Blog Archives - Page 33 of 62

How to Detect and Stop Fleet Idling

Posted on June 23, 2016 | by Victoria Gole

Many drivers idle without even thinking about it. For example, an employee waits for their coworker in the car outside a local coffee shop while the engine is humming in the background. Unfortunately, fleet idling can end up being quite costly to business operations, in terms of wasted fuel, the possibility of fines or infractions, accumulation of vehicle maintenance costs, and the environmental impact of excessive emissions.

Increased awareness of idling behavior, through the Geotab solution, can help reduce overall fleet costs. Read this article to learn how to identify and manage idling in MyGeotab.

True Idling Versus Operational Idling

A common trucking myth is that diesel engines need a warmup time of five minutes before driving. Nowadays, no more than three minutes of warmup is recommended by most diesel engine manufacturers; longer than that may actually cause engine damage. It’s important fleet managers make sure they understand the difference between true idling and operational idling.

By comining our high-resolution data logging points of the GO device and the IOX-AUX Add-On, fleet managers can easily see whether assets are wasting time or being used for stand-still job applications right within MyGeotab.

True Idling or Non-Operational Idling — In MyGeotab, a vehicle will be in true idling when the vehicle ignition is on and there is no power take-off (PTO) usage identified either through engine status data or through IOX-AUX based input. IOX-AUX is an Add-On for the Geotab GO7 device which measures external vehicle inputs.
Operational Idling — If a vehicle is idling but the fleet manager can see PTO usage through engine status data or through IOX-AUX, then this is classified as operational idling. PTO is a mechanism which drives the engine power from the engine to another external application, high-powered vacuum or a lift on the back of a trailer. Most often, PTO will be used when the engine is running and the vehicle is standing still. Three to minutes of vehicle warm up time can also be considered operational idling as well.

How to Manage Fleet Idling in MyGeotab

We offer a number of tools within our fleet management system to effectively manage idling.

Set Up a True Idling Rule and Notification

Software-based rules can be set to identify drivers who are idling for any non-business purpose, i.e. detect true idling for longer than five minutes. Fleet managers can then be notified of any exceptions generated from these rules via text message or email.

PTO comes through as engine status data. Depending on the OEM and make and model of the vehicle, the engine data is variable. PTO activity can be sporadic and there isn’t a solid pattern to track. Therefore, a more reliable indicator of true idling is PTO state. Looking for that flip of the switch (i.e. 0 or 1 value) can show whether the PTO was actually activated.

To develop a rule to capture this information, we need to consider both conditions, which are engine status data and info from the IOX-AUX.

The rule can be defined as:

Speed < 3mph and Status Data Diagnostic “PTO Status (0=Disengaged/1=Engaged)” > 0 or Aux1 is true and Ignition is true

Driver Coaching Tools for Idling

Driver feedback helps reduce idling occurrence rates within a fleet by notifying drivers when idling occurs, so they can immediately adjust their behavior. The Geotab GO device can be configured to produce in-cab audible beeping through the device’s built-in buzzer or deliver a spoken text-to-speech message using the GO TALK Live In-Vehicle Verbal Feedback Add-On.

Track Trends with Custom Reports

The standard Exception Details report, included by default within each MyGeotab database, shows when, where and for how long true idling or wasted time events occurred. By using rules that differentiate between operational and non-operational idling, it becomes possible to calculate a breakdown of time spent within each category. From there, some report customization can provide a scoring element that ranks vehicles and drivers on their performance.

As you can imagine, there are limitless possibilities when it comes to visualizing this data. Thankfully, for those of us who are not Microsoft Excel experts, we provide useful Custom Report templates which can help add firepower to the fight against true idle time reduction. Here are some examples:

Weekly Idle Cost – Daily Trend Report: Shows the overall cost of idling for the fleet. Intended to be run for a week’s duration, broken down daily for trending analysis.
Last 3 Months Idling Trend: Displays the total idling time for the entire fleet over the last three months.
Trended Exception Report: Showcase how your drivers are doing compared to each other on a trend. Designed to be reporting for a monthly or weekly data set, showing daily or weekly trends.

Driver Awareness and Training are Key

The driver is the one who chooses to let the vehicle idle, making driver training and awareness key. Telematics data collection, driver coaching, and reporting can all assist fleet managers to create more efficient and sustainable fleet. Perhaps, in the future, driverless and electric vehicles will become a solution to this problem.

