The more time you spend in the fleet industry, the more you’ll hear about telematics. This technology is central to fleet tracking and fleet management as a whole. Telematics tracks everything you can think of: speed, fuel efficiency, location, maintenance requirements, HoS, and much more. It provides the data you need to make the best decisions for your business. So how specifically do telematics and fleet management work together? There are five ways managers can take advantage.
No. 1: Safety
Safety is a top priority for every fleet out there. But how can telematics help? Telematics tracks driver behavior. You can get alerts when drivers are speeding, hard braking, rapidly accelerating, and more. Your fleet management software can also show patterns in this behavior over time with reports. Knowing where there are problems in your fleet helps you take the proper corrective action to eliminate them.
Just like you can track driver problems, you can also see who your best drivers are. Rewarding good drivers is one of the most effective methods of instilling a safety culture in your fleet. For example, Azuga’s rewards program uses telematics to generate safety scores to rank drivers. The whole process is automatic; the system even distributes the rewards!
No. 2: Maintenance
Vehicle maintenance is also crucial for fleet safety. But on top of that, there are lots more benefits to keeping your fleet vehicles in their best shape. When you implement preventative maintenance, your fleet saves money and downtime. Repairs left unattended can quickly lead to breakdowns. Once it gets to that point, your repairs will be quite costly. However, telematics tracks your vehicle’s health and tells you when the vehicle needs maintenance. You can also set up alerts for routine maintenance through your fleet management software.
No. 3: Fuel Efficiency
Your fleet may be spending a lot more on fuel than you think. We mentioned how telematics monitors driver behavior. This includes driving practices known to be fuel wasters, like speeding, inefficient routing, idling, and unauthorized vehicle use. Staying on top of your vehicles’ maintenance also improves fuel efficiency.
No. 4: Insurance
Insurance prices keep going up with no end in sight. However, insurance companies offer discounts for safe fleets with data. Having fleet tracking alone is sometimes enough to warrant a discount. If not, you can add technology solutions that link to telematics, such as dashcams and asset trackers. These are excellent technologies that not only save you money but boost your fleet’s safety as well.
No. 5: Compliance
The cost of being caught out of compliance with federal regulations can be detrimental to your fleet. Telematics is the technology behind e-logs and the other tools you can use to maintain compliance.You must meet compliance standards and avoid blows to your wallet and reputation for your business to grow and succeed.
Azuga’s Fleet Management System Uses Telematics to Its Fullest Potential
We’ve just scratched the surface of the many benefits of telematics. Azuga’s fleet management system, backed by telematics, harnesses every advantage possible from the technology. No matter your fleet goals, Azuga can help you obtain the data you need and streamline your processes to make them a reality. Discuss your goals with one of our fleet experts to see how this is possible!
