Part 1: Common Useful Reports – Worker Efficiency Reports

One of our biggest client request is creating reports. Reports are a useful fleet management tool because they provide snapshots for decision making. For instance, operation planners use worker efficiency reports to plan employee activity and to monitor time usage.

Worker Efficiency Reports

This week’s guide focuses on efficiency. Worker efficiency means producing the most output while minimizing resources. In particular, we’ll split worker efficiency reports into utilization reports, time card reports, and unauthorized usage reports.

Utilization Report

Firstly, we’ll take a look at utilization reports. Utilization reports focuses on vehicles rather than specific employees. In these reports, fleets study a vehicle’s usage rate and if that usage rate is efficient. Why is utilization important?

Utilization is important because businesses can get rid of excessive assets. For instance, most fleets do a “utilization audit” and discover underused vehicles. They can then decide to sell those vehicles, thus cutting down on business costs.

utilization reports

To illustrate, here’s an example of an utilization report. This report is neat because it breaks down fleet vehicles by distance travelled. An operation planner might look at the report and reflect that a lot of vehicles travel less than 100km; it might good time to cut down on fleet size!

Time Card Report

Another efficiency report are time card reports. Supervisors use time card reports to monitor their employees’ job productivity.

In fact, time card reports are probably the #1 need for new vehicle tracking adopters. From my experience, many business owners struggle with employees that start late, leave early, and take long breaks.

time card reports

There are several reports that target inefficient employees. One of our favourites is the Late Arrival Report. To illustrate, Geotab had a contest for some of their employees to see who were early birds and who were late arrivers. In reality, however, Late Arriver Reports were effective in cutting down time fraud and improving customer satisfaction.

Unauthorized Usage

Similarly to time card reports, another useful efficiency report is unauthorized usage reports. Why? A lot of businesses let employees take work vehicles home. This increases the risk of unauthorized use.

For instance, one business owner noticed a company vehicle outside a bar. Rightfully so, the owner questioned if the employee was drinking and driving with the company vehicle. In another case, an employee used work vehicles for personal jobs.

unauthorized usage reports

What can employers do to cut down on unauthorized usage? One way is to track and monitor unauthorized use. In the above example, we can see that several employees broke unauthorized usage rules. This is valuable information because employers can use this as physical evidence against suspected rule breakers.

Enjoyed our blog on worker efficiency reports? Check back with us for our next report set – maintenance and fuel!

Driver Tracking App: Must-Haves

Last week, we looked at who should and who shouldn’t use driver tracking apps. We concluded that the best candidates were businesses who hired contractors and field employees.

This week, we’ll take a step further. Let’s say we’re one of those businesses. The question then becomes what are the most important things to look for in a driver tracking app. Some essentials include multi-platform, live tracking, rule creation, job management, and on-the-background.

Multi-Platform Apps

One of the most important driver tracking app features is also one of the most basic; the app should be available on both Android and Apple.

A lot of apps are exclusive to a single platform. For instance, some developers take a while or even abandon launching an Apple Store app because of its extensive rules. Apple’s App Store screens apps for things like user safety, usability, and legality.

Live Tracking

Driver Tracking Map

Another essential is getting live tracking. A lot of apps locate and report data but have a slight time delay.

For instance, some apps ping every 15 minutes. This becomes a problem when businesses give inaccurate information. Imagine how a customer would react if they were told a package will arrive in the next few minutes when in reality it’s not due for much longer!

Rule Creation

Speaking of customers, some businesses need to create customer service rules. The most common rule is location zones.

Driver tracking app users should be able to create zones and measure when employees arrive in those zones.

Driver Zones

Besides zone rules, GPS apps can create other useful rules. For instance, some businesses monitor employee safety by measuring speeding rules.

Job Management

Driver Job Management

If businesses need a tracking app, they also most likely manage jobs. A job is any event where an employee visits a customer or performs a service.

In that sense, many businesses are looking for ways to assign and manage jobs. For instance, Mobile Dispatch has a dedicated job assignment screen. Businesses can use this screen to schedule jobs, assign due dates, and measure if staff are meeting the deadline.

On-the-Background

Lastly, apps should run on the background. In other words, these apps launch as soon as a phone turns on. The app continues to run until someone turns off the phone.

This is an essential business function because it facilitates easier management. Some driver tracking apps are ineffective because users need to manually turn it on. Hence, the app fails when employees forget to open the app or deliberately choose to disable the app.

Missed last week’s blog on who should use mobile GPS tracking? Click here to read.