Source:

How to Detect and Stop True Fleet Idling

By: Jason Widla, Solutions Engineer Specilaist at Geotab

https://www.geotab.com/blog/detect-stop-true-fleet-idling/

Tips to Basic Road Safety

Posted on June 16, 2016 | by Vishal Singh

Buckle up it’s National Safety Month!

Some of us have learned the importance of safe driving while others have experienced it first hand; in every way we understand the importance of safety and the benefits of using defensive driving practices. National Safety Month reinforces positive driver habits that we often forget as we become experienced drivers. Initiated to educate, the program aims to increase awareness, promote defensive driving, and keep driver distractions to a minimum.

Along with the safety basics such as wearing a seat-belt, reduced speeding and appropriate signalling, there are other factors that aid in road safety.

Understanding road responsibilities
Continuous vehicle maintenance
Defensive driving courses
Keeping Distractions to a minimum

Road Safety is Everyone’s Responsibility

The number of vehicles on the road only grows each year resulting in busy streets and more traffic than ever. This requires a lot of patience and the need to follow safety laws to ensure all vehicles move in order. It is essential to understand your road responsibilities either as a motorist or as a pedestrian; when working together traffic will not only sail smoothly but will keep all the commotion organized. Making eye contact is often a good way to quickly communicate your intentions, reducing room for error and accidents.

Vehicle Maintenance

A large number of accidents occur due to factors that are out of our control such as vehicle breakdowns. Having regular maintenance to ensure your vehicle is in safe working conditions will not only extend the life of your vehicle but also keep you safe. Regular vehicle maintenance is financially more resourceful than having to make one large investment when your vehicle breaks down. This will hamper your pockets and also cause traffic to build on the roads.

Defensive DrivingDefensive driving courses are available and essential to learn how to handle your vehicles in all situations. These courses are offered to new and existing drivers to help lower risks behind the wheel. Sometimes you might not be “the bad driver” but being aware of aggressive driving helps to keep you safe. As dull as an in-class instructional lecture might seem you might just gain a few insights to best driving practices! And as an employer of drivers – it’s crucial to make sure your team is well versed in defensive driving.

Keep Distractions to a Minimum

We live in the day and age of technology hence, keeping distractions to a minimum while driving is often encouraged as a safety precaution. Many of us are guilty of shooting a quick text while at the lights but a few seconds can sometimes have a huge impact. It is challenging to minimize distractions but it is also important to do so.

Positive behaviours & defensive driving minimize many risks.
Start your stride towards safer roads today!

Read how Airtel Kenya uses vehicle GPS tracking devices to improve road safety.

Is Your Company’s Distracted Driving Policy Up-to-Date?

Posted on June 5, 2016 | by Victoria Gole

431,000.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, this number represents how many people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers in 2014. Over 3,000 people were killed in crashes related to distracted driving in that same year.

It’s estimated that 25% of crashes involve cell phones
(phone conversations or text messaging) by the National Safety Council.

The Cost is High: Distracted Driving Policy and Employer Responsibilities

Costs associated with distracted driving for companies is high, considering potential costs related to injuries and liability. Therefore, it is the employers responsibility for maintaining worker safety, and setting up an effective distracted driving policy is part of this. Simply creating a policy document is not enough; it has to be followed up with education, monitoring, and enforcement.

In honor of National Safety Month, we have compiled a list of our top blog posts on preventing distracted and dangerous driving. Fleet safety is a key part of our fleet management solution. Telematics can help to support a company’s safety program and distracted driving policy with in-vehicle driver coaching, instant accident notification, and risk and safety reporting.

Ask us how we can help prevent bad driving behaviors.
Tweet your questions to @GoFleet OR contact our support team.

Distracted Driving: Texting & Road Rage While Driving

Texting while driving is unacceptable. The road was dangerous before cell phones were introduced; road rage is still a major issue. Stop distracted driving.

How to Prevent Dangerous Driving

Worried about dangerous driving? Wondering what can you do about the way your drivers behave on the road? GPS fleet management software is here to help.

5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Driving

Find busy roads and then avoid them, lighten your lead foot, find where you’ve parked and so much more thanks to the GO6 Geotab GPS tracking device.

Driver Fatigue and the Underestimated Dangers

Driver fatigue is an underestimated danger; companies rely on their drivers for so much and should ensure they and others on the road are kept safe.

