All fleet managers have had to deal with these calls. The driver is late. Nobody knows why. Is the car on a state roadside? Has the motorist left the road? Something wrong? That stomach-drop experience – that is what real-time fleet visibility is meant to do away with.
Fleet Management Software has slipped under the carpet to be the backbone of responsible fleet operations. It’s more than just knowing where your trucks are. It’s about imparting information to teams that will enable them to act: swiftly, wisely and before the little things turn into big things on the highway.
Looking over the Road Before Your Driver
The old saying in the logistics business is “You can’t manage what you can’t see. Fleets learned that this was not the case.
Live GPS tracking provides the dispatchers and safety officers with a live view of what is occurring on all vehicles. Speed. Location. Idle time. Route deviation. All of this, that’s what I’m looking at, correcting along the line. You are aware that one of the drivers has gone out of route at 11 PM in a new location. You can check in. You can help.
That’s not micromanagement. That means that you’ll have your driver.
Location data (in real time) is also useful in identifying trends. An individual who is an ‘always’ driver in a particular stretch of highway? It’s a discussion, not a reference – or a crash.
This is Hard Braking, Rude Acceleration and the Data That Doesn’t Lie.
Drivers are human. They become frustrated at the traffic. They are at the end of a long day at work. There are those habits that are behind the wheel and they are not even aware of them.
Rough braking and acceleration, sharp cornering are among the driver behaviour data monitored using the new Fleet Management Software. All of those events are logged. This is where things get interesting: after most drivers get their data, they’re shocked. Many hard brakes, eh? Really?”
The information makes no logical appeal. It only gives an indication of what occurred
A coaching founded on the type of objective information is likely to fall on different shores as compared to a manager stating that he has heard that you drive aggressively. Numbers took the wind out of his sails. They embark on a real dialogue. If drivers see their own behaviour scores go up, they can gain genuine pride in their job in a way you want them to have in a safe fleet.
Fatigue Is Invisible Until It Isn’t
The number of accidents occurring annually all around the world due to driver fatigue is staggering. The fact is that fatigue is nearly not visible externally. A driver can appear totally fine in the rest stop and be wanting to fall asleep 30 minutes later.
At this stage, Hours of Service (HOS) compliance tracking can truly save lives.
The real-time visibility systems are combined with an electronic logging system to know the duration drivers have been on the road. The system is able to alert the driver when he or she is about to reach his or her HOS limits, without the driver having to make it a point to check. Dispatchers get alerts. Drivers get reminders. The whole line or chain of command is not ‘passive,’ but ‘active.
It’s also significant in how this protects drivers from pressure. Finally, when the system automatically enforces the rest rule, drivers won’t be in a difficult situation where they have to refuse a dispatcher’s order to make one additional stop. The code is law. It’s a more healthy and balanced connection between the two.
When it comes to adherence, it’s never paperwork, it’s insuring.
HOS tracking is not all of compliance. There are inspection requirements of fleet vehicles. There is a license and certification expiry date of drivers. There are registration deadlines for vehicles. When dealing with a huge fleet, it is like balancing water trying to keep a record on all these manually.
All these are consolidated in real-time fleet platforms. Automated alerts are sent when a car is in need of the next inspection. The renewal of licenses is indicated weeks before. Maintenance is executed based on the factual mileage and engine hours and not by guess.
This is very critical for safety in terms of being very direct. If the car doesn’t check itself out, it doesn’t. It can’t work on the road, at speed and it’s usually pretty disastrous. Not administrative tidiness to be in front of maintenance, but saving the lives of drivers.
When It Goes Bad, Every Second Counts
Live visibility isn’t just there to prevent incidents. When it comes its response is bent down.
In cases of a car crash, a health emergency, a vehicle malfunction in a place with bad cell reception, etc. –these are when speed and accuracy are required. Live tracking could provide the fleet manager with the instant visibility of where the incident is happening, what vehicles are in that area and which would get to you and your people the fastest.
They also feature panic buttons, and two-way communications within the cab. A distracted driver can get the attention of assistance without using a cell phone. That signal will not work instantly and accurate GPS positioning.
