Category: Vehicle Tracking

Keeping carbon emissions low should be a major priority for any fleet manager today. Firms that don’t manage this will spend more money and contribute to climate change. That’s not good for either your balance sheet or your business’ reputation.

As such, it’s vital you have a plan for tackling your fleet’s emissions. This is especially important for larger businesses with many vehicles, but smaller firms can also benefit. And one way in which any company can reduce its carbon footprint is by having a quality telematics solution.

The importance of cutting emissions

The UK’s transport industry is still a major source of greenhouse gases. According to government figures, the sector was responsible for 34 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions in 2019. It also noted the “large majority” of this comes from road transport.

Therefore, the government has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 68 per cent by the end of the decade and be net carbon zero by 2050. However, this won’t be possible without greatly reducing vehicle emissions.

For businesses, cutting carbon emissions is a vital part of any corporate social responsibility (CSR) plan. Customers expect firms to take a proactive attitude to this area and increasingly factor environmental performance into their buying decisions. For instance, research by the Carbon Trust suggests two-thirds of people (66 per cent) feel more positive about companies that can demonstrate they are making efforts to reduce emissions.

Aside from this, lower emissions go hand in hand with reduced petrol and diesel costs. Cutting down on carbon dioxide naturally means using fuel more efficiently, which is also good for your bottom line.

There are a number of methods firms can use to help reduce their fleet’s emissions, such as adopting more fuel-efficient vehicles, or even switching to hybrid or full-electric power. But these solutions often require major investments. However, there is a way any business can cut its emissions without large-scale changes to its fleet, and that’s by adopting telematics.

How telematics works

Telematics tools are increasingly popular among business fleet managers for a number of reasons, and making operations greener and more efficient is a key consideration.

They work by monitoring the performance and status of your vehicles in real-time, using a variety of different technologies. For instance, GPS tracking provides an accurate picture of where your cars and vans are at all times, as well as useful information such as its speed.

Meanwhile, sensors in the vehicle that connect to the central computer can record a range of detailed data. This can include diagnostics to alert you to any potential maintenance issues, but it can also monitor control inputs to build a picture of how your employees are driving.

These are all sent back to the business wirelessly and in real-time. This means fleet managers always have complete insight into where their vehicles are and how they’re being used.

You may even be able to compile accurate reports on miles per gallon and exhaust emissions, which can let you see the impact any steps will have.

Three ways telematics reduces your fleet’s emissions

With this information in hand, you can take a number of steps to reduce your fleet’s emissions. Here are three benefits you should be able to quickly see as a result of car telematics.

1.  Better route planning

It goes without saying that the fewer miles you drive, the less emissions you’ll release into the atmosphere. In this regard, a good telematics system can be highly valuable. When coupled with a smart routing system, this can spot any inefficiencies and suggest improvements.

For example, vehicles that have to stop and start a lot will create large amounts of emissions. Therefore, tailoring routes to minimise this can have a significant impact. Similarly, reducing the amount of backtracking vehicles have to do between stops not only makes operations more efficient, but also reduces carbon output.

2.  Reduced idling

Another effect of this data will be to reduce the amount of time vehicles spend idling. This is one of the biggest contributors to carbon emissions and air pollution. Indeed, it’s actually already an offence to leave a vehicle idling unnecessarily, with drivers liable for a £20 fixed penalty notice if they keep their engines running while parked on public roads.

Telematics can help with this by helping drivers avoid traffic jams, roadworks and other occasions where drivers may be sitting stationary for long periods. However, it can also help alert you to drivers who are displaying poor practices.

For example, if an employee turns on the engine and leaves their car to warm up for ten minutes on a cold morning, you can see this and step in. The same is true if drivers are leaving engines running while they make deliveries or any short stops.

This can make a real difference. For instance, one Tele-gence customer, JJ Food Service, reported it had been able to reduce idling time by 70 per cent since adopting the technology, with this helping cut its carbon emissions by two per cent.

3.  Better driver behaviour

Changing driver behaviour isn’t limited to reducing idling, however. Vehicle telematics systems can also measure inputs such as throttle and brakes, how much a driver revs the engine and their steering actions. Hard accelerating and braking uses more fuel, which in turn means more emissions.

