Help limit unauthorized usage, improve driver behaviour, reduce downtime while saving money on fuel and maintenance.
As the Canadian government’s June 21 deadline to implement electronic logging devices (ELDs) approaches, most companies are by now well aware of the chief benefits afforded by tracking vehicles. ELDs, for example, make roads safer by accurately recording driving hours, and they help standardize and make more efficient the process of tracking driver and vehicle data.
But there are plenty of secondary benefits available to companies with business vehicles. A recent webinar hosted by Rogers saw Robin Mascarenhas, Rogers Director of IoT Solutions, and Nick Davies, Global Director of Technical Sales at FleetComplete, discussing many of the benefits of a proper ELD solution. Here are additional benefits of fleet solutions that go beyond ELD compliance.
1. Eliminate non-business use of vehicles
It’s only right and fair to allow employees to drive certain company vehicles home at the end of a long day. It’s a valuable perk for the worker, and it can save the company parking and storage costs. But what happens when a worker decides to start using the company vehicle to, say, do grocery shopping, support a side-business or go on a vacation?
“Fleet managers may not want drivers using company vehicles to run errands and take their kids to soccer practice,” said Davies, because this extra usage adds wear and tear to the vehicle and can potentially increase fuel expenses. “Plus, there’s things like added maintenance costs and insurance risk for the fleet owner.”
Fleet tracking naturally discourages this sort of behaviour. Employees will be less tempted to spend company time, assets and fuel on their own projects and will remain focused on the jobs and tasks for which the vehicle was intended.
2. Improve driver behaviour to reduce operational and maintenance costs
While a simple reduction in time spent idling will impact fuel consumption, monitoring driver behaviour and engine data can also have a significant impact on maintenance and loss of vehicle productivity. As an example, a high number of hard-braking incidents signals a need for more than just coaching: it may also mean you should check the brake pads sooner.
While a brake failure in the field can be catastrophic, the ability to proactively resolve even minor concerns can add up to significant savings. According to Davies, “If you cut down engine idling by about 30 minutes per day, then you’ve basically paid for the Rogers FleetComplete solution.”
3. Improve claim resolution and protect your drivers
Your drivers may feel ELDs act like “Big Brother,” monitoring their every action. While it’s true that today’s fleet solutions capture much more driving and vehicle data than traditional paper logs – and even more than the early GPS trackers, it can also be used to protect your drivers and insurance rates.
If, for example, another road user calls in to complain about one of your drivers, or, worse, should your driver be involved in an accident, tracking data can be referenced for evidence that might prove drivers were following the rules of the road, driving at safe speeds and that the incident was not their fault.
“You can check the data, then prove that your driver was operating the vehicle safely,” said Davies. And indeed, adopting fleets solutions often improve insurance rates.