Who Should Use Fleet Tracking Apps (And Who Shouldn’t!)

The GoFleet marketing team recently featured fleet tracking apps in our monthly newsletters. In turn, we had a healthy response from our subscribers. In fact, a lot of people submitted questions such as what businesses should use fleet tracking apps and what should people look for in a mobile GPS tracking program.

For that reason, we are starting a two-part series on fleet tracking apps. This week, we’ll take a look at who should (and who shouldn’t!) use mobile GPS tracking.

Contractor Businesses (Should!)

Track Contractors

Businesses that use contractors are some of the best fleet tracking app users. Why?

Contractor managers face the same challenge in tracking contractor productivity and safety. At the same time, however, contract businesses cannot easily install vehicle trackers. Because contractors drive their personal vehicles, businesses have a hard time installing GPS hardware.

On the other hand, fleet tracking apps fill that gap. Businesses can monitor contractors during business hours, while contractors can turn off tracking during their personal time.

Low Managerial Power (Shouldn’t!)

On the flip side, mobile GPS tracking is not recommended in businesses with low managerial power because the program is harder to manage.

In some cases, employees sabotaged mobile tracking programs by turning off their phone or uninstalling the app.

Unless managers can get employees to cooperate, we recommend using a hardware solution. Hardware solutions are connected directly into work vehicles and are tamper-proof.

Field Employees (Should!)

Track Feild Workers

Field service providers are another good mobile tracker candidate since employees leave their work vehicles for most of the day.

For instance, my friend works as a wildlife conservationist. She only drives in the beginning and end of the day. For the most of the day, she works on the field.

In those cases, phone-based GPS apps are more useful than vehicle-based GPS hardware. Phone apps allow managers to monitor field workers when they are away from the work vehicles.

Heavy Data Users (Shouldn’t!)

Another limitation of mobile GPS tracking is that it collects less data than dedicated GPS hardware.

For instance, basic tracking apps only track phone location. Fleets that need to collect fuel mileage data, maintenance logs, and advanced driving habits are better off using telematics devices.

Those devices connect directly into the vehicle’s computer and collect fleet-level data.

Check out our next article related to fleet tracking apps: Driver Tracking App: Must-Haves

Updating Your Fleet for Marijuana Legalization

October 17th is an important day for many people. Firstly, on a selfish side, I’m looking forward to October 17th because my beloved Toronto Raptors are opening their season with a new superstar. However, for many other people, October 17th is important because it marks marijuana legalization in Canada.

Marijuana Legalization

Several countries and regions around the world already legalized marijuana. Soon, Canada will too. After years of planning, the Canadian government will legalize marijuana on October 17th across the country.

However, there are some valid concerns around marijuana legalization. For instance, most subject experts agree that cannabis impairs driving and that the law should protect the public against impaired drivers.

Impaired Driving Rules

In response to driving safety concerns, the government outlined several standards. For instance, officers can use oral fluid screening on suspected impaired drivers. Just like drunk drivers, cannabis impaired drivers are subject to penalties including license suspension, fines, and jail time.

In addition, marijuana laws particularly affect fleets. In Ontario, commercial vehicle drivers and road building vehicle operators cannot use cannabis at all while driving.

Should Fleets Update their Policy?

Fleets should absolutely update their policy. A sizeable portion of a fleet’s workforce might use marijuana and it’s up to the fleet to control cannabis on the job. After all, fleet managers are responsible for improving safety and reducing fines.

Some examples of strategies include fleet education, impairment detection tools, and random drug testing.

Fleet Education

In our option, fleet education is the most effective way to control marijuana. Similar to a drunk driving policy, fleets should take a firm stance against impaired driving and communicate their stance.

How can fleets educate their drivers? In the past, fleets created employee contracts about cannabis, scheduled regular meetings about drug use, and enforced a zero-tolerance policy against drivers.

Impairment Detection Tools

Another option is using impairment detection tools. For instance, programmers created phone apps that monitor driver impairment. To illustrate, we took a look at Fit4Delay. Fit4Delay uses a 60-90 second cognitive test to identify distracted drivers.

Although impairment detection tools discourage “weeding and driving”, it should not be the only tool. Light cannabis users might pass an app test but get fined by police officers because commercial vehicle drivers are not supposed to use any marijuana.

Random Drug Testing

Finally, some fleets use random drug testing. While this approach might catch and deter impaired drivers, it’s not the most recommended strategy.

Random drug testing is highly controversial and is even illegal in some areas. At worst, fleets that use random drug testing can get sued by employees.