By keeping a close eye on this, you can spot who the worst offenders are for these poor driving techniques, then arrange education and training. With easy-to-use reporting tools, you can even create league tables that rate your employees’ performance.

At the same time, this data can be used to crack down on problems like speeding. As well as being a safety issue, higher speeds mean greater emissions, so there are several benefits to tackling this. With systems that can give real-time alerts if a driver is breaking speed limits, you can act quickly and stop bad habits forming.

None of this is possible without detailed telematics tools and effective reporting software. But with these solutions, you can track emissions in real-time and gain insight into exactly what impact your efforts are having. This can also prove useful when compiling CSR reports or otherwise demonstrating your commitment to going green.

If you want to know more about how telematics tools like Tele-gence can help reduce your carbon footprint and save you money, get in touch today!

Telematics vehicle tracking allows fleet management professionals to make the best use of vehicles and equipment in their fleet to improve safety, reduce business costs, improve efficiency and increase productivity. Now essential for many industries, from corporate fleets to transport and logistics, telematics technology has become a vital part of creating a safer, efficient fleet.

I have less than 5 vehicles in my fleet, do I really need to track my fleet?

Regardless of the size of your fleet, the benefits of using telematics are far too many and carry a lot of benefits for your company. With up-to-the-minute and accurate data on how your assets are being used and where they are at all times helps you to get the most out of your fleet and achieve greater fuel efficiency, no matter how many vehicles you have.

How else can I use telematics in my business?

Telematics systems can be used for a variety of purposes, including equipment monitoring. Tracking when your assets are idle can also help you maximise usage, reduce equipment hoarding and drive down the costs of unnecessary assets that could otherwise be rented.

For construction, mining, oil, gas and other off-road equipment applications, understanding asset utilisation is important in measuring production and improving your business’ overall efficiency. Tracking your equipment can also give you real-time alerts if a machine is used out of work hours, helping to prevent unauthorised use, or even theft.

How will telematics affect customer satisfaction and fulfilling customer requests?

Fleet management software and telematics systems can organise daily workflow to help managers effectively respond to customer requests. It also allows you to view your drivers and vehicles in real-time to pinpoint locations and help dispatch the most ideal routes. When a customer calls for a last-minute job update, the dispatcher can accurately answer inquiries based on location within seconds, whether it’s to find out its current location, to find out an ETA or a last-minute, ad-hoc job and finding the best driver.

This software provides the tools you need to arrive on schedule, no matter the specialisation. It allows for more efficient journey route planning and ensuring maximum productivity. With a comprehensive solution providing complete visibility across your entire fleet, companies can be prepared and stay organised to meet demands while keeping costs low and exceeding your customers’ expectations.

Can it help pinpoint inefficiencies that create customer dissatisfaction?

By ensuring proactive management and addressing potential issues as they arise, you can ensure total satisfaction and a streamlined service for your customers. GPS tracking improves efficiency and productivity by allowing you to make real-time decisions about transporting customer goods.

Delivery routes can be monitored and analysed through telematics tracking to identify the ideal way of delivering your products and services. These routes can be changed as needed to suit both the driver and job. This can streamline processes and pinpoint inefficiencies that can then be quickly addressed.

Can telematics tracking improve the safety of my drivers?

Fleet management solutions can provide essential performance data that identifies both strengths and weaknesses of your driver’s behaviour. Using GPS tracking to highlight behavioural risks means you can develop tailored training designed to address the most pressing issues. This performance data can be used to encourage and train your drivers to reinforce safety standards.

Performance data can also track important and needed changes in driver behaviours by measuring them against set safety standards. Telematics tracking makes it easy to identify whether drivers are maintaining a safe speed, braking or cornering harshly, or not following safe driving policies, allowing tailored and targeted training to address any potential gaps in their knowledge and behaviours. Improving individual driver safety can impact the entire fleet, leading to fewer incidents and an overall safer workforce.

Does telematics tracking make compliance easier?

Telematics enables businesses to align their processes with new policies and simplifies the procedures needed to adhere to complex compliance regulations through real-time data and alerts.

Streamlining your operations with telematics allows for better decision-making and scheduling, reducing the risk of compliance violations. It also translates driver wellbeing into easily understood and tracked data, outlining how they can improve their behaviour, manage fatigue and mitigate risk to become more safety compliant.

