations, deliver on time and keep everyone informed. And don’t forget, we are here to help as much as you need! We take pride in getting our customers up and running as fast as possible so they can start realizing just how much time and money can be saved with our solution.

 

Contact us to speak with one of our trained fleet consultants:
1-888-998-1122 | [email protected]

 

Original Article By: Laurelle Flewelling, Account Manager at Geotab
http://www.geotab.com/blog/rolling-out-large-fleets-with-geotab-go-devices/

 

Competing AND Cooperating: The Way of The Future

Posted on | by Victoria Gole

Because of the wide acceptance by consumers of telematics devices, our industry has been rapidly growing. In 2014 160,000 subscriptions were added by Geotab alone, and the 100,000 unit goal of previous years has now been upgraded to a goal of 1,000,000. Of course, with great success along comes big responsibility. Our competitors will remain the key to increasing customer value and innovation, but in order to minimize risk and maximize potential, the cooperation between leading players will become equally as important.

Here are three examples that help explain that point:

  1. Product Safety: Telematics solutions save lives and advance safety through promoting better driving habits and generally improving the awareness of road safety. Therefore, it’s no surprise that telematics solutions are not only embraced by fleet operators and businesses but also by emergency response units, police forces and insurance companies. Promoting product safety through design, production and installation processes with safety in mind is extremely important to enhance and protect the industry’s reputation and address critics. Some of whom unfortunately have their own plan. The more providers can learn from one another and develop strong standard, the better.
  2. Patent Litigation Involving Non-Practising Entities (NPEs): Patent lawsuits from non-practising entities, notably in the USA, have become a part of life in the telematics industry. While there has been a lot of talk of patent reforms NPEs are still going strong. The most recent verdict against cyber security from Symantec is just one example. Patent litigation is expensive and the more providers of telematics that can pool their resources to ward off patent enforcement outfits the better for everyone.
  3. Cyber Security: The digitization of nearly every element of society and the rapid adoption of the “internet of things” (IoT) has brought up major concern of data and cyber security to the forefront. It seems a day cannot go by without reports of a big hacking incident. Some of these issues can have complex implications as competing interests such as privacy vs. national security, create irritating dilemmas. Others, like acts of ultra-sophisticated acts of state sponsored cyber warfare, may cause people to throw up their hands in distress. Neither are reasons to do nothing. Non-controversial security practices are very effective in minimizing the overwhelming majority of threats. And there is no question that: in the interest of better security, cooperation will help all players just the same as a bad headline will harm everyone.

Geotab and GoFleet are committed to growth through competition and innovation. But, at the same time, Geotab is proactively engaging in issues related to product safety, patent litigation, and cyber security with the strong belief that these issues require solutions industry-wide to be able to better position the industry and instil confidence in our end customer base as a whole.

 

Original Article By: Dirk Schlimm, Advisory Board Member at Geotab
http://www.geotab.com/blog/better-together-competing-cooperating-way-future/

How Fleet Managers Can Improve Employee Satisfaction with Telematics

Posted on | by Victoria Gole

Telematics Improves Employee Satisfaction

In the USA, it’s estimated there are around 22 million employees who are put in the category of having low morale at work which works out to an estimated 350 billion dollars in added costs to businesses every year. [1]

It is frustrating for management to continually oversee defeated, disgruntled and downhearted staff and can also translate into an uncontrollable (yet avoidable) expenses. An increase in staff turnover, decreased employee productivity and worker absenteeism all contribute to the costs businesses are burdened with.

The lack of recognition for hard work, time away from home, and the difficulty making a living are what professional long distance drivers often cite for the reasons they do not recommend their occupation to others [2]. The industry is also predicting a shortage of drivers due to the fact that many baby boomers will be soon retiring from their driving positions [3]. This makes maintaining a happy and satisfied workforce a prominent factor to saving on employee related costs for any fleet company.

 

What can fleet managers do to cut these costs,
and how can telematics contribute?

 

Infinite data is provided from telematics systems to analyze, learn from, and be effectively utilized to cut down costs. Often, savings from altered driving habits can be passed on to the drivers themselves if they are exposed to the knowledge base the analysis can provide. If savings can be realized by the drivers themselves, as well as the organization, a reason for work dissatisfaction is minimized. Further to this, transparency with data by an organization is both welcomed and appreciated by workers [4]. Telematics provides an avenue for organizational higher-ups to recognize the importance and value of their fleet drivers.

With such independent and isolated work, it can be challenging to recognize and reward loyal and top performing employees to provide pride and motivation. Telematics systems provide you with strong metrics and flexibility to narrow down and track the exact type of behaviour to reward while providing clear goals for drivers to find motivation in. For example: recognizing and even rewarding drivers with the least number of a specific exception violation will provide management the awareness they are seeking. As an added bonus, the fleet assets as well as employees will be safer overall.

