Author: Jimmy Song

How much does fleet tracking cost?

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

Here is a FAQ. How much does fleet tracking cost?

Fleet tracking consists of both hardware and software. In this post, we will explore each of the two areas to determine how much does fleet tracking cost.

Hardware & Installation

Hardware is the first part of the total fleet tracking cost. There are usually three hardware alternatives:

Mobile tracking

Mobile tracking is the first hardware alternative. In other words, the fleet tracks its vehicles through their drivers’ phones. A lot of mobile apps are good enough to provide location updates and even location reports.

Of course, since mobile tracking uses a driver’s smartphone, there are no hardware costs and no installation costs.

Plug-in device

Device tracking is the second hardware alternative. In this scenario, plug-in devices are connected to vehicles. Compared to mobile tracking, a plug-in device provides additional data such as advanced driving habits and vehicle diagnostics.

Device costs vary based on the model. For example, some online products can go for less than $100. However, business-level devices can cost up to $200 – $500.

What about installation? Customers usually self-install plug-in devices and save on installation charges. Simple plug-ins can be done in a few seconds. Secure discrete plug-ins, on the other hand, might take the average person 10-15 minutes to install.

Hardwired solution

Hardwiring is the third hardware alternative. Typically, hardwiring is required when vehicles are too old to have plug-in models.

Hardwiring usually has the highest cost of the three alternatives. Since hardwiring requires professional installation, the start-up fee could cost more than $1000. Another cost is lost business time. The business loses revenue-generating time when the vehicles are in the shop rather than on the road.

Software Service

The software is the second part of the fleet tracking system price. Why is there a monthly charge? There are two big reasons:

Cell/satellite service. Here’s a role reversal – how much does fleet tracking cost to a provider? Providers need to pay for SIM cards, cell service, or even satellite service to provide vehicle tracking. This cost is reflected in the monthly fee.

Software and service. Fleet tracking doesn’t mean looking at a map all day! Fleet tracking systems are similar to office programs like Microsoft Office. The program collects data and generates reports. It is also supported by success teams that train customers, solves technical problems, and suggest data-driven business solutions!

So how much does fleet tracking cost monthly? There are usually two ways to charge monthly – on tier plans or on customized pricing.

Tier Plans

Tier plans are similar to cell phone plans. Just like cell plans, there are different levels of service and pricing – all with their own features! In that case, one customer might pay $25/month whereas another pays $80/month!

Customized Pricing

Customized pricing, conversely, is more like an à la carte service at a restaurant. You only pay for what you use! “Some customers only need fleet tracking for 2 or 3 reasons,” said a sales manager. “Customers sometimes are locked into bundles where they don’t need the other 5 features and are being overcharged. Instead, a better way to retain customers is balancing functionality with pricing.”

Contact our consulting team to discuss pricing an estimate!

Telematics Benefits | The 2018 Edition

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

Telematics, or the art of monitoring vehicles and making data-driven decisions, is several decades old. Telematics benefits include improving productivity, safety, and maintenance.

What is telematics?

Whenever I teach telematics to newbies, I begin by comparing it to a stock market. People try to predict the future when they invest. They might look at anything from industry news to financial stats. In other words, people use data to make their decisions.

Telematics fleet management has the same idea. One of the biggest telematics benefits is being able to collect data and make decisions, just like investing.

Evolving role of telematics

evolution of telematics

Before 1996, telematics was only used in the military. After the technology was publicly released, people and businesses quickly adopted telematics.

Private users bought devices to protect their vehicles, and yes, even spy on family members! Businesses, on the other hand, use it to revamp their processes.

Today, a lot of people use and accept telematics. The question is no longer “what’s a telematics device” but rather “what else can devices be used for”?

Here are three new ways in 2018 to realize telematics benefits.

 

Consumers and insurance

In 2018, telematics and insurance go hand-in-hand. Many car makers are partnering with insurance providers to install and use telematics. Insurance companies realize that telematics is a great tool to acquire and keep customers.

Customer pricing

For a long time, insurance companies relied on trends such as age, gender, and location to determine their pricing plans. A lot of consumers felt that was unfair – after all, shouldn’t good drivers get better rates?

Enter telematics! Insurance companies can collect driver data and identify a driver’s risk level. As a result, insurance companies were able to offer competitive rates to keep good drivers.