This in turn generates cost-saving benefits for the business due to lowered insurance premiums and fewer fines for safety violations.

Tele-Gence smart telematics

We all know what a simple tracking system does, but when you investigate the market you will find that not all telematics systems are born equal. Tele-Gence offers improved driver safety, vehicle security and reduces fleet costs. A remarkably flexible, fully customisable system totally tailored to your fleets requirements. Contact our team today to find out more.

Telematics services are now a must have for any fleet. No matter how many vehicles you’re responsible for, these tools ensure your fleet operation is as cost-effective and efficient as possible.

The benefits of deploying telematics software are wide-ranging. Among their primary advantages is that they can greatly reduce expenses such as fuel costs. But they can also improve efficiency, boost driver safety, and much more.

Telematics are therefore a vital asset for any effective fleet manager. Here are ten ways they can help make your life easier and your business more cost-effective.

1. Save money on fuel

Reduced fuel costs are a key benefit of a good telematics solution. These tools can achieve savings in a number of ways. For instance, they can guide drivers to cheaper fuel stations, alert you to fuel fraud or advise employees on how to improve their driving style to be more efficient.

By highlighting harsh acceleration and braking, for instance, they can cut down on fuel consumption. Elsewhere, they can also spot if a driver is idling their engine unnecessarily, which can also help improve overall fuel management.

2. Improved route planning

Telematics can also analyse the routes your vehicles take and suggest more efficient alternatives. This may help reduce the time taken to reach destinations or avoid known areas of congestion that will slow your drivers down and increase fuel consumption.

Being able to rely on real-time data lets drivers make adjustments to their route on the move to avoid incidents or high traffic volumes. This also means less time on the road and more time helping customers.

3. Better driver behaviour

Sensors that monitor vehicle inputs – including acceleration, braking and steering – can all give an insight into your employees’ driving standards. GPS tracking also helps spot any incidences of speeding that are putting the driver or other road users in danger.

This information can then be used to create a table of your best and worst-performing drivers. Training or even disciplinary action can then be implemented to improve behaviour.

What’s more, even the presence of telematics can boost driving standards, even if no direct action is taken. This is because individuals tend to be more cautious when they’re aware their actions are being monitored.

4. Real-time information

Real-time data on vehicle location can also be fed directly back to fleet managers, colleagues and even customers. This means you know where your assets and employees are at all times, helping you better plan your fleet activities.

You can also receive alerts if a vehicle goes outside a designated area or is used outside of working hours, for instance, to ensure your fleet is being used appropriately. Alerts can also be sent automatically if a vehicle is involved in a collision or other incident.

5. Predictive vehicle maintenance

Telematics sensors can also keep an eye on your vehicle’s systems in order to spot any potential issues before they arise. This can allow you to schedule in maintenance to correct any problems and avoid issues such as breakdowns.

You can also set up alerts for routine procedures such as servicing to help you plan ahead. This not only prevents costly repairs, but improves productivity as vehicles will not be taken out of action unexpectedly.

6. Improved customer satisfaction

Real-time tracking and route planning found in any high standard fleet telematics system can be a great tool for boosting your customer experience. For instance, you can give much more accurate estimated arrival times for appointments, send reminders when an employee is close, or even let users track a driver in real-time.

If a job or delivery is delayed for reasons outside your control, you can also give quick updates and revised estimates. This can reduce the number of complaints you receive and ensure you don’t lose a customer’s business.

7. Reduced paperwork

The use of telematics can also improve employee satisfaction. Because their movements are tracked automatically, they will not need to spend time filling out tedious manual paperwork for areas such as mileage reporting or driving hours.

This also makes life easier for fleet managers. They have easy access to clear, simple reporting and analytics tools, giving them instant insight into their drivers’ activities. As a result, they have to spend less time hunting down information and can devote more efforts to more useful activities.

8. More accurate expenses

Another benefit of improved reporting is it makes activities like calculating expenses claims quicker, easier, and more accurate. Managers won’t have to worry about drivers padding claims for fuel costs or working hours. With the right telematics system, they can also gain access to accurate reporting on issues such as MPG and CO2 emissions to ensure they are meeting their responsibilities in this area.

