Vehicle Tracking Systems: Using data to manage your business
CMS SupaTrak’s vehicle tracking device, EcoTrak, provides businesses with a range of statistics to encourage fuel saving and reduce vehicle wear and tear, while at the same time allowing employers to keep tabs on the safety and performance of their drivers. These are some of the key features available:
Miles per gallon: the first indicator of fuel efficiency, allowing you to determine whether any of your drivers could make fuel savings. Fuel is one of the key variable costs for any fleet. Set targets and reward fuel efficient driving.
Idling time: driving experts state that there is no need to sit warming the engine before setting off, as it wastes fuel, so monitoring the time vehicles spend in this state reduces fuel costs.
Engine revs: if a driver is late in changing gear, for example when the engine revs have already gone over 30, they could be wasting a significant amount of fuel, and causing damage to the engine. Equally over-revving the engine could be a sign of bad driving, not only wasting fuel but also increasing the risk of being in an accident, as well as being more stressful for the driver.
Harsh braking: regular harsh braking can also be a sign of dangerous, non-efficient driving.
Time spent at optimum efficiency: this statistic allows you to see an overall picture of how well a vehicle is being driven, allowing you to make fuel savings.
Breaking speed limits: against the law, dangerous and could lead to road accidents, for which employers can be held accountable, and also a waste of fuel. By monitoring the performance of your drivers against this, you can improve the safety and economy of your fleet.
Driving for long periods without sufficient rest: ensure your drivers are taking regular breaks. Track in real time, incorporate automatic warnings, or simply monitor over time.
Use these statistics as part of your drivers’ performance review process, to ensure compliance with health and safety requirements, safeguard your employees’ safety and those around them on the road, and make fuel savings across your fleet, not only complying with carbon reducing programmes, but also allowing you to save money on one of the major non-fixed costs associated with driving.