Customer engagement

telematics increase customer engagement

Additionally, insurance companies realized that pricing is not the only way to engage customers. Ted Gramer, CEO of a driving app company, argues that consumers care equally about customer experience and pricing when deciding whether or not to stay with a company.

Some insurance companies use telematics to personalize customer experience. For instance, if the company notices that a driver struggles with speeding, it shares feedback with the driver. As a result, the driver is more likely to improve their driving habits and decrease their insurance rates.

Other business functions

In the past, only a few business functions used telematics. In 2018, other business departments started to realize telematics benefits. For instance, take a look at the following marketing and customer service ideas.

Marketing

telematics with social media

In some companies, marketing gurus combined telematics with social media to engage customers. A good example is Itty Bitty Donuts, a food truck company.

Marketers at Itty Bitty Donuts collected location data from its telematics system. Whenever the truck arrives in a city, the marketers published a targeted post for followers from that city. As a result, fans knew that yummy donuts are in town again!

Customer service

Customer service departments also started using telematics. For instance, a common problem is inaccurate bills. Inaccurate bills can occur for many reasons, including inaccurate data entry on invoices and illegible handwriting on service reports.

What’s a better way to manage this process? Some companies are using telematics for field service. For instance, the ZenduWork program uses vehicle history data to update and send forms. As a result, human error and inaccurate bills are reduced.

Video integration

If a picture is worth 1000 words, how many words are a video worth? A lot of companies are adding videos to their telematics system.

Smart Rules

camera systems with telematics

The most effective camera systems are the ones that integrate with telematics. Without telematics integration, the camera simply saves hours and hours of footage. Obviously, most of that footage is not important.

However, with telematics, the camera can save critical clips. For instance, a moving company wanted to record all instances when workers load and unload the truck. As a result, they set a “doors opened” rule on their telematics system and programmed the camera to start recording when that rule is triggered.

Links
Insurance Journal: Telematics CEO: 5 Trends to Watch in 2018 in Auto Insurance
Automotive Fleet: 12 Telematics Trends and Technologies
ASA Shop: Telematics: Past, Present, and Future

Why Some Commercial Vehicle Dashcams Fail

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

It’s no secret – having commercial vehicle dashcams is the industry norm. Frequently, there are stories about how dashcams reduce liability, simplify insurance claims, and train employees.

However, what about some of the other stories? Some companies experienced challenges on their first commercial vehicle dashcams. From faulty hardware to internal politics, their projects failed because of multiple roadblocks.

In this post, let’s review why some commercial vehicle dashcams fail and how companies can avoid these roadblocks.

Hardware issues

The #1 concern for all dashcams is if it works. “The cameras worked well for the first few months,” wrote an online reviewer. “Then, after a few months, we got in an accident. We only learned that the camera stopped recording footage after the accident!”

Unfortunately, the reviewer experienced the worst-case scenario – the camera was useless when it was most needed! Some common hardware issues include broken SD cards and ports.

How to avoid this issue?

Camera reputation. Purchasers must “screen” dashcams. Screening involves reviewing the camera vendor’s history or looking for references. Typically, the best hardware comes from vendors with multiple years of experience and with positive user reviews.

Trial program. Of course, the best way to evaluate cameras is to try them! Many vendors have a trial program on dashcams for commercial vehicles. As a result, purchasers can test cameras on a portion of their fleet before rolling out the entire product line.

Software support

In addition to hardware, the software makes up the second half of dashcam systems. As such, buggy software and poor support often lead to unsuccessful dashcam rollouts.

“Customer support is important,” said a purchasing manager. “Technology will always have bugs and glitches. However, the key question if we will receive good support when these issues arise.”

How to avoid this issue?

Onboarding. Although many dashcams are user-friendly, it is highly recommended to go through a vendor’s onboarding process. Most vendors offer free training to ensure that the database is correctly set up and to teach administrators on how to use the program.

Communication. Also, after installation and onboarding, many companies offer continuous support. For example, camera support teams work with their clients to retrieve certain footages and solve technical glitches. Therefore, successful camera rollouts often involve good communication between the customer and the camera provider.

Tampering

As strange as it sounds, sabotage is another reason for why camera projects fail.

Unfortunately, some companies experienced cases where drivers tampered with the camera. For instance, one company caught drivers who taped over camera lenses. In another company, managers discovered that some drivers removed and threw away SD cards.