9. Improved fleet security

Tracking software can instantly alert managers if a vehicle is being used when or where it shouldn’t be, which can protect your fleet in the event of theft, as well as any unauthorised usage by employees. The systems can be made tamper proof with tools such as battery backups even if they are disconnected.

Fleet telematics also help crack down on fuel fraud. By looking at location data for fuel card usage and combining this with GPS information from the vehicle, you can ensure any use is legitimate. According to Shell, nearly two-thirds of fleets in the UK see this as a major concern, so this may be an important factor for many firms.

10. Reduced liability

Telematics can also be used in combination with technology such as cameras to give a complete picture of any incident. This can be especially helpful in determining liability in the event of any accident. For instance, as well as clear, high-definition video of what happened, it can show the exact speed of the vehicle, when brakes were applied and more.

This can greatly lower any insurance claims and costs. In one case, telematics were found to have reduced accident rates almost nine-fold, and cut expenses by 84 per cent. Insurance providers also offer lower premiums for fleets with telematics on board.

If you’d like to know more about telematics and what they can do for your business, get in touch with our team of experts today.

Telematics is nothing new, most of us know what it does. But, when you really look into the telematics market, you’ll see that they’re not all the same.

What is telematics?

In basic terms, a telematics system is a vehicle tracking device that is stored in a vehicle that allows the sending, receiving and storing of telemetry data. This data can include location, speed, harsh acceleration or braking, fuel consumption, vehicle faults and more.

For fleet managers, telematics technology can help fleets achieve great operational improvements in key areas such as:

• Decreased fuel costs: Telematics can help fleet managers identify areas of waste, like vehicle idling or fuel slippage. This means those issues can be addressed promptly and this positively impacts fuel efficiency.
• Improved safety: Continuous feedback on driving style and behaviour will let fleet managers coach drivers and reduce unwanted driving habits, like speeding or harsh braking.
• Elevated productivity: With near real-time GPS system data, drivers can help avoid delays in traffic and plan for inclement weather. Back office managers can then quickly attribute any additional site visits to the closest vehicle and instruct them on the best route to get them there.
• Better payroll management: By tracking the precise time a vehicle starts to the moment it shuts down at the end of the day, fleet managers have an accurate, automated record of how long an employee worked. This can help business owners verify that employees are paid accurately for the hours the worked while eliminated time spend manually matching up timesheets to job tickets.

Powerful, intelligent tracking with tele-gence

Tele-gence telematics is an affordable, intelligent, user-friendly tracking system that can help reduce costs and add value to your fleet. Tele-gence telematics is suitable for all vehicle types and any size of fleet.

24/7 vehicle tracking

With satellite and hybrid mapping, using international roaming SIMs and the best networks, you can track your fleets position 24 hours a day, in real time. Tele-gence also comes with impact detection, alerting you to any vehicle or assets incidents and their location, ensuring the maximum coverage.

Fuel cost management

Thanks to direct integration with fuel card data, Tele-gence helps to monitor costs and reduce spend, as well as offering protection against any fraudulent transactions. Tele-gence can be easily integrated with your fuel cards, providing accurate and improved MPG by up to 20% by improving driving patterns and behaviour, reducing fuel consumption and vehicle wear and tear.

Driving behaviour

Tele-gence allows you to tailor driver behaviour scores that help you determine your best and worst drivers. The system gives you a score for each driver against every journey taken. This then enables you to spot dangerous drivers quickly, helping to improve safety, fuel consumption, maintenance costs and helps you to comply with legislation.

The driver reports offer a clear and detailed view of drivers harsh braking, accelerating and cornering, so you can identify the drivers in your fleet that need to modify their behaviour.

Custom alerts

Tele-gence is fully customizable, providing you with a telematics solution tailored to your requirements, giving your greater knowledge and control over your fleet. You can set custom alerts to:

• Provide vehicle speed vs speed limit violations
• Identify moving outset set hours of work
• Let you know when a vehicle enters or exits any of your zones
• Remind you when a vehicle needs servicing, MOT is due for any repairs

You set the parameters and how you want to receive the information with a completely customisable reporting platform to give you valuable insight into your fleet.

Connected cameras

As well as tracking your fleets vehicles, cameras greatly enhance your visibility and the protection of your drivers. In an event of an incident, you can receive a customisable alert without ever having to physically access the SD card using our cameras.