Source:
Original Article Written by: Melanie Serr, Content Marketing Specilaist at Geotab
https://www.geotab.com/blog/distracted-driving-policy/

Considerations When Choosing Fleet GPS Trackers

Posted on May 23, 2016 | by Victoria Gole | Leave a Comment

Before jumping into the fleet GPS tracker market, commercial trucking company will have questions involving costs relative to benefits, contractual obligations, customer support and long-term ease of use. To provide exceptional clarity before buying your next commercial GPS tracker unit, we’ve debunked many commercial management questions and myths. So, before purchasing the wrong units, ask yourself these questions, then gauge them against fleet GPS tracker technology services we provide.

Are provided features considerate of your ROI?

If your Fleet GPS Tracker Device is missing features, it essentially hurts your bottom line. When your bottom line is adversely affected, your business will suffer and you may have to sell-off your assets to make up the difference. Having essential tools, like geo-fences, wireless dispatching, segmented alerts and fuel economy tracking are essential in staying out of the ‘red’, and posting positive gains. Check thoroughly with your current company and see if the tools yield high ROI; then measure that against the diverse array of profit-generating and business-friendly services that we offer. We always have your business in mind.

How simple is the GPS tracker operation?

Unfortunately, many scalable and powerful systems are not user-friendly and are hard to operate. Anything that takes longer than 30 minutes to learn in GPS tracker nomenclature is way too long; many companies write their user manuals with technically-proficient people in mind. Not all commercial trucking companies will employ techies that are able to quickly navigate user manuals and explain flagship features of fleet GPS tracker devices. You must emphasize simplicity while providing flexible and feature-rich services fleet GPS trackers must have. The marketplace is ripe with fleet GPS trackers that are rather cumbersome and difficult to learn, whereas ours remains both scalable and simple.

How often is the vehicle position updated?

Being overwhelmed with too many updates could create driver chaos, or company confusion. Having updates spread too far apart could mean missing key pieces of vehicle or driver information which may cost you loads, excessive downtime or even poorly kept logbooks. Industry normal update times are roughly 120 seconds when vehicles are in motion, and 1 hour when vehicle is off. Most monthly-based companies that require long-term contracts will send updates 6-12 times per hour, and only when vehicle is in operation. Since this does nothing for productivity, make sure you stick with Fleet Tracking that is around the industry norm, which we offer to our commercial clients.

Are some other company’s GPS Tracker units being resold?

Commercial companies understand the difficulty of servicing products that do not fall within their scope and under their umbrella. Fleet GPS trackers may eventually need remote servicing, or live maintenance that secondary sellers cannot provide which, of course, impedes trucking company progress. Checking with sales representatives to make sure your chosen company brands their own fleet tracking apparatus would save loads of time, both in a presale setting and later down the road when maintenance is necessary. Moreover, going with direct manufacturers of these fleet GPS tracker devices may drive down costs whereas resellers will upcharge.

Will the system work when you’re not logged in online or near a computer?

Unless automatic updates or concurrent status alerts are provided through an app, a trucker’s Qualcomm or text messages are given, fleet GPS trackers require loads of personal attention. Managers have bigger fish to fry, and have little time to print daily reports. Your chosen GPS tracker should have automatic report scheduling, some method to receive frequent updates and have the capacity to run whether you’re there to oversee its actions or not. These updates should come at intervals you preset; where many systems fail, our fleet GPS tracker solutions are transparent in their ability to provide quick updates, useful information when it’s needed most and report scheduling at your convenience, not ours.

Is customer support able to answer my questions via telephone or chat?

With the economy in a whirlwind and wallets becoming empty, commercial companies are struggling to find fleet tracking customer service, literally, in any nook or cranny they can. Although it seems as though the well has run dry in the fleet tracking market, there are still fleet services available around the clock when you need them most. The most difficult job for most tech companies to handle is also one that is still in abundance: customer service. Dealing with an entire fleet of commercial delivery trucks is enough of a headache; your customer service personnel should add to those headaches. Besides, your equipment is essentially useless when nobody helps with troubleshooting; if any company tells you that every model is self-booting or comes with self-help features with minimal customer service, run. Run quickly. Then check out how our customer service works.

Will there be extensive contracts to enter into?