How to avoid this issue?

Tamper-proof hardware. One of the best ways to eliminate tampering is to install tamper-proof hardware. For instance, some cameras are hard mounted and have SD card locks.

Cybersecurity. On the software side, there should be strong cybersecurity. “Cybersecurity was an important purchasing factor,” a purchasing manager said. “We wanted to leave no room for error so we only looked at secured cloud systems that had backup systems.”

Internal politics

Similar to sabotage, office politics can destroy a camera project from the inside. Commercial vehicle dashcams might not enjoy universal support. For instance, in one company, some drivers were concerned that cameras were “Big Brother” and threatened to quit. As a result, their managers decided not to invest in dashcams in fear of upsetting their drivers.

How to avoid this issue?

Education. Despite backlash from some drivers, a lot of drivers embrace dashcams after installation. “I think dashcams are great,” said a driver. “We’ve got some bad drivers on the road and unfortunately people always seem to point fingers at company drivers. I feel more comfortable knowing that I have a device that records what really happened.” Thus, managers are more successful when they educate drivers on how dashcams protect good drivers.

Commercial vehicle dashcams does not meet business needs

The last reason is that the system does not meet business needs. Consider the following trucking company.

The truck company’s biggest challenge was that their trucks traveled on the road for several weeks. They invested in dashcams but it was a poor fit. Since the dashcams did not wirelessly upload clips, the company needed to wait until the trucks returned to the yard in order to get the clips.

How to avoid this issue?

Business analysis. Business analysis is the process of identifying business needs and finding solutions. In the case of the trucking company, they should have identified their lengthy road schedule and matched it with a wirelessly uploading camera system.

Double checking on product specifications? Click here to get answers to FAQS on ZenduCAM!

Driver Risk Management | Driver Training & Management

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

“Hey boss, what do you think of the new driver?” Uh oh. Although most safety managers prepare great selection and training processes, it is often hard to measure a driver’s risk. That risk is called driver risk management.

Driver Risk Management

First, let’s discuss what is risk management. Risk management means identifying what can go wrong and then planning ahead to minimize those risks.

Here’s an example. Let’s say an NBA general manager is prospecting draft picks. The GM can have the perfect prospect – say a 7-foot center who can make a real impact on both sides of the court.

However, without proper risk management such as looking at health history, the pick can be disastrous. That’s what happened with Greg Oden, a super talented college star who never made an NBA impact because of multiple knee injuries.

Of course, the same concept applies to fleet management. Driver risk management is the process of figuring who are the riskiest drivers. Ideally, managers would want a crystal ball that would tell them which drivers will get in an accident.

Unfortunately, those crystal balls don’t exist. Without crystal balls, what are some good ways to have driver risk management?

Traditional management

For a long time, managers only looked at their drivers’ accident history. If a driver was in an accident, it’s more likely that they will be involved in another one. For that reason, these drivers are labeled as the riskiest.

Although this idea has reason, it shouldn’t be the only way to classify drivers. Some shortfalls include:

Reactive, not proactive

Perhaps the biggest shortfall is that traditional driver risk management is reactive. Managers would only classify a driver as risky after they get in an accident. That defeats the purpose of risk management, which is meant to prevent accidents from happening in the first place!

One-sided

Accident histories might not be the most reliable source of data. Since reports do not contain the entire story, managers still have to ask a few questions. How long ago was the accident? What caused the accident? Who was at fault? Accidents do not necessarily reflect a driver’s skills and it would be shortsighted to label a driver from a single incident.

Proactive management

The best practice in modern driver risk management is to proactively look at data. “Big data improves safety,” wrote Jorge Gonzales, a Geotab Solutions Engineer. “The quantity and quality of data is possible to process with the right tools.

Here are a few examples on how big data improved driver risk management.

Speeding data

Take a look at the graphs above. Clearly, the biggest change is the blue part. Blue represents speeding. When drivers speed, they are involved in more serious accidents.

Here is another graph. This graph shows that speeding is the most common GPS event when vehicles are involved in a collision.

It’s no secret that monitoring speeding directly correlates to driver risk. It’s like the movie Moneyball, where a baseball GM selects his players based on their On Base Percentage stat; many safety managers use speeding stats to gauge a driver’s accident risk.

Distracted driving

Distracted driving is another big area in risk management. According to a tort law called “negligent entrustment”, businesses can pay the price for distracted drivers.