Additionally, employees with clear expectations within the organization will reduce stress they endure [5]. Using Telematics to translate “efficient”, “safe” or “compliant” driving expectations into measurable actions eliminates any confusion in the employee-management relationship. In turn, this will uplift the quality of drivers’ work, helping to reduce stress, and increase satisfaction with their job.

Telematics is a fleet management tool that can be used by businesses to realize financial gains as well as increased productivity, optimization, safety and compliance [6]. However, there is also the opportunity for fleet managers to dive deeper and use telematics as a tool to curtail defeated, disgruntled and downhearted staff. Use the substantial capabilities of our telematics to boost the employee-employer relationship, increase employee morale, and eliminate the manifestations of staff dissatisfaction that can be detrimental to any organization.

1-888-998-1122 | [email protected]
 

Main Source:
Original Article By: Caitlin Johnson, Human Resources Assistant at Geotab
http://www.geotab.com/blog/how-fleet-managers-can-manage-and-improve-employee-satisfaction-with-telematics/
Other Sources:
[1] graphs.net/how-to-boost-employee-morale
[2] questia.com/determinants-of-job-satisfaction-among-long-distance
[3] questia.com/determinants-of-job-satisfaction-among-long-distance
[4] graphs.net/how-to-boost-employee-morale
[5] onlinelibrary.wiley.com/
[6] geotab.com/gps-fleet-management-solutions

 

Elimination of 2G Networks Approaching

Posted on | by Victoria Gole

AT&T announced 3 years ago it would be eliminating its 2G network in 2017, now that isn’t so far away.

“The Dallas telecommunications company said it plans on discontinuing its 2G network, also known as GSM or EDGE, by January 1st, 2017. It plans to take that 2G spectrum and re-use it to augment its 3G and 4G wireless services”, stated in a 2012 article by CNET.

That article may have been posted over 2 years ago, when AT&T broke the news in August of 2012, but it is now approaching fast. Customers could be effected prior to 2017 given AT&T has advised “AT&T may turn down to only one band of 2G service in some markets and may completely turn down the 2G network in some markets before the January 1, 2017 turndown nationwide”. To find out why this is happening and what should be done, keep reading.

The 2G footprint – if it’s so big why shut down?
As of Q3, 2013, 2G or second generation networks, still account for slightly under 70% of all connections worldwide. Many of the new cellular connections are in the developing world, and most of these are on 2G networks. 2G networks are more common in both Europe and Africa than 3G networks and there are no plans to shut down these 2G networks for the most part. In fact, in Europe because 2G networks have such a large footprint, as carriers move towards faster networks we are hearing that they will be shutting down 3G before 2G.

It’s quite the opposite in the United States – we have heard of no plans to shut down the 3G networks in the US as of today. While there is no doubt that 3G will be shut down one day, we certainly are not seeing that happen any time soon.

As for shutting down 2G networks, the story is once again different in North America and Australia than in Europe. The two notable carriers shutting down their 2G networks that impact Geotab and other Telematics provider’s customers are AT&T in the United States and Telstra in Australia. Both Telstra and AT&T are moving away from the 2G network by the end of 2016. Why is this? Basically, fewer networks to support, more efficient use of their networks resulting in lower operating costs, and by freeing up spectrum they can allocate it to the faster networks with more profitable services.

Some Telematics providers, Geotab included, have devices running on T-Mobile’s 2G network. While T-Mobile does have a 2G network it has not yet released any plans of shutting it down. But, if those 2G devices running on the T-Mobile network or one of its MVNOs are set up to roam onto the AT&T network, those are subject to darkness too when roaming onto the AT&T network.

2G in the M2M space
Telematics and M2M data needs are normally light compared to other consumer applications that require the bandwidth availability and faster speeds of 3G. Also, 2G modems are cheaper than 3G modems. These factors, paired with the fact that M2M and Telematics devices have a relatively long life, have contributed to 2G being so strong in the Telematics industry.

Historically, data costs from network providers have been the same regardless of the technology. Unfortunately, that will be changing in North America. To encourage customer migration from 2G in the US to 3G, AT&T and their Mobile Virtual Network Operators are increasing the monthly data costs of the 2G network.

If I have an older 2G device, what do I do?
Let’s face it, typically you do not just go out and swap out a modem. If you have an older Telematics device with a 2G modem, whether it’s an older Geotab GO device or a competitors *hint* see what you’re missing *hint* device, you’ll need to replace the 2G unit.