We’d love to hear your thoughts on any fleet strategies in our comment section!

Links
Government of Ontario: Cannabis Legalization
Fit4Duty

4 Tips on Preparing for the Canadian ELD Mandate

Oh Canada! Where does Canada stand on the ELD mandate? When does the eld mandate take effect? As of today, the Canadian Government has not finalized the Canadian ELD Mandate. However, fleets should prepare today because we expect the final ELD deadline to be within the next 2 years.

In this guide, we’ll share 4 tips to prepare for the Canadian ELD mandate, based on our experience with the American ELD mandate.

 

 

Canadian ELD Mandate[dm-embedable-media media-id=”22640″]

 

1 – Encourage Better Driving Habits

Before even investing in electronic logging devices, fleets should encourage better driving habits. The biggest reason why some fleets struggled with the American ELD mandate was that some of them relied on skimming hours. For instance, drivers commonly drove overtime by cheating hours on the paper log. These drivers tend to struggle with ELDs because they cannot “fudge” their Hours of Service on ELDs.</>

What can Canadian fleets do differently for the Canadian ELD Mandate? We recommend fleets to educate drivers on how to drive efficiently within their hours of service. In turn, drivers do not have to rely on skimming hours and will not experience major changes with ELDs.

 

 

2 – Introduce Technology Early

 

Another challenge is getting drivers to adapt to ELDs. “The ELD mandate was a bit hard on the veteran drivers,” said one fleet manager. “Some drivers only knew how to use a flip phone or didn’t have a phone at all. The ELD mandate forced them to learn how to use phones, tablets, and Garmins.”

 

In turn, our next recommendation is to introduce technology in phases. For instance, in order to prepare for ELDs, a trucking fleet started installing tablets in every truck to display route maps.

 

The company found that veteran drivers quickly learned how to use their new tablets. Afterward, when the fleet installed ELD devices, the same drivers were able to easily use their new ELD app because they had experience using tablets.

 

 

3 – Sign Up for Industry News

Our first two recommendations – driving habits and technology – focused on the driver. However, fleet managers also need to adapt to changes in a Canadian ELD Mandate.

 

Our biggest recommendation is to sign up for industry news. In the US, we found that over 50% of fleet managers did not know enough about the ELD mandate. The other fleet managers, however, were better prepared because they attended industry webinars and read white papers.

 

Thankfully, GoFleet has you covered! Over the next few months, we are hosting live webinars where you can learn about the Canadian ELD Mandate and get answers on your ELD questions.

 

 

4 – Start Early

Seriously, start early! This is something that a lot of fleets did not do for the US ELD mandate, and that led to some serious issues.

 

Some of the issues with buying ELDs in the last minute include:

 

  • Shipping delays due to low stock, resulting in missing the ELD mandate.
  • Drivers do not get time to learn how to use the ELDs. In turn, some impatient officers decided to fine drivers with ELDs if they didn’t know how to show their ELD logs.

Sign up for our newsletters at the bottom of our web pages to get invitations to Canadian ELD Mandate Webinars!

How Do I Get Driver Time Cards with GPS on myGeotab?

One of the biggest reasons why fleets use GPS is to create driver time cards. Before using GPS programs, fleets rely on employees writing their time card, accounting staff inputting time, and an honour system. This took a lot of time and trust. How can fleets simplify the process by getting driver time cards with GPS?

 

In this guide, we’ll explain how to create time cards with GPS on your myGeotab portal and why time cards with GPS are easier.

 

How do you use time cards on myGeotab?

 

driver time card

 

Vehicle History (The Long Way)

 

The first method is going to myGeotab’s vehicle portal. Users can click Maps on their sidebar then hit the Trips History button. Afterward, users can select a time range or select a specific vehicle.

 

Driver Time Cards

Driver Time Card Reports (An Easier Way!)

 

Another way to view time cards is to use myGeotab’s built-in timecard report. Users can access this report by selecting Activity on the sidebar, then clicking Work Hours, and finally hitting Time Card Report.

 

The Time Card Report summarizes a vehicle’s timesheet and even displays useful data such as driving vs. idling time. In addition, some fleets enhance their time card reporting by getting drivers to punch in and punch out with a Driver ID fob systems. In turn, administrators can create employee-specific time cards based on Driver ID data.

 

Driver Time Card

 

Why should fleets get time cards with GPS?

 

There are 3 big reasons: improving timekeeping, reducing data admin time, and saving business costs.

