THE DEFINITIVE TRUCKING SITE

June 2009

In today’s climate, fleet managers are searching for any kind of relief in their operating expenses and this could be something as simple as looking at driver behaviour. 

Over-revving, harsh breaking, high speeds and unnecessary idling drive up fuel and maintenance costs significantly,” says Matthew Crawford, Tracker’s fleet product specialist. “Tracker Execufleet helps you monitor driver behaviour from your phone or desk, managing particular exceptions. If drivers breach these exceptions, a select group of people can be instantly notified.” 

Tracker Execufleet is a satellite based vehicle tracking product which provides fleet managers with 24-hour vehicle visibility, driver behaviour management, extensive reporting and route adherence planning, all of which can lead to a measurable return on investment. 

“We all have bad driving habits – even the best driver in your fleet. The difference is that his bad habits could be costing the operator thousands of Rand on a daily basis,” says Crawford. “Execufleet will help identify exactly which activities are costing money but more importantly, it will help you manage these with the creation of detailed reports which will assist with driver training.” 

Driver monitoring increases productivity and helps reduce accidents, promoting enhanced driver accountability. Fuel costs can be better controlled with tighter and more frequent exception reporting coupled with driver education awareness programmes designed to encourage fuel-efficient practices, such as driving less aggressively, minimising idling and unnecessary kilometres travelled. 

Highly congested routes are another key factor in fuel costs. “Traffic congestion drives up costs - not only transportation costs but also labour costs - because it lengthens the duration of the trip.” Execufleet’s route management feature helps plot the best possible routes for a fleet. 

“This feature is also important for driver safety, which ranks as another top concern for most fleet managers.” 

Ultimately, tighter fleet management translates into improved customer service. “With Execufleet, you have better control of your vehicles when they’re on the road. Better control means better communication with clients, especially through the use of reports which can be customised for clientspecific requirements,” says Crawford. “You can comfortably provide clients with information such as expected delivery times, call times on sites, arrival times, etc.” 

Technology continues to have a major impact on truck fleet management with onboard and remote technology increasingly being used for better management. Instead of spending time on day-to-day issues, fleet management technology gives a strategic overview of a fleet helping the operator to better achieve specific long-term objectives.