Negligent entrustment is a fancy way of saying that a person is responsible when they let someone use a risky tool – a car, for example. Businesses must take reasonable steps to prevent distracted driving or they can be fined.

As a result, businesses started collecting data on distracted driving. For instance, some businesses use live streaming cameras to check if a driver is distracted. Other businesses use eye detectors to create distraction reports.

Online testing

Some managers use a framework called “ABC” to assess driver risk. ABC stands for Attitude, Behaviour, and Competence.

One of the coolest new ways to identify risky drivers is to use online testing. Online tests help managers complete a full picture on a driver. It assesses anything from their road knowledge to their concentration.

For example, E-Training World has online exercises to test driver concentration. In a test, a driver is shown a traffic picture for 12 seconds. After the 12 seconds, there is a multiple choice question about the picture.

Online testing, as a result, helps managers identify risky drivers who have not yet shown risky behaviours on the road.

Links
FleetNews: Driver training: Steps to a successful driver training strategy
automotiveFleet: A Paradigm Shift to Driver Risk Management
Geotab: Using Big Data for Road Safety: A Safety Analysis Based on Geotab Telematics Data

What are the Best Fleet Fuel Cards?

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

While I was studying in business school, I learned a quick lesson about asking for the “best” solution. I often heard students asking the professors, “So what’s the best way to do X or to do Y?”. The answer was the same, every time – “It depends”. Of course, as students, we were frustrated by the answer. However, “it depends” is really the best answer because every problem is different. The same applies to finding the best fleet fuel cards.

What are the best fleet fuel cards?

In honour of my professors, the answer is … it depends. In this guide, we won’t necessarily cover what are the best fleet fuel cards, but rather, how to look for the best fleet fuel cards.

In order to find the best fleet fuel cards, consider the following areas.

Cost vs. Benefit

Fuel cards can have subtle cost differences. Just like a credit card, some cards have monthly fees while other cards only have a one-time fee. Additionally, there are different terms and conditions. For example, some cards have heavier late payment penalties.

On the other side, what are the benefits of having a fuel card? A lot of fleet fuel cards offer volume discounts. Of course, just like the cost, the volume discounts vary from card to card.

In other words, the only real way to compare cost against benefit is to compare quotes. Here is a quick exercise. From the table below, what is the best fleet fuel card?

Card A clearly has the lower monthly fee while Card B clearly has the better volume discount. The only way to decide which is the better card is to consider business use. In this case, the cost is only justified if a vehicle uses more than 200 gallons a month [$2 monthly fee/ $0.01 discount per gallon].

Network

Here’s another consideration – how big is the fleet card’s coverage? Let’s say a fleet card makes sense from a cost vs. benefit standpoint. However, that fleet card would be useless if it doesn’t serve the fleet’s operating range.

Therefore, one of the first questions to qualify a fuel card is to figure out their service location. Some fuel cards might cover 90% of fuel stations across the country. Another might only cover a very narrow region.

A good framework for matching a fuel card is to:

1 – Figure out where drivers go. Create a coverage map based on driver locations.

2 – From the coverage map, jot down local gas stations.

3 – Ask a fuel card rep how many of those stations are covered.

Data

Some fuel cards are quite basic and their data is limited to monthly invoices. That might be fine for small businesses who only employ a few drivers.

However, for businesses that employ more than a handful of drivers, they might want other data. For instance, some fuel cards provide the following 2 reports.

Fuel data. Some fuel cards can create reports on fuel purchases and fuel use. As a result, managers can use these reports to save money on fuel purchases and on fuel efficiency.

Fraud reports. Some fuel cards are able to stop fuel fraud. For instance, a business discovered that some of their employees were stealing fuel because they received suspicious purchase alerts.

Conclusion

There are many fleet fuel cards. The only way to pick the “best” card is to figure out business needs such as the amount fuel purchased per month, the service coverage, and the amount of data needed. From there, businesses can compare their requirements against each fuel card.

Links:
FitSmall Services: When is a Fleet Card Right for Your Small Business?

Tamper Proof GPS Tracker Alternatives

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

“Our GPS tracker just didn’t work,” said a disappointed business owner. “It never did what it was supposed to do because it turned off half of the time!” What was wrong with the GPS tracker? Well, it turned out that the device itself wasn’t necessarily the problem. The business just needed a tamper proof GPS tracker.