Fleet managers aren’t keen on being surprised; most fleet GPS tracker companies will slam commercial trucking outfits with ridiculous monthly fees, and then add unknown contract stipulations that hurt your prospects to grow. If you’re locked into an extended contract, the level of service diminishes over time. Clearly, in other words, there’s no incentive for the GPS tracker company to keep providing great products or generous customer service. No extended contracts, hidden fees or surprises will come from us.

Want to learn more or try GoFleet’s GPS trackers free for 30 days? Contact Us!

Reduce Costs Due to Accidents

Posted on May 20, 2016 | by Victoria Gole

Telematics has come a long way from simply just GPS tracking. One of the top reasons so many of our customers reached out to us for help, was to reduce accidents and increase safety within their fleet.

Telematics is now highly used to reduce insurance and liability costs, by reducing the number of accidents that occur. Nowadays, a small fender bender can end up costing you $1,000 or more to repair – which is why so many fleet managers look into telematics for their fleet.

Telematics helps lower accident-related costs in four key areas:

Minimizing personal injury with in-vehicle audible coaching for speed and seatbelt use.
Reducing vehicle damage with in-vehicle audible coaching, promoting positive forward and reversing driving habits.
Improving general liability rates with monthly risk management driver scorecards.
Helping to manage driver-related workers’ compensation claims.

With telematics coaching tools, we can encourage safer driving habits, such as: accelerating and braking smoothly; driving within the posted speed limit; and backing into parking spaces instead of reversing out of them. In the fleet world, we actually train drivers to reverse in when they arrive at a destination — it’s much safer and greatly reduces the risk of accidents.

Telematics technology can also be useful after an accident, if unfortunately, one occurs. Instant accident notifications and detailed second-by-second data make it possible to take crucial and timely action steps. For example, if a vehicle has been hit while parked, our unique recording technology can help prove no-fault to the insurance provider.

To take accident reduction and elimination even further, check out our new Fleet Dash and Driver Camera Integration.

Source:
Geotab Blog: https://www.geotab.com/blog/telematics-benefits-greater-good/

In-Vehicle Notification with Pro and ProPlus Plans

Posted on May 3, 2016 | by Victoria Gole

Early 2012, Geotab introduced the functionality that sent an in-vehicle notification to a driver when an Exception Rule was being violated. This type of notification, also known as Driver Feedback, can be used for any Exception Rule by editing the Exception and selecting “Add Driver Feedback” under the Notifications tab (shown below).

If you do not have a Garmin or GO TALK device, you can select from three notification options:

Beep 10 Times Quickly
Beep 3 Times Quickly
Beep 3 Times

At first when this feature was released, some customers noticed that notifications would come through intermittently and in some cases were significantly delayed. After further testing, it was determined that this feature was only notifying drivers correctly in 40% of cases, which was highly unacceptable by Geotab’s quality standards.

The ultimate goal with Exception Rule based feedback was to have an in-vehicle experience comparable to the driver feedback provided by the GO GPS device (such as idling or over-revving). For this reason, beeping more than 60 seconds after the exception occurred is currently discarded. Under the Pro Plan, this means that beeping would rarely be triggered.

Our testing showed that the GO device was not sending data often enough to allow the software to determine in real time if an exception was actively being violated. We noticed that the time between logs and the batching of logs together before they were sent to the server was not compatible with the real-time alerts we were attempting to generate. In order to alleviate this issue, Geotab introduced a new more aggressive GPS logging algorithm which was bundled with a new rate plan called ProPlus, introduced in September 2015.

ProPlus and Driver Feedback
The new ProPlus algorithm logs on average 25% more GPS information than on the Pro plan. Also, logs are not batched together to deliver up to the server. These changes have greatly increased the reliability of in-vehicle notifications. By increasing the rate at which we log and eliminating sending logs in batches, there is an increase in data costs associated with these changes. This cost increase is included in the price differences between the Pro and ProPlus plans.

If users require timely notification for rules where driver feedback is important, it’s recommended they use ProPlus plan for in-vehicle notifications. However, we do recognize that there are certain cases where a customer would want the driver to get a notification for an exception event, even if the notification is delayed due to the rate plan of the device, or other environmental issues such as coverage.

To address feedback in the software, the option to force driver feedback (even if there is a delay between when the exception occurs and when it’s processed on the server) will be allowed. This will be beneficial to customers who don’t mind that the rule is delayed slightly and still want the notification to happen.

