Fleet Management involves managing a wide range of business functions for companies who are involved in transportation, seeking to reduce cost, increase productivity, manage fuel costs, adhere to compliance rules and much more. Fleet management is used in several sectors from freight (the Trucking Industry), oil and gas, sales and service, as well as emergency services.
In this article, we’ll cover ‘What is Fleet Management?’ and ‘How Dash Cams can be integrated into the Trucking business?’
Any company that operates or leases freight vehicles is engaged in some aspect of fleet management as this is key to managing the several criterias involved, such as fuel, documentation. Without this, fleets wouldn’t be able to compete in the existing market.
Fleet managers also put in a lot of effort towards ensuring driver safety guidelines are followed in order to reduce risk and boost productivity. Telematics technology and software is a new form of technology which is now being adopted by Fleet managers in order to identify and rectify the various business problems.
What are the Duties of a Fleet Manager?
Fleet managers manage an array of business functions such as:
- Vehicle Procurement and Sales
- Creating systems for Managing Fuel (usage, purchase, and logging)
- Creating systems for Management and Preventive Maintenance
- Adopt and implementing Safety regulations
- Document and Manage Fleet criterias
- Conform with Fleet Compliance policies
Areas of Expertise needed for Fleet Management
Fleet managers require sound operations knowledge and experience to efficiently perform with their tasks including:
Business
Manager needs to be on top of their Fleet. This means knowing meeting all compliance laws and regulations ahead of time.
Fleet Technology
Managers will need to also keep up with the latest in fleet technology, which requires knowledge about the key components in Fleet technology. Such as tracking, information security, and the integrations of fleet management software.
Policies
Managers need to be on top of industry and compliance policies and ensure they are met. They also need to make sure their drivers are well-versed with compliance requirements and documentation. This is a key aspect.
Telematics
Telematics can be used for preventive maintenance, which is an essential part of equipment-heavy industries. In this case, you can prevent engine failure, or identify parts which need to be fixed or replaced in order to prevent bigger problems which could cost you more money and time. Telematics software can help you with your IFTA reporting as it collects all the data required for Tax filing (distance per state, fuel consumption, fuel purchases, etc.)
Budgeting
Budgeting is a big part of the fleet business as there are many factors to be considered for budgeting. Efficient budgeting requires you to know fuel prices between states, route and task management, sources of procurement, a sound understanding of the economy, and many other things.
Fleet Management Software
Fleet Management Software is created for fleet owners and managers to aid and simplify the management process. This involves vehicle and driver management, tracking and provides the potentially cost saving feature of incident management. The primary benefit of using a fleet management software is that you can streamline your business from start-to-finish, as well as automate processes that require it.
Fleet managers use telematics to improve the following aspects:
- Manage Vehicles
- Route-Optimization.
- Assure driver safety and compliance
- Preventative maintenance
- Reduce maintenance and fuel costs
- Train drivers on fleet compliance and other regulations
Uses of Fleet Management Systems
Here are some of the main uses of Fleet Management Systems:
- Route optimization
- Real-time navigation
- IFTA tax reporting
- Vehicle diagnostics and maintenance
- Safety and compliance reporting
- Advanced collision prevention
- Driver ID system
- In-vehicle verbal feedback
- Benchmarking
With telematics and Fleet Management Systems (FMS), fleet managers have data access to state-of-the-art vehicle diagnostic reporting, asset tracking, as well as insight into driver behaviours.
How ‘Dash Cams’ are Used in Fleet Management
Being able to have access to real-time video footage can help identify rash drivers and more importantly, it can be used to train drivers on safety. Fleet related accidents or collisions can sum up to a large amount of money. So, providing footage on this can help dealing with insurance providers or contesting a case if needed.
What is a Dashboard Camera?
These are video cameras attached to a vehicle dashboard, the inside of the windshield, rearview mirror or suitable locations. There are front, side, and rear dash cams, as well as interior and exterior cameras. ‘Dash Cams’ is another widely-used name for dashboard cameras.
Benefits of Dash Cams in Fleet Management
Dash Cameras provide many benefits to Fleet Management. First and foremost, they can provide you video footage if incase one of your trucks is involved in a collision, which can also make dealing with insurance claims much easier. Insurance providers will also offer better insurance deals to fleets that are integrated with dash cameras and fleet management systems. Apart from this, dash cams and fleet management systems also provide electronic logging with makes filing IFTA tax much easier and more precise.
Here are some benefits of installing dash cams.
Event Recording
When there is no video footage during a collision, filing for insurance could be complicated and the guarantee of insurance coverage is uncertain. However, possessing actual footage holds well in court and can potentially prove the driver’s innocence, or even exonerate a driver.
Driver Monitoring
These are Inward facing cameras linked to ‘Driver Risk Management Systems’ or ‘DRMS’.
This software is extremely advanced and can use face recognition and other features to tell if a driver is on his phone, or about to fall asleep. Most DRMS systems come with a microphone and GPS tracking
Recording 24/7
Dash Cams have their own power unit so, they can record even without the trucking being on.
This helps in monitoring the truck during the time it is parked or when the driver is away from the truck or is sleeping.
Enables Driver Training and Coaching
Dash cams allows office personnel to monitor on-duty drivers and see exactly what they are seeing. This allows trainers to view and correct the errors drivers have as well as provide insightful advice of safe and efficient driving practices. All without having to physically be in the truck with the driver. Old footage can also be used to gather information and determine what aspects of training the specific drivers require.
Finding the best dash cam for Truckers can be harder than expected. Think about which dash cam packages will best suit your truck and the business management aspect of your fleet. Take your time and evaluate your options online in order to find the best dash cam for you and your trucking business.