For businesses with a fleet of vehicles to co-ordinate, many of the advantages of vehicle tracking are no secret these days. Real-time information on the activities of a company’s entire fleet opens up a wealth of data on journey times, driving speeds and fuel consumption that add up to a leaner, safer operation. The success of one of the fastest growing technology sectors is not surprising, given the unremitting pressures on businesses to reduce costs and improve performance.   With the UK having suffered the depths of economic recession, there has never been a better time for businesses to install vehicle tracking and discover its potential for cost savings.

One of the most talked about advantages of vehicle tracking is the substantial reduction in fuel consumption it can generate.   Fuel savings come partly from more efficient routing and vehicle use – avoiding unnecessary journeys and mileage – and partly from using data from vehicles to help train employees to drive more fuel efficiently.   Fuel cost-saving features including idling reports, where vehicles are stationary but engines are left running, and downloadable speed analysis reports, detailing how a vehicle has been driven in comparison to the rest of the fleet. 

Savings can be dramatic. A company operating a fleet of 25 vehicles using Navman Wireless’s vehicle tracking system in 2003, for instance, made and annual fuel saving of £60,000 in its first year of use, which at today’s fuel prices amounts to almost £100,000 a year.   Another customer has calculated that it is saving more than £25,000 a year by cutting back on vehicle engine idling times. Not surprisingly, road haulage operators and other businesses using heavy goods vehicles have been some of the first to exploit the benefits of vehicle tacking in order to stay at the top of their game.  

With vehicle tracking, a company can now identify where it is wasting money on diesel, as well as boosting productivity by increasing the number of jobs its drivers can complete in a day.   Having this information at its fingertips means it is constantly improving its bottom line. 

Lower fuel consumption is also good news for the environment, with vehicle tracking helping businesses lower emissions and reduce their environmental impact, according to the Location and Timing Knowledge Transfer Network (KTN), set up by the Government to share expertise on tracking and satellite technologies.   According to its director, Bob Cockshott, payback time from installing tracking equipment is short and UK operators can make significant savings by using this technology, with the additional benefit of lower costs and a smaller carbon footprint.

The real-time information on driver journeys provided by vehicle tracking is also a valuable tool in improving the efficiency and productivity of a company’s field staff. Businesses that use the technology are usually surprised at just how much of a difference they have made by being able to allocate staff and journeys based on newfound knowledge from vehicle tracking. 

Increases in productivity can be generated by using telematics technology in a number of ways.   Integrating tracking, message and navigation technology, for example, eliminates the need for drivers to plan their routes in advance.   This allows businesses to send job instructions to their work force by text message and to give satellite navigation directions to the location at the same time. This can be a considerable benefit in optimising the allocation of jobs to drivers.

Another lesser known advantage of vehicle tracking is its role in avoiding the benefit-in-kind tax charge on company vans, payable by employees.   The charge for unrestricted private use rose in April 2007 from £500 to £3,000 equating to a tax cost of £770 at a basic rate of 22%. Companies are also required to pay more in employer’s National Insurance contributions, unless they can prove how many private miles their fleet clocks up.   

Some organisations have found that information from the vehicle tracking system is actually enabling their staff to get to work while still allowing them to steer clear of the benefit-in-kind tax charge.   It can also however, be a life saver.   Employee safety at work remains a major headache for hard pressed employers, a fact brought more sharply into focus by the Corporate Manslaughter Act, which became law in April 2008. Today’s more advanced systems provide a wealth of information that can help businesses fulfil their duty of care responsibilities.   For example the Navman Wireless’s system includes a module that compels drivers to carry out vehicle checks in line with their company’s health and safety policy, every day, before they start work.   Other functions include Working Time Directive compliance facilities that provide detailed reports of driver working hours and send e mail alerts to managers and drivers when they have not taken rest breaks.

Driver ID technology allows fleet managers to meet additional legal responsibilities by identifying exactly who is driving a vehicle, where and at what time.   Stationary vehicle alerts will bring managers’ attention to potential driver safety issues when a vehicle has been at a standstill during a working day for more than a predetermined time period.   Furthermore, integrated panic buttons will help protect drivers who might be transporting high-value goods.   Managers can also assess risks by running off speed analysis reports that inform them how much time individual drivers have spent travelling within specified speed parameters.

Vehicle tracking for business fleet managers is one of the fastest growing technologies in the world. This is unlikely to change any time soon as more and more companies regard it as an essential technology, as integral to a business’ operation as the PDA or mobile phone. 

Source: Steve Blackman – taken from Logistics and Transport Focus, Volume 12.

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