While this can seem like a pain, Geotab has added a lot of functionality to its latest GO device, the GO7 making the decision to upgrade much easier. Because Geotab designs and builds everything themselves, not only do you get more functionality with the GO7 but we have been able to drive the cost down making it well worth your while to upgrade.

What’s the difference if I upgrade to the Geotab GO7 device today?

There are many, but some of the notables include:

 

  • Get the latest capabilities in engine diagnostic from your GPS GO device.
    Vehicles send data from multiple sources, including the drivetrain, engine, and the instrument cluster. All of these sources transmit information using a communications protocol. There are many possible protocols used by the different manufacturers and component suppliers of vehicles. Different manufacturers produce vehicles that transmit data using many different protocols on many networks. Only the Geotab GO7 can support all these vehicles.

 

 

 

 

  • Ensure you take advantage of all GoFleet & Geotab has to offer.
    Some newly released features are not available on earlier devices. Make sure you can take advantage of ALL the new features available!

 

    1. Rely on an accelerometer with increased sensitivity for dangerous driving events and back up alerts.

 

  • Installations made easy.
    As you add vehicles to your fleet, the GO7 continues to minimize the need of a specific harness. Although no one harness fits all, the GO7 reduces the need for custom harnesses.

 

 

  • Future-proof your fleet vehicles with software programmable pins for connecting to the vehicle connector.
    Having all possible pins populated this way allows the firmware to remain in-sync with any improvements and future changes made by vehicle manufacturers to newer models and makes.

 

If you’re an existing GoFleet customer, speak with your account manager to review upgrade plans.

 

Original Article By: John Day, Product Manager at Geotab
http://www.geotab.com/blog/2g-migration-fleet-management-can/

 

Geotab Datacenter Security

Posted on | by Victoria Gole

Secure Data Thanks to Geotab

Both GoFleet and Geotab understand how important security and privacy is to My.Geotab’s over 140,000 users. Therefore Geotab takes all the necessary precautions to ensure the security of its users data.

Geotab actively manages all client data in their secure facility in Canada. Geotab’s gateway server handles the transaction of data between vehicles over the cellular network, and into the device management gateway, before the data is sent to the My.Geotab hosted service.

The service is monitored continuously, on a 24/7 basis, by Geotab’s Technical Support engineers.

Stress testing to determine data latency (the time between data requests and answers) and breaking points is important to optimize performance. Geotab monitors the network and internet uptime by different cellular network carriers.

Geotab Data Security Graph

Some of the key datacenter security points are listed below:

  • Geotab’s gateway server in Canada supports all global customers, including partners in Australia using the Telstra network.
  • The gateway on average processes more than 10,000 log records per second, and is designed to scale for large customers, including Geotab’s largest customer that has 80,000 connected vehicles all in one database.
  • The Geotab gateway and IT architecture scales horizontally for seamless load balancing.
  • Geotab’s gateway and the My.Geotab servers are hosted at Q9 which is one of the world’s most secure data centres also hosting the biggest banks and insurance companies in Canada.
  • Geotab owns their own servers within Q9 and always uses best practices to prevent any unauthorized activity.
  • All Q9 facilities offer state-of-the-art physical access controls, full power, and multiple location facilities. These data centers don’t allow on-site, third-party visits and will only allow authorized personnel to access the locations.
  • All Geotab-owned equipment is contained within access-controlled racks and cages. Only Geotab staff has access to the equipment, and each staff member has to pass through access control points.
  • All equipment and facilities are monitored 24 hours a day by security personnel.

Want to learn more about GoFleet & Geotab’s GPS fleet tracking services? Contact one of our highly trained fleet consultants today!

 

[email protected] | 1-888-998-1122

 

 

Original Article Written By: Eduardo Granda, Sales Manager at Geotab
http://www.geotab.com/blog/geotab-datacenter-security/

Driver Scorecard: What it is & Why it’s Important

Posted on | by Victoria Gole

What is the Driver Scorecard & Why is it Important?

What is the Driver Scorecard?

The Driver Score card report helps measure risk and safety scores based on various key indicators such as, speeding, harsh braking, over acceleration, and after-hours vehicle use. Designed with advanced safety technology, users can gain incredible insight into driver’s on-road behavior and make changes that will benefit the company in more ways than one. With the use of rules, the solution is designed to calculate the number of infractions and display data as shown in the chart below. The report, can be customized to each user’s preference to help identify safe or dangerous practices and further develop a fleet-wide safety program.

Why It’s Important?

Lack of safety can be crippling to any business, whether it’s fuel costs, labor costs, or just vehicle wear and tear. Driver safety is often overlooked as it’s tougher to gain quantitative data over behaviours and performance. This causes many companies to learn the harder way through higher insurance costs, maintenance costs and negative business reputation; proving that nothing has a greater impact on operating expenses than driver performance.