Source:
Original Article Written by: Patrick McClafferty, Technical Support Manager at Geotab
https://www.geotab.com/blog/in-vehicle-notification-functionality-under-pro-and-proplus-plans/

Fleet Management Software Updates (March 2016)

Posted on April 19, 2016 | by Victoria Gole

Read about Geotab’s latest fleet management software updates and enhancements. To verify whether changes have been made in your system, go to Administration > About and check the build number, which shows the month of release, e.g. 5.7.1602.xxx release/2016-03.

In this Edition:

Documentation Updates
+ Fill-Ups Report Now Included in Product Guide
HOS/DVIR Enhancements
+ Support of HOS Passenger Carrying Rule Sets for Garmin Devices
SDK Additions
+ Garmin Stop Status Data Added to LocationContent
Localization
+ German, Japanese, and Vietnamese language Updates
+ Vietnamese Calendar Revisions
+ Translation of Notification Template Tokens
User Interface (UI) Enhancements

Documentation Updates

Fill-Ups Report Now Included in Product Guide

The Geotab Product Guide now includes details on the Fill-Ups report. Read this section to learn how to view the fill-up events, fuel costs, and average fuel economy for your fleet.

Fills-Ups section in Product Guide

HOS/DVIR Enhancements

Support of HOS Passenger Carrying Rule Sets for Garmin Devices

Geotab now supports Garmin Hours-of-Service (HOS) Passenger Carrying rule sets, including:

USA Property/Passenger 60-hour/7-Day
USA Property/Passenger 70-hour/8-Day

SDK Additions

Garmin Stop Status Data Added to LocationContent

Stop status data from Garmin devices is now included in the LocationContent object in the Geotab Software Development Kit (SDK). This property is labeled as onRouteRanges. This is useful for determining when a driver has accepted a stop on the Garmin by tapping on GO.

onRouteRanges property in the LocationContent object.

Workflow for onRouteRanges property:

Localization

Geotab continues to update and enhance our support in multiple languages. This month, we made updates to the German, Japanese, and Vietnamese language versions.

Vietnamese Calendar Revisions

Geotab has updated the month and day names on the Vietnamese calendar to more accurately reflect the proper terms. The calendar now shows the full month name, e.g. Tháng một, and the days are indicated by T2, T3 and onward, with Sunday as “CN” — meaning Chủ nhật or Lord’s Day.

Updated calendar dates in Vietnamese.

Translation of Notification Template Tokens

Notification template tokens have been translated for all languages in addition to the descriptions, for an enhanced user experience. You can find the Notification Templates page by going to Rules & Groups > Rules and then clicking the Notification templates button. Customized notifications are useful for different tasks, such as sending a web link to a map, including an emergency contact number, or helping conserve data usage for mobile devices.

Translated tokens in Notification Email Template

Minor UI Improvements

The line spacing in Zone comments on the map has been harmonized with spacing in the zone edit.
A Search feature has been added to the Security Clearances page.
Engine Faults and Fault Details have been joined into one page.
Improved layout of work times page.
The Trips Detail (default and advanced) Excel Reports are now sorted by the device name instead of device ID so they are easier to read.

For More Information

Please contact our support team.

Source:
Original Post by: Angie Milne, Solutions Specialist at Geotab
https://www.geotab.com/blog/fleet-management-software-device-updates-march-2016/

What is an ELD?

Posted on April 4, 2016 | by Victoria Gole

A ruling has been issued from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that makes the use of electronic logging devices (ELDs) mandatory for most drivers and motor carriers. To be considered compliance, carriers currently using papers logs must have ELDs installed and in use by December 18, 2017.

Electronic Loggings Devices (ELDs)
Technology for Hours-of-Service

According to the official definition by the FMCSA, an electronic logging device (or ELD) is “technology that automatically records a driver’s driving time and other aspects of the hours-of-service (HOS) records.”

The device synchronizes with the engine of a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) to record driving time and monitors important information such as location, vehicle movement, engine hours, and miles driven.

What are the Benefits of ELDs?

For fleets, ELDs have many important benefits:

Reducing the amount of time that truck drivers and administrators spend on paperwork dramatically.
Simplifying the process of keeping Records of Duty Status.
Reducing cost associated with paper logbooks and processing.
Decreasing the risk of errors in record-keeping.
Increasing the efficiency of inspections.