The Problem

The business owner thought that their GPS tracker was a winner. After all, it was cheap and it was installed in just under 2 minutes. However, the quick install might have led to the problem – the device was fragile and was far from a tamper proof GPS tracker.

In fact, the owner later found out that employees unplugged the devices whenever they did not want to be tracked. They would then replug the device.

This left the owner to wonder – what are some good tamper proof GPS tracker alternatives?

Alternative #1 – Hardwired GPS

A popular alternative is hardwiring. Hardwiring is when mechanics install wires within the vehicle.

What are the advantages of hardwiring? For a long time, hardwiring was the go-to tamper proof solution. Since the solution was part of the vehicle, employees cannot tamper with tracking by unplugging a device.

On the other side, what are the concerns? According to fleet managers, some of the biggest concerns of hardwiring include:

  • Time. The vehicles need to visit a installation shop. It might not be feasible to do every single vehicle at once, so businesses tend to install the fleet in phases. As a result, the process could take several weeks to complete.
  • Cost. Some hardwired solutions can have upfront costs of over $1000/vehicle. Hardwired solutions are typically more costly because businesses need to pay for both hardware and installation.
  • Installation risk. Hardwiring requires a high level of technical skills. Businesses must ensure that the installer is certified in order to mitigate vehicle damage risk.

Alternative 2: Tamper Proof Plug and Play Solutions

Another alternative is using tamper proof plug and play solutions. Over the past few years, a lot of plug and play solutions developed anti-tampering hardware and software. For example, Geotab systems have two powerful anti-tampering measures.

Harness

Harnesses are anti-tampering superstars. Harnesses hide the tracking device under the vehicle’s hood and away from open view. As a result, the system is protected against accidental kickers or deliberate yankers.

Unplug alert

Let’s say a mischievous employee gets creative. They go under the hood, find the device, and use a tool to remove the device. Can they get away with it?

No. Another precaution against tampering is setting up unplug rules. This is a handy alert and report system where all unplugs are documented. Meaning administrators can know when a device is unplugged when it next communicates.  However, it is important to note that there is no guaranteed time on when it will next communicate.

Summary

With both a harness and an unplug alarm, Geotab is a tamper proof GPS tracker system. Tampering with the system makes no sense! It’s almost like a staff member walking up to their supervisor, blindfolding them, then trying to walk out the building – probably not a great ending for that employee!

Looking to install a tamper proof GPS tracker? Check out Geotab’s Harness Guide!

Oil & Gas Safety | The Importance of Training, Wireless Gas Detection and Disaster Recovery Planning

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

Are all gas leaks dangerous?

According to Nicholas Kawa, only some leaks are dangerous. Kawa worked as a gas leak investigator. During his job, Kawa was surprised to find out that gas leaks were everywhere and not all leaks were fixed right away. In a time where people are thinking about safety and are buying things like wireless gas detection systems, why aren’t all leaks fixed right away?

Well, only gas leaks that have 5 – 15% concentration are actually explosive. Kawa realized that gas leaks were everywhere and only the riskiest leaks were prioritized.

oil & gas safety stats

Even though most leaks are harmless, gas safety is still important. Over the past few years, we’ve heard a lot of gas accident stories. Here are a few examples.

Examples of Oil & Gas Disasters

 

Gas Explosion, Etobicoke 2003

I had a personal experience with this disaster. At the time of the accident, I was still in elementary school. On that day, I was playing in recess and then heard the loudest “bang!” of my life. Of course, we were all scared and ran back to our teachers.

It turned out that the bang was from a nearby accident. A construction crew was working at a site when it struck a gas line. It caused a gas leak and the resulting explosion destroyed a strip mall.

Since 2003, several companies were fined for the accident. It also prompted businesses to take a closer look at their safety policies to prevent a future accident.

Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster

Lac-Mégantic, a small town in Québec, was forever changed by a rail accident. In 2013, a train derailed and destroyed a section of the town. How did this accident happen?

The train, which was carrying fuel, was stopped for a crew change. While the train was braked, a gas leak fire caused a small fire. Firefighters were able to put out the fire, but in the process, the train’s brakes loosened. This caused the train to roll down the tracks, derail, and crash into downtown Lac-Mégantic.

The crash was later called one of the worst rail disasters in Canada. It was deadly and nearly destroyed all of Lac-Mégantic’s downtown buildings.

