There are a number of different reasons to purchase tracking systems for a fleet of vehicles. Many are wanting save money, improve efficiency and ultimately ensure that a business works in a far more effective way. With the economy currently at its lowest ebb in years, there is no doubt that businesses need to start making savings and generating more income through increased productivity – something that installing a tracking system can massively help with! So what are the ten biggest benefits of installing a tracking system to your fleet of vehicles?
Reduce Both Wage and Fuel Costs
Without a doubt, wages and fuel are the two biggest expenditures that any business with a fleet of vehicles can incur – meaning that it is imperative to keep these costs as low as possible. With the price of fuel at its highest rate in history, the emphasis is on the business owner to ensure that they are getting the highest fuel economy possible from their vehicles. How can this be helped by installing a tracking device though? Well, a tracking device will allow the business manager to monitor activities that are contributing towards a higher fuel bill – activities such as taking longer routes, speeding and leaving the engine idle when stopped. These might not sound like much, but they all add up to massive savings!
When it comes to wages, tracking systems can protect the business against any dishonest claims made by employees, such as the amount of time they have spent driving and the amount of miles that they need to claim for. Nearly every driver has at some point fiddled their mileage sheets, but with a tracking device the information is with the manager before the driver even fills out his forms! In fact, there is no need for the driver to even fill out forms, as the mileage is already automatically and accurately calculated.
Track Locations
This system is already used by many of the emergency services throughout the country, but there is no reason why it can’t work for your business too. Being able to map out the locations of your fleet means that you will always know who is closest to that vital job or who is simply sitting in a service station and avoiding work! One of the benefits of integrating the system with satellite tracking and other geo location devices means that the driver should also never get lost, as direct routes can be supplied to them straight from the office.
Security Benefits
Vehicles and plants are probably the most valuable assets that a business has in terms of cost, therefore they are often the targets for unscrupulous thieves. Of course, most vehicles are insured against theft, but what about the income lost when the business is unable to work to full capacity? A tracking system will allow any stolen vehicle to be tracked around the country and therefore ensure that it is returned in the quickest amount of time.
A tracking system is also an important tool for ensuring the safety of your staff. This is especially true when a business has a workforce that often works alone or in areas where there are potential dangers. Being able to locate an employee who is potentially in danger is something that could save their life – and protect the business from costly legal action.
Increase Customer Service
Many businesses rely on a speedy response to ensure that their customers are happy with the service that they receive. In this highly competitive world, customer service is the one aspect that a business can still stand out in and having a tracking device will ensure that vehicles can be monitored and stationed in the correct places to respond to any customer requests. A tracking system benefits a business by allowing them to immediately tell their customers how long a member of staff will be and also if there are any delays in their response, due to traffic or other external circumstances.
Dispute Resolution Benefits
One of a business manager’s biggest roles is to resolve disputes, either between staff members or between a staff member and a customer. Due to the fact that a tracking system will log the date, time and length of every job attended, there can be no dispute regarding the location and promptness of the job. It can also help to settle staff disputes should one member of staff feel that they are being unfairly treated in terms of the jobs they are sent to.
Improve Staff Members’ Driving
We’ve all seen the van on the motorway doing 100mph, complete with the logo of the company emblazoned on the side, and we have all also thought some extremely negative thoughts about the company that this van driver works for! The staff of a business are the public face of the whole enterprise and as such poor driving will affect the reputation of the business as a whole – a reputation that most businesses have spent years trying to consolidate. A tracking system will provide information on any unsafe driving to the manager, who can then discuss the issue with the member of staff involved. This benefits both parties as safer driving can help keep insurance costs down and staff members will not need to be reprimanded for their driving habits on an ongoing basis.
Motivate Your Staff
Staff that don’t feel cared for are always going to be unproductive staff – that is an irrefutable fact of business. One thing that can really upset staff is being sent to a job alone and feeling that they have no protection should a situation occur – something that is remedied with the installation of a tracking device. With a tracking device, workers will know that they are constantly being monitored and that their employers care about their welfare.
A tracking system also benefits businesses when used as a motivational tool because staff will be more conscious that their work patterns are being monitored. This will prompt them to ensure that they are as efficient as possible, make sure that they attend to jobs on time and don’t make excuses for late arrivals.
Increase Productivity
Linked in with the above topic is the issue of productivity – something that will vastly increase when this system is installed in a vehicle. The driver will know that they are expected to perform a certain amount of tasks throughout the day and that therefore they are unable to simply go around slowly, not making the best use of their time. A tracking system will also decrease the amount of time that the driver has to spend on the phone – something that necessitates that they stop driving – therefore meaning that they can get to locations far more quickly.
Benefits to the Environment
The environment is a hot topic throughout the world. Most companies are bowing to public pressure to decrease the amount of damage that they do to the earth every single day. By using a tracking device a business can be sure that they are always sending their drivers in the right direction and also that they are always asking the closest driver to attend. This minimizes the amount of harmful fumes that a van releases into the atmosphere. Lowered fuel cost benefits to you, and cleaner air benefits our precious earth!
Duty of Care
Every single business has a duty of care towards their employees. A duty of care that means that employers do everything possible to ensure that the safety of their employees is completely covered. A tracking device will meet this requirement and will ensure that all businesses can demonstrate that they are taking the safety of their employees seriously. This is especially important since the changes in rules issued by the Health and Safety Executive, which states that a company with lone workers or a fleet of vehicles has to periodically review their safety measures for employees.