 

Driver Punch In Punch Out System

 

1) Improving Time Keeping

 

Firstly, time cards with GPS improve timekeeping because they verify driver location and driving time. Of course, the first thing that managers will think about is reducing time fraud.

 

In other cases, electronic time cards improves record keeping. For example, in one of my other jobs, I got underpaid because the accountant made a data entry error for my working hours. On the other hand, if the accountant used an automated payroll, they would have avoided that mistake.

 

2) Reducing Data Admin Time

 

Another reason for using electronic time cards is reducing data admin time. If you’ve worked in a data entry role, you know that it’s tedious! Without automated time cards, administrators have to collect time sheets from drivers and enter data into Excel.

 

In addition to being a time crunch, excessive data entry time can also lead to losing good employees. In a HR survey, “excessive repetitive work” is a leading reason for losing ambitious employees who strive for diverse work.

 

Rather than losing admin time or good staff, fleets use electronic time cards to automatically pull time shifts and calculate payroll.

 

3) Saving Business Cost

 

Lastly, automated time cards decrease business cost. Some costs might include reducing paperwork or optimizing operations.

 

To illustrate the latter, we had a client who used time cards to see that some of their drivers spent too much driving and not enough time on customer sites. They realized it was because those drivers had too many jobs during a day so the operation manager added more crews to balance workload and improve customer satisfaction.

 

We have other driver time card solutions as well, check them out here and here.

 

Click here to schedule training for Time Cards or any other myGeotab functions!

 

male and female fleet managers

10 Top Fleet Manager Job Skills

Bill Gates is one of the most successful business superstars. One of his management philosophies include: “We’ve got to put a lot of money into changing behaviour.” How does that quote relate to fleet manager job skills?

Successful fleet managers (or any jobs) need to invest money and time to hone their behaviour. Similar to Bill Gates, one of my mentors taught me that you can only master your craft if you spend time to understand your craft and have passion to consistently improve.

What are the most important fleet manager job skills?

I used a simple tool to collect and analyse top fleet manager job skills. I sampled several Fleet Manager job postings and then ran a top keywords report. And what were the results? According to a bit of fact-digging and statistics, here are the top fleet manager job skills:

fleet manager job skills statistics

Management

Not surprisingly, management leads all job skills. Fleet managers are expected to lead and motivate other people. In particular, fleet managers need to set policies, build relationships, and manage results.

Customer Service Skills

An underrated but important skill is customer service skills. Why? Well, if you think about it, fleets are in the business of customer service. Fleet managers that understand customer service usually have happier customers because these managers know how to create customer-friendly policies.

Transportation Knowledge

The next category is general vehicle knowledge. Even though I consider myself to be good with other people and customers, I’d probably fail at being a fleet manager because I am not as savvy with vehicles. Fleet managers need to know almost as much as a mechanic because they are always chatting with bosses, vendors, or drivers about vehicles.

Maintenance

fleet maintainance

Even though fleet managers do not directly work on maintenance, they should at least have a background in maintenance. Fleet managers are measured on their fleet’s uptime and efficiency. For that reason, some common tasks include creating preventative maintenance policy and overseeing work tasks.

Diversity & Inclusivity

According to a survey, many new drivers are ethnic and young. Successful fleet managers understand how to relate to different people and overcome challenges such as language barriers or age gaps.

Safety

“Safety is the number priority” – says a million different fleets! One way or another, fleet managers are responsible to creating policies, coaching drivers, and leveraging technology to reduce safety incidents.

Process-Oriented

process structure on magnetic board

Fleet managers need to be process oriented. Especially in today’s world of time saving software, fleet managers have to find ways to modernize and efficienize their processes. For instance, some companies completely replaced paperwork with automatic software processes.

Financials

Why is it important for fleet managers to know financials? Though you don’t need to be a math wiz, fleet managers should know enough financials to manage a budget and present financial performance. Nowadays, fleet managers are expected to keep track of their department’s spending and cost.

Vendors

Finally, fleet managers should be very familiar with vendors. Some fleet managers might work with dozens of different vendors such as repair shops, vehicle providers, or software solution providers.

Did you enjoy our list or have any other skills? Leave them below in the comments!

Summer Fleet Management

Summer is in full swing! How does Summer 2018 compare to previous years? So far, forecasters called for a normal to a hotter-than-average summer. What does this mean for fleets and for summer fleet management?

Obviously, summer fleet management can be challenging. For instance, fleet managers need to address engine maintenance concerns, driver health risks, and operational challenges. We’ll explore all three of these items in this post.