Bhopal Disaster

The Bhopal disaster was perhaps the worst gas disaster in history. In 1984, a pesticide plant had an accident which released tons of poisonous gases.
Over 600,000 people in nearby towns were exposed to these gases. It was horrifying – thousands of people died that night and many more thousands died over the years.

To this day, there are still lingering effects. The nearby towns still have uncleaned gases. In fact, the government still labels the area as contaminated.

Oil & Gas Safety

As seen in the previous 3 stories, oil and gas safety can save lives. Some safety best practices include:

oil & gas safety best practices

Employee training

Since accidents can cause wide damage, businesses spend a lot of time preventing accidents. One of the best prevention tools is training employees.

For instance, fuel companies set up policies around anything from uniforms to driving rules to vehicle inspection. After creating policies, businesses train and monitor employees. Proactive business, as a result, had much lower accident rates.

Wireless gas detection

A useful safety tool is using wireless gas detection. One of the biggest safety risks is odourless gas spills. Gas, in its natural state, is odourless. Sometimes, employees might not notice gas spills until it’s too late.

Enter wireless gas detection systems. These systems include both wireless gas detection sensors and remote shut off buttons. Sensors are portable kits that alert employees about gas threats. In addition, employees can use remote shut off buttons to cut equipment power.

Disaster Recovery Planning

Disaster recovery planning is where a business plans ahead for accidents. Although being accident-free is always the goal, businesses still need to prepare for emergencies.

For example, one company regularly conducts drills. These drills train employees on how to respond quickly to oil and gas accidents. As a result, when a spill actually happened, employees were able to quickly work with emergency services to contain the damage.

Links
The Atlantic: Gas Leaks Can’t Be Tamed
CBC: Enbridge fined $700K for fatal Etobicoke explosion
National Post: Lac Mégantic ‘may well be the most devastating rail accident in Canadian history’
The Atlantic: Bhopal: The World’s Worst Industrial Disaster, 30 Years Later
EWEB: Tanker Crash Highlights Importance of Emergency Preparedness and Response Efforts

Best Dashcam Stories Over the Last Year

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

Here’s an interesting stat. According to studies, company drivers were not responsible for over 80% of crashes. Because they protect good drivers, dashcams are becoming more popular for both businesses and private drivers. People are coming up with creative uses for dashcams. Here are some of the best dashcam stories from last year.

best dashcam stories 2017

Personal driver protection – from insurance claims to muggings!

Many personal drivers use dashcams. For example, almost a third of Canadians already have or are considering dashcams. The craziest thing is a third of the population isn’t even a big number! In some countries, almost everyone has a dashcam. For example, in Russia, a lot of drivers own dashcams and some of them share their videos on YouTube.

Why do private drivers use dashcams?

Insurance benefits

False claim protection is one of the biggest reasons for getting dashcams. Many drivers were able to prove that they were not responsible for crashes. As a result, they were completely excused by their insurance companies and their insurance rates were protected.

Muggings

Sadly, some places around the world are known for car muggings. In response, drivers are encouraged to buy dashcams. Audio recording and HD footage quality are two of the best dashcam features to protect drivers against muggers.

After buying these dashcams, owners labeled their cars to indicate that their car is protected and to warn off muggers

Ontario Professional Drivers’ Safety Association

John De Groot believes that people can have safer roads. Consequently, he made that the number one goal of his organization. “We wanted to put safety back in the industry and promote it,” said De Groot.

His idea involves using a multi-channel camera solution. He and other commercial drivers installed these cameras. When the cameras catch someone driving dangerously or illegally, De Groot and the other drivers will share that footage with the police.

The vision is to clean up the roads. “It’s not trying to invade privacy,” said De Groot. “It’s to protect the public”. For instance, the best dashcam footages will be saved and sent to driving schools or commercial companies. These footages will help driving schools and companies better train their drivers.

Ontario Professional Drivers’ Safety Association

Teaching driving schools how to teach their students

Dashcams are also helping driving schools teach their drivers. Two use cases include route replays and education audits.

Route replays

The best way for new drivers to learn is by getting them to correct their mistakes. “One of the biggest challenges for an instructor is to get students to realize that they are making a mistake,” said a driving instructor. “Some students don’t notice that they are making a mistake, while other students get defensive!”.