The margin of error within driver safety and compliance becomes narrower every year. Any tickets, accidents or claims impacts the entire company and forces harsher penalties, liability, and ultimately higher overall operating costs. There are numerous ways through which companies can implement measures as discussed below. These actions will not only help improve customer satisfaction but have a positive impact on the company’s bottom line.

Driver Scorecard Chart

Action Steps:

  • Post a weekly driver scorecard report for drivers and management. Allow drivers to self-evaluate and make efforts to improve poor driving habits.
  • Define penalties around unsafe driving which puts your company at risk. Communicate that unsafe driving will not be tolerated.
  • Develop baseline measurements of driving habits through a driver scorecard. Evaluate current liability and insurance costs. Set goals for improvement based on the measurements and measure against these goals at 3-6-12 month intervals.
  • Implement driver training for high risk drivers. A study by SAFED showed that the average driver reduces fuel consumption by over 10% following fuel efficient driver training. Additionally driver training reduces risk and claims by as much as 50%.

 

This Article Was Provided By GoFleet Support

Fire and HazMat

Posted on | by Victoria Gole

Fire and HazMat Worker Safety and Protection

Who’s watching out for your team?
From residential fires to landfills, public safety employees face the hazards of toxic gases every single day. What can you do to prevent accidents and injuries to your workers?

Our remote monitoring devices, gas detectors and GPS locators can help you stay in control of the risks your team faces.

Gas detection
Set up semi-permanently on a work-site or landfill, or take on the job to a fire or hazardous clean-up, our gas detectors are an accurate and technically advanced network of sensors capable of detecting and reading hazardous levels of toxic chemicals. With real-time monitoring and an easy-to-read screen, our gas detectors are a must-have for hazardous clean-up, public safety, and First-Response teams.

GPS Locators
Our GPS locators provide real-time monitoring and let you see your team at all times. Tracking crew members around a large clean-up or firefighters through a fire, these devices keep you in the know about everyone’s position, and can help you find them in an unexpected event.

Remote Monitoring
The Control Center Interface, a portable device with easy-to-use software integrates gas detection and location devices to let you monitor and respond to risk anytime, anywhere. From truck to office, the Control Center Interface keeps you informed on-the-go.

Call 1-888-998-1122 today to learn more about our Fire and HazMat Worker Safety Solutions and find out pricing.

Oil and Gas Worker Safety and Protection

Posted on | by Victoria Gole

Oil and Gas Worker Protection and Safety

Who’s watching out for your team?
Danger is always present when you’re working in the oil industry. Combustible and hazardous gases are harnessed and used on a daily basis, it is important to keep safety on the front of everyone’s minds and safety solutions close at hand. What can you do to stop accidents and injury?

Our Sensor Solution line of gas detectors, lone employee tracker, and remote monitoring devices can help you stay in control of the dangerous risks your team faces regularly.

Gas Detectors
Semi-permanently set up on an off-shore oil rig, or carried into an area where a spill may have occurred, our gas detectors are an accurate and technically advanced network of sensors capable of reading and detecting hazardous levels of toxic chemicals. With real-time monitoring and an easy-to-read screen, gas detectors are a must-have for ensuring the safety of your employees.

Lone Employee Tracker
Our lone worker employee trackers let you see your team at all times. These devices keep you aware of your team’s positions whether that be tracking drillers or roughnecks through an area where an accident has occurred or, tracking crew members around a large clean-up.

Remote Monitoring
The control center interface is capable of harnessing all of your detectors, and lone worker trackers for remote monitoring capabilities. Extremely easy to use, and critical to control and communicate with the entire team in the event of an accident. Keep in control and stay aware, even remotely.

Real-Time Visibility for Oil and Gas Workers

Our high-quality detection and location devices allow you to monitor and respond to risk anytime, anywhere. From truck to office, the solutions keep you informed on-the-go.

Visit: Wireless Gas Detection, Sensor Solutions or call 1-888-998-1122 for more information on oil and gas worker protection and to find out pricing.

Instantly Create Work Orders

Posted on | by Victoria Gole

The easiest work order system yet.

CMMS create work orders

We know how important work orders are to your facility, that is why we have put so much time into making it as simple as possible for you to create and complete work orders on time.

CMMS create work orders

You can quickly add instructions to work orders from your task library, saving you time and energy.

CMMS create work orders easily add instructions

Easily assign specific technicians to work orders to ensure that the right person is on the job

assign technician to work order fast

Guest users can also submit service requests without having to log in so no maintenance will ever be overlooked again.

guest users CMMS