Engine Maintenance Concerns

The number 1 summer fleet management concern should be engines because hot weather affects engine performance and leads to downtime. In fact, overheating engines are the most common hot weather issue.

Tom Plippo, an AAA member and repair expert, explains that “summer is the biggest stressor to cars because belts, hoses, tires, and wipers have shorter lifespans when exposed to sunlight.”

Best practice: Summerization

In order to prepare for summer fleet management, many fleets go through “summerization” tasks. 72% of fleets have summerization tasks, which include things like inspecting vehicles, draining winter waste, and upgrading equipment.

How do managers keep up with tasks? A lot of fleets use software to schedule reminders. For instance, on Geotab, fleet managers can create summerization reminders every few months or on specific dates.

Driver Health Risks

Another big concern is driver health risks. Unfortunately, a lot of people underestimate the dangers of hot summer weather. For example, just this summer, dozens of people died after a heat wave in Quebec.

In turn, fleets need to take care of their driver’s health. It’s necessary because of legal obligations and because it creates happy employees.

Best Practice: Cooling your Drivers

Never forget to cool your drivers! Believe it or not, businesses lost good employees because of summer heat. For example, in one business, a top-performing driver quit during the summer. The manager then called the driver to ask why, and was surprised to hear the reason: “my work car’s AC was @#@#”,

In addition to engine maintenance, fleet managers should add air condition on the summerization list. Some common AC tasks include cleaning the car’s filter or upgrading equipment.

Also, another good idea is taking care of driver by providing a free summer kit. Some companies give water, coolers, and sunglasses to their drivers every summer. Although it’s a small gesture, it goes a long way for creating happy employees!

Operational Challenges

Finally, summer fleet management involves fighting against summer traffic. Summer traffic is actually worse than other times of the year because of construction projects and people off work or school.

Best Practice: Traffic Planning

A lot of dispatchers use mapping tools to plan their summer. One of the biggest benefits of using mapping tools is they help drivers avoid congestion by giving live traffic updates.

For example, on the Geotab portal, dispatchers can create a route. The map then takes Google traffic updates and re-routes the driver based on traffic.

Links
Software Advice: Use Fleet Maintenance Software to Prevent Summer Heat Damage

Expert GPS Fleet Monitoring Concepts: Add-ons & Integrations

Over the last few weeks, we reviewed essential and pro GPS fleet monitoring concepts. However, we haven’t yet covered expert GPS fleet monitoring concepts. These concepts are used in some of the biggest fleets around the world.

 

Some expert GPS fleet monitoring topics include expanding with additional hardware and integrating software.

 

Using Add-on Fleet Management Hardware

 

Believe it or not, GPS fleet monitoring is a baseline technology and many fleets need a lot more data. That’s because each fleet has its own business or industry needs. For example, consider a food carrier. Are they content with just location data or do they also need temperature tracking data? There’s a good chance that they need both, especially with the new food mandate!

 

How do you add more hardware?

 

Expert fleet managers often have several devices in a single vehicle. The question then becomes how to connect everything in an organized system.

 

Fortunately, a lot of enterprise fleet management solution providers use hardware connectors. For instance, Geotab uses an IOX port. IOX ports connect hardware add-ons to the GO Device, which in turn, uploads data in a single portal. Finally, Geotab user can access each add-on in their myGeotab sidebar.

 

What are some examples of GPS fleet monitoring add-ons?

 

 

The Geotab Marketplace carry several GPS fleet monitoring add-ons. Expert fleet managers can browse through the marketplace to add programs such as:

 

Cameras. Cameras are one of the fastest growing fleet technology because they add video footage to a fleet manager’s toolkit. Video footage are valuable data that can exonerate drivers from false claims or enhance training programs. After all, images are worth 1000 words!

 

Asset trackers. Some fleets carry non-vehicular assets such as trackers or equipment. Expert fleet managers can collect data by using asset tracking tools such as trailer trackers or asset tags.

 

Temperature monitoring. Finally, as suggested earlier, temperature monitors are a popular add-on. Fleet managers can monitor and set alerts for temperature sensitive loads.

 

Integrating Software

 

Another expert GPS fleet monitoring concept is integrations. Integrations, or connecting software together, is a big topic in fleet enterprises because a lot of large fleets use several software in their IT ecosystem.

 

The IT department’s next step, then, is connecting all of the software together by sharing data.

 

API & Integration Examples

 

IT teams use API to share data. “API provides instructions for developers on how to write a program,” said Jean Pilon-Bignell, a Solutions Engineer at Geotab.