In addition to reducing the burden and costs associated with paperwork, ELDs can increase fleet compliance, productivity, and most importantly, driver safety.

Compliance Goes Mobile

A tablet or smartphone can be used as part of the ELD solution provided it meets the FMCSA’s technical specifications and is registered and certified.

Our mobile app Geotab Drive can be used on both iOS & Android tablets for Hours-of-Service (HOS), Driver Vehicle Inspection Reporting (DVIR), and Driver Identification. The smart driver app syncs data between the GO device and tablet to provide numerous functions, such as violation alerts, automatic duty status changes, among others, and complete end-to-end inspection workflow.

My Fleet Uses AOBRDs. Do I still need to adopt ELDs?

All motor carriers and drivers must be using ELDs by December 16, 2019, according to the FMCSA. However, during the first two phases of transition and compliance (four years from the final rule publication date), the FMCSA permits the use of automatic on-board recording devices (AOBRDs).

It’s smart to start evaluating and choosing ELDs as soon as possible. By starting the process now, you can leave enough time for implementation and training, and as well, your fleet can start taking advantage of great benefits that ELDs have to offer.

If you are using paper logs for Hours-of-Service,
you must be using ELDs by December 18, 2017.
Refer to the FMCSA’s website for more compliance information.

For more information or to get started with Geotab Drive contact your sales rep or our support team.

Source:
Vik Sridhar, Solutions Engineer, HOS Expert at Geotab
https://www.geotab.com/blog/what-is-an-eld/

5 Ways Telematics Promotes a Positive Workplace Culture

Posted on March 28, 2016 | by Victoria Gole

Recruiting drivers is difficult enough and retaining those drivers can often be even more challenging. Therefore, keeping your drivers happy is very important. To avoid continuous turnover, it’s critical a positive culture and working environment is created for drivers.

High turnover of drivers can indicate not just an unhappy work environment, but also an unsafe environment. It can also be quite expensive for any business. Constant turnover means constantly having to recruit and train, costing extra valuable time and money.

Retaining Drivers with Telematics

Installing telematics in a fleet comes with amazing productivity, safety and engine health benefits, and it can also help to keep a positive workplace culture.

Fleet managers and owners often feel that drivers will think negatively towards installing a telematics system in their fleets. They worry it will be seen as a Big Brother type of invention.

Telematics can actually help with driver retention.

The main reasons for high turnover are:

Lack of Home Time
Compensation or Mileage
Unhappy with Supervisor or Manager
Weak Dispatching and Load Planning
Policies and Procedures

Create a Positive Culture with Greater Insight

GPS fleet management software can help address many of the reasons for high turnover because it allows managers to better understand and manage their fleet. Telematics allows fleet managers to capture more accurate, detailed information on vehicles, trips, and drivers; monitor fleet trends in efficiency, productivity, compliance, and safety; and make better, more informed decisions on scheduling, dispatching, and compensation.

Five Ways Telematics Promotes a Positive Workplace Culture

Record Accurate Mileage to Help Determine Fair Compensation
Detailed mileage records are provided with telematics, allowing for a fair process to manage compensation by mileage for all drivers. A clearly communicated longevity or bonus program can also help to motivate drivers and encourage company loyalty.

Manage Hours-of-Service to Better Organize Personal Times
Telematics manages miles driven, engine hours, and Hours-of-Service (HOS), which can also be great tools for organizing drivers’ home time as well. Also, knowing the driver’s personal situation can help to understand their needs; for example, if a driver is going through something significant in their life (eg. a divorce, new baby, etc.) a manager can balance the driver’s needs accordingly, during that time.

Improve Load Planning and Dispatching
Drivers often get stressed out from not knowing when they will be able to get home, or plans changing frequently. Our software can be used to dispatch more effectively and better organize routes, to ensure that jobs will be done in a timely and logical manner. Creating a logical plan for drivers, while still allowing them to use their experience and judgement, is much better for everyone.

Clear Communication to Increase Driver Satisfaction
It’s a tough issue to manage when a driver is unhappy with a manager or supervisor because there could be a variety of causes. However, when there are clear lines of communication from between management and drivers, satisfaction can be greatly improved; simply asking drivers for feedback will help them feel included. It is highly recommended full disclosure and explanation around the installation of telematics is provided to drivers for a positive management/driver relationship. Our support team would be happy to provide tips for a successful roll out.

