What Are the Benefits of Vehicle Tracking?

Vehicle tracking benefits by Sam Butler, Business Development Manager at Fleetloc8, the Fleetmaxx Tracking Solution.

Most businesses know that vehicle tracking can show them where their vehicles are. What is easier to overlook is how much that information can reveal about the way a fleet is operating.

From unnecessary mileage and long periods of idling to delayed jobs and time-consuming paperwork, tracking data can highlight small issues that quietly add to costs and disrupt the working day.

Used well, it gives businesses a clearer picture of what is happening across the fleet and where practical improvements can be made.

Here are eight ways vehicle tracking can make a difference.

1. See where your vehicles are

The most immediate benefit of vehicle tracking is visibility.

A GPS tracking system allows authorised users to view the location of connected vehicles through an online portal or mobile app. Instead of calling drivers for an update, managers can check the map and see the information for themselves.

This can help a business answer practical questions such as:

• Which vehicle is closest to a new job?
• Has a driver reached the customer?
• Is a vehicle moving, parked or idling?
• Has a delivery left the depot?
• Are vehicles where they are expected to be?

For a business with several vehicles operating across different locations, having this information in one place can make the working day much easier to manage.

2. Plan routes and allocate work more efficiently

Vehicle tracking can help dispatchers and managers make decisions based on the actual position of each vehicle.

For example, when an urgent job comes in, the nearest suitable driver can be identified without contacting every member of the team. This may reduce unnecessary mileage, improve response times and help the business fit more work into the day.

Historic journey information can also reveal inefficient routes, repeated delays or unnecessary diversions. Managers can then use that evidence to review schedules and plan future work more effectively.

Tracking does not replace good route planning, but it provides the reliable information needed to improve it.

3. Reduce unnecessary fuel use

Fuel consumption is influenced by more than the distance a vehicle travels. Idling, speeding, harsh acceleration and inefficient routing can all increase how much fuel a business uses.

A good vehicle tracking system can highlight these patterns through driver behaviour information, journey histories and exception reports.

Managers may be able to identify:

• Excessive engine idling
• Unnecessary or duplicated journeys
• Regular speeding events
• Harsh acceleration and braking
• Out-of-hours vehicle use
• Inefficient working routes

The purpose should not be to scrutinise every movement a driver makes. The data is most useful when it helps businesses spot recurring patterns, offer constructive feedback and make practical improvements.

Fleetloc8 telematics gives each driver a score out of 100, providing a simple way to track performance over time and identify areas where further support or training may be useful.

Even relatively small changes can become significant when repeated across several vehicles and thousands of annual miles.

4. Support safer driving

Vehicle tracking can provide evidence of driving events such as speeding, harsh braking and rapid acceleration.

This gives managers a clearer picture of how vehicles are being driven and can help them identify where additional support or training may be appropriate. It can also allow positive performance to be recognised rather than focusing only on problems.

Improving driving standards may help a business:

• Reduce avoidable road risk
• Lower wear on vehicles
• Improve fuel efficiency
• Protect its reputation
• Encourage more consistent driving across the team

Tracking data should always be considered in context. A single harsh-braking event, for example, may have been necessary to avoid a hazard. Patterns over time are generally more useful than isolated incidents.

5. Give customers more accurate updates

Customers increasingly expect businesses to provide clear and timely arrival information.

With access to live vehicle locations and estimated arrival times, office teams can give more informed updates without repeatedly calling the driver.

This is particularly useful for businesses that make deliveries, attend appointments or provide services at customer locations. If a vehicle is delayed, the customer can be informed earlier. If a driver is nearby, the office can provide a more realistic expected arrival time.

Better information cannot prevent every delay, but it can make those delays easier to communicate and manage.

Journey records can also help resolve questions about whether a vehicle attended a location and approximately how long it remained there.

6. Improve vehicle security

A tracking device cannot physically prevent someone from stealing a vehicle. However, it may support security by helping an authorised user identify unexpected movement or locate a tracked vehicle.

Geofences can be created around places such as depots, compounds, customer sites or approved working areas. Alerts can then be configured to notify the business when a vehicle enters or leaves one of these locations.

Out-of-hours movement alerts may also help a business respond more quickly when a vehicle is used unexpectedly.

If a tracked vehicle is stolen, its location information may assist the police with recovery. Businesses should not attempt to recover a stolen vehicle themselves and should always report the incident to the police.

Vehicle tracking should therefore be viewed as one part of a wider security approach that may also include alarms, immobilisers, secure parking and appropriate key management.

7. Reduce paperwork and improve reporting

Manually recording working hours, business mileage, site visits and vehicle movements can take up a considerable amount of time.

Vehicle tracking creates a digital record of journeys, stops and locations. Depending on the system, reports may be available for:

• Trip and stop history
• Business mileage
• Timesheets
• Out-of-hours journeys
• Speeding events
• Geofencing activity
• Driver behaviour
• Engine idling
• Vehicle usage

These reports can reduce reliance on handwritten records and make it easier to investigate queries using consistent information.

They may also support conversations with customers, insurers or other relevant parties when evidence of vehicle activity is required. The information should still be reviewed carefully and used in line with the business’s policies and data-protection responsibilities.

8. Support vehicle maintenance planning

Vehicle tracking can help businesses manage maintenance according to how vehicles are actually being used.

Service reminders can be set using information such as mileage or time intervals. This reduces the risk of important maintenance dates being overlooked when vehicles are working across different sites or managed by several people.

Journey and driver-behaviour data can also identify patterns that may contribute to additional wear. Repeated harsh braking, excessive idling and inefficient use can affect operating costs as well as fuel consumption.

Tracking does not replace inspections, servicing or driver defect checks. It provides another source of information that can help managers plan maintenance and keep more accurate records.

 

 

Sam Butler, Business Development Manager at Fleetloc8