 

Geotab encourages data sharing and software development. In fact, Geotab software has an Open API, which allows IT teams to go into myGeotab and share data with other software.

 

As a result, Geotab is able to integrate with software such as:

 

TMS

 

Fleet Monitoring

 

TMS, or Transportation Management Systems, is a common fleet software. Fleets use TMS to plan routes, dispatch drivers, and handle forms.

 

Sometimes, TMS needs GPS fleet monitoring data. For instance, when planning routes, TMS needs a driver’s Hours of Service to determine how many more hours they can legally drive.

 

CMMS

 

Fleet Monitoring

 

Another example is CMMS, or Computerized Maintenance Management Systems. As previously mentioned in a blog, a lot of fleet managers prioritize maintenance. Expert fleet managers use CMMS to automate and manage tasks.

 

In order to manage tasks, IT teams integrate the software with its fleet monitoring tool. After integrating the software, fleet monitoring data goes directly into CMMS and generate tasks automatically.

 

Links

 

Geotab: Why You Need an API Strategy for Your Business

 

GPS Fleet Monitoring: Pro Concepts

Welcome to Part 2 of our GPS fleet monitoring guide. In our last entry, we caught up with essential GPS fleet monitoring concepts such as Live Map, Rules, Fuel Reports, and Maintenance Reminders.

However, Pro fleet managers go beyond average data skills by learning and using powerful tools. We’ll cover some Pro-level concepts in this guide by reviewing Grouping, Advanced Coaching, Dispatching & Routing, and Engine Diagnostics.

Grouping

Firstly, Pro fleet managers should know how to group their fleet. Sometimes, a fleet might have multiple divisions and branches. Each branch might have their own manager and their own policies.

Therefore, fleet managers need to learn how to group data. After grouping, fleet managers can create rules for each specific branch and ensure that data is only shared with its respective branch.

For instance, Geotab has a Rules & Groups portal. Fleet managers can manage data by clicking on Groups and adding branches. Then, fleet managers can filter Maps or Exception Reports by created groups.

Advanced Driver Coaching

Previously on the Essential GPS Fleet Monitoring blog post, we covered speeding rules. While speeding is absolutely an essential and useful datapoint, Pro fleet managers use other driver coaching metrics. Some of the best driver coaching data include Harsh Braking, Harsh Acceleration, and Harsh Cornering.

Advanced driver coaching is a powerful GPS fleet monitoring tool because managers can give better feedback to drivers and improve fleet objectives. For instance, studies indicate that harsh acceleration is closely linked to fuel usage and distracted driving. Fleets that monitor and control harsh acceleration significantly improve fuel and safety scores.

Geotab monitors acceleration and braking events through G-shock detectors. Furthermore, managers can control acceleration events by playing with their sensitivity. Some of the recommended G-shock settings include:

Dispatching & routing

Another Pro concept is dispatching and routing drivers. Pro fleet managers minimize fuel expense and simplify operations through effective route planning.

Typically, this involves plotting job sites on a map, sending jobs to drivers, and then monitoring route compliance. To illustrate, we’ll show these three functions on the Geotab platform.

Scheduling Routes

Firstly, fleet managers need to create routes. Fleet managers usually draw routes, import routes from a database, or use route optimization software. Geotab users can go into Zones & Messages and click Routes to create a route.

Sending Jobs to Drivers

Secondly, after scheduling routes, fleet managers communicate with their team. Managers can click “Send Route to Vehicle” on the Routes page to send route to a driver’s Geotab Drive app. Also, managers can access the Message portal to chat with their drivers.

Monitoring Route Compliance

Finally, managers can monitor route compliance and productivity through reports. Two of the most popular reports include “Unmatched Routes” and “Planned vs. Actual Routes”. Unmatched Routes indicate when drivers stop at unassigned destinations, whereas Planned vs. Actual Routes show when drivers deviate from set plans.

Engine Diagnostics Data

Lastly, we’ll cover Engine Diagnostics Data, which is another Pro fleet management skill. While Maintenance Reminder is a good essential concept, Engine Diagnostics Data allow fleet managers to check engine codes and plan preventative maintenance.

Why is that so powerful? Normally, fleet managers have to take their vehicles to a shop to read engine data. However, because telematics devices remotely reads engine codes, fleet managers can pull engine data from their desk. Managers can then decide when to take the vehicle to the shop based on fault severity.

Engine Measurements

Also, managers can check a vehicle’s health by data such as battery voltage, cranking voltage, and engine RPM.

Click here to schedule Pro Training on Best Practices & Reports.