Reinforce Driver Safety With Reporting and Management Tools
Organizations need to be conscious of policy to ensure the approach isn’t too heavy-handed. A fleet management solution can ensure that the policies in place are followed through in a consistent and fair manner. For example, of course your drivers know how to drive. They know they should drive defensively and obey speed limits. Tight schedules and deadlines can sometimes cause drivers to lose focus on basic safe driving habits. Through safety coaching and reports, drivers will be safer and get in less accidents.

More Tools for Fleets

Our open platform allows fleet managers to have access to even more tools to help drivers. Managers can help make a driver’s job easier with driver tools such as apps for mobile invoicing & payment and time management. Our Drive App enables drivers to log Hours-of-Service, update their duty status, and carry out inspections using their tablet or smartphone.

Preventing Issues Before They Occur

We collect a wealth of knowledge for fleet managers within our data. This rich data can be used for predictive analytics to possibly warn when a driver is becoming unhappy or planning to leave the company. Careless driving with no regard to policy or lowered miles driven can be an indication of when a driver is unhappy and planning on leaving. Management can take this opportunity to engage the driver in a two way conversation to clearly understand what is making them unhappy.

Having this wealth of data at your fingertips can help a fleet to predict accidents before they occur. When a driver is working too many hours and not getting enough home time perhaps coinciding with increased counts of unsafe driving behaviours. We provide visibility into safety and utilization so management can balance the hours/shifts for each driver and across the fleet — keeping drivers well-rested, safe, and happy.

Source:
Original Post by: Heather Carlton, Senior Account Manager
https://www.geotab.com/blog/creating-positive-culture-fleets/

The Key to Outstanding Fleet Management

Posted on March 17, 2016 | by Victoria Gole

Managing a fleet isn’t easy, that’s why there are so many solutions available to help make it easier. Being able to keep customers happy while managing vehicles and drivers is difficult for any fleet manager. Unfortunately, even with all the technology now available, there are still fleet managers insisting on continuing to use a manual approach. This means relying on memory and known traffic conditions to inform customers of delivery times and finding vehicle issues through drivers reporting them, after already breaking down. This is not the best method for fleet management and can hurt customer retention as well as your bottom line.

The Right Solution That Fits Your Needs

Imagine knowing what vehicles were stuck and traffic? Or getting an email whenever one of your vehicles had an engine fault? Most importantly of all, what if you received an email the moment one of your vehicles were involved in an accident?

With our software, you can easily set up rules for any situation, no matter what your fleet specializes in (eg. transportation, delivery, personal, etc.). The preconfigured default rules include everything from idling to speeding; there are rules that are based on posted road speeds and geo-zones and so much more.

Still want more? You have the option to customize any of these conditions or create a rule from scratch using the simple and intuitive rule creator.

First, you will need to give the rule a name, and select the group of vehicles you want to apply the rule to. Then, pick the conditions you need to be met before an exception is created from a list of hundreds of possible conditions. Everything from engine lights to work hours to speed can be used as a condition.

Once you’re pleased with the conditions, the final step is to select the notification. You can either choose to receive an email or have our GO device beep at the driver when conditions are met. No more driving without a seatbelt, no more speeding over posted road speeds, no more unscheduled breaks and so much more.

Eliminate the Problem in Advance

Fleet managers can now focus on eliminating the occurrence of exception events and working with their drivers to reduce risky driving habits and increase safety. What could be better than solving a problem? Solving the problem before it even happens. Instead of finding out how many customers received their deliveries late, you can get a notification and work with the driver to make sure deliveries are made on time. Instead of dealing with downtime, you can know which vehicles are having issues and service them when it is convenient before a breakdown occurs.

Because our software is a data-driven platform, all exceptions can be received in a PDF or Excel format. You can use this data to create your own custom driver scorecards, customer and vehicle statistics and so much more. To do this, simply go to the appropriate section of the software, select the date/time of the default or custom report and click “apply changes”. It’s really that easy.

To find out more ways we can help your business move towards outstanding fleet management, contact one of our trained fleet consultants. Before signing up for anything, they will walk you through how our software works and how it will help optimize your business and ultimately save you money!

1-888-998-1122 | [email protected]

Original Article By: Siam Ahmed, Technical Support Engineer at Geotab
https://www.geotab.com/blog/key-exceptional-fleet-management/