The camera integrates directly into the software, making the footage visible and downloadable from the platform in high definition at the point the incident occurs. A blind spot and a 360 camera option is also available.

Personal tracking

Tele-gence can also provide personal trackers for staff on foot or bike. The trackers are easily concealed in clothing, bags or pockets making them very discreet. You can also choose how frequently you want the device to report its location.

Tele-gence personal trackers can also come with panic buttons which send alerts directly into the platform. In the software, you can choose to be informed by email or SMS (fees apply), giving peace of mind for lone workers and their managers.

Monitor your assets

As well as effective vehicle and personal tracking, our platform allows you to also track parked assets, plant equipment and expensive machinery. You can easily see where your assets are, allowing quick locations, assisting with stock taking, recovery of stolen assets and improving management efficiency. They’re easy to install and internal or weatherproof external solutions are available, making them ideal for securing valuable assets or backup devices.

Today, telematics are an essential part of any company’s fleet. If you want to find out more about how Tele-gence can transform your fleet management, reduce your fuel spend and improve driver behaviour, get in touch with one of our experts today.

Telematics are now a key part of any firm’s vehicle fleet. If you want to decrease fuel spend, improve driver behaviour or boost efficiency, this technology is vital.

But to achieve this, you need the right solution. You need an all-in-one tool that can run every aspect of your fleet management easily and from a single location. You need Tele-Gence telematics.

Tele-Gence is our intelligent, all-in-one fleet management solution. It lets you take complete control of every part of your business, delivering great benefits such as:

• Decreased fuel spend
• Better insight into routing
• Improved driver behaviour
• Advanced safety and security features
• Increased visibility into your operations
• Automated reporting

Let’s look at how some of these features work in a little more detail.

Cut your fuel costs

One of the main benefits of Tele-Gence is cutting your fuel bills. It does this in a number of ways, including highlighting any inefficiencies and offering recommendations for more potential savings.

Tele-Gence’s range of reporting tools let you keep an eye on MPG rates and CO2 emissions to see how your fleet is performing. It can also show you when and where drivers are spending time idling in traffic, allowing you to reduce wasted fuel by routing vehicles to avoid these locations.

What’s more, it also helps you cut down on fraud. Thanks to direct integration with fuel card data, you can get instant fuel fraud alerts if any unauthorised transactions have taken place.

Improve driver behaviour

Tele-Gence’s real-time tracking tools also enable you to monitor your employees’ behaviour and encourage safer driving. For example, its sensors can monitor excessive speeding and create driver behaviour league tables on your dashboard.

This quickly gives you an insight into who is driving safely and who is taking risks that put themselves and other road users in danger. You can then step in to provide education or even take drivers off the road if necessary.

Increase vehicle efficiency

By cutting down on issues like excessive speeding, you can also minimise vehicle wear and tear. Encouraging smoother, safer driving means less stress on the engine and other key parts, which means less vehicle maintenance and lower repair bills.

You can also reduce the risk of breakdowns by detecting issues earlier. Proactively scheduling maintenance with the info gained from this data reduces the amount of time your vehicles are off the road. This improves vehicle productivity and keeps your business moving.

Boost security

Tele-Gence also offers a range of options to help keep your vehicles and drivers safe and secure. Real-time tracking updates every ten seconds to ensure you always know where your fleet is, while device tampering alerts quickly flag up issues like theft.

This can also help you crack down on any unauthorised usage. For example, you can get instant alerts if a vehicle is being used outside normal working hours, costing you fuel and increasing wear and tear.

Integration with dashcams can also help prevent accident liability by offering proof of what has happened in any incident. Meanwhile, crash detection alerts can immediately inform a chosen contact if an accident does occur.

Reduce your admin

Finally, Tele-Gence offers a wide range of reports, dashboards and automation tools to help you take control of the paperwork. Scheduled reports such as timesheets, mileage calculations and expenses can be created and sent directly to your inbox.

This saves you huge amounts of time that would otherwise be spent on tedious, repetitive admin tasks. You can also be instantly alerted to any anomalies in your fleet that need further investigation.

All this is available in a single, highly customisable location. This allows you to run a much more efficient fleet while also making better business decisions. The end result is lower costs, fewer miles driven and a safer workforce.

To find out more about how Tele-Gence can transform your fleet management, get in touch with one of our experts today.