March 2008, Work Truck - Feature
Telematics Solutions Help Fleets Improve Productivity & Trim Costs
By Cindy Brauer
Telematics today have become a fleet necessity, providing tools to improve employee accountability and productivity while decreasing fleet costs. To help achieve these goals, vehicle telematics systems — also known as mobile resource management (MRM) systems — provide easily accessible and valuable data. With this data — and the reports MRM tools produce — fleet managers can set customized parameters, including, but not limited to, fuel transaction monitoring, stolen vehicle location, GPS navigation and routing capabilities, driver behavior and location monitoring, accident reporting, maintenance alerts, and organized timekeeping.
The experiences of several diverse fleets illustrate the advantage and various use of telematics systems.
Paul J. Rach Co. Saves $35K Annually in Reduced Fuel & Overtime Costs
oe Spencer, president of Paul J. Rach Co., realized additional fuel costs, vehicle mileage, and overtime were mounting and cutting directly into the bottom line of his concrete construction company’s success. The Baltimore-based company specializes in slip forming concrete, primarily for jersey barriers, curb, gutter and sidewalk work, retaining walls, and small structures.
"We were having issues of unauthorized evening and weekend use," said Spencer. "We decided to purchase a GPS fleet tracking solution." The company selected Vericom Technologies.
With Vericom’s MRM solution, Paul J. Rach Co.’s fleet management reduced overtime, fuel cost, and nonallowed vehicle use.
The Paul J. Rach management team now easily accesses Vericom’s mapping and reporting solution from any Internet-enabled device 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Two years after installing the system, the MRM solution has yielded greater returns than expected.
"After we installed the MRM solution, we curtailed off-hours use by 100 percent. We also began receiving discounts on our insurance premiums and gained vision into speeding episodes. Now if we identify a driver with a habitual speeding pattern, we counsel him accordingly," said Spencer.
According to Kenny Tarbart, Paul J. Rach shop foreman, "Vericom’s MRM solution helped us reduce our monthly overtime by 2–3 hours per employee as well as fuel costs by one tank per vehicle."