Dashcams are a great way to break down the barrier. “My students can now follow their routes and see all of their mistakes.” said the instructor. “In addition, some of the best dashcam models tell students when they were driving too fast or when they weren’t driving smoothly. My students got noticeably better after reviewing the footages and a lot of them passed their driving tests on the first go.”

routes replays

Education audits

Driving schools are also able use dashcams to audit their instructors. “We were disappointed to hear complaints about some of our instructors”, said a driving school owner. “Our biggest mission is to create a comfortable and safe environment for our students. We started using live streaming dashcams in 2017 to ensure our instructors were meeting expectations.”

In order to audit instructors, schools used multi-channel cameras. Multi-channel cameras have multiple views and managers saw what was happening both on the road and in the car. As a result, schools were able to give instructors feedback on their teaching skills.

Check out our top 10 best dashcam feature list to read more about cameras!

Links
CBC: Smile – you’re on trucker camera! Drivers outfitting tractor-trailers with cameras to capture bad behaviour
Huffpost: Dash Cams May Help You Keep Your Auto Insurance Rates Low

Fuel Strategy Framework | Fuel Monitoring Systems for Trucks

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

The new year is always a good time for businesses to review their strategies! For fleets, one of these strategies might be the fuel strategy. Even in a new year, fleet managers are challenged to get more bang for fuel bucks. Here is a sample fuel strategy framework that is powered by data from fuel monitoring systems for trucks.

ABC Company’s Fuel Strategy Framework

ABC Company is a trucking company. It’s no surprise that fuel is one of their biggest costs. For that reason, ABC’s fleet manager uses fuel monitoring systems for trucks to guide their fuel strategy.

ABC’s fuel strategy is organized into a step by step process. In this process, the fleet manager plans fuel savings, monitors fuel data, creates policies, and reports results.

Let’s closely examine each step.

Step 1: Planning savings with Fleet Savings Summary

As with any good strategy, the first step is to set goals. This is no different for ABC’s fuel strategy. At the beginning of each year, the fleet manager sets fuel savings targets with a Fleet Savings Summary report.

The Fleet Savings Summary creates a dashboard of potential savings from using fuel monitoring systems for trucks. Throughout the year, the fleet manager uses the savings dashboard to compare results against targets.

fleet savings summary

Step 2: Monitoring fuel purchase with Fuel Tracker

In the second step, ABC’s fleet manager collects fuel purchase data. Vital data is collected and reported on the Fuel Tracker Report.

For instance, the fleet manager can see where fuel was purchased, how much fuel costed, and what was the fuel economy. Afterwards, the fleet manager creates effective purchase policies by analyzing fuel purchase reports.

Step 3: Monitoring fuel usage with Fuel Consumption Analysis

The third step is to monitor trucks as they go on the road. Here, the fleet manager’s biggest challenge is to make sense of all of the data.

Since fuel use depends on different factors, the fleet manager relies on Fuel Consumption Analysis to narrow down what’s driving fuel cost and how to meet savings targets.

For instance, fuel variation reports shows how much fuel was consumed each day. From these reports, ABC can filter out days that had dips in fuel efficiency.

From here, the fleet manager looks at each dips and makes sense of it. Was it caused by poor driving? Long routes? Faulty vehicles? By going through the checklist, the fleet manager can then make an informed decision on how to meet savings targets.

Step 4: Creating policies

The fourth step is where fleet managers earn their living. In order to reach the year’s savings targets, ABC’s fleet manager creates policies from data collected in the last 2 steps.

After reviewing data, ABC created the following policies:

  • Fuel purchases. The fleet manager published a list of preferred fuelling stations. By using fuel purchase data, the fleet manager identified the highest value fuelling stations.
  • Driver training. The fleet manager sent several drivers to a training center. After analysing variation reports, the fleet manager noticed that the same drivers struggled with certain driving habits. Then, by re-training the drivers, fuel savings increased.
  • Truck order. The fleet manager ordered a new truck. The fleet manager noticed that a particular truck struggled with fuel savings. After crossing off all other factors, the fleet manager was finally able to prove that it was time to replace the aging truck.

Step 5: Reporting results with Quarterly Fuel Trends

The final step is to report fuel results. In order to report results, the fleet manager used a tool called Quarterly Fuel Trends.

Quarterly Fuel Trends summarizes fuel changes in each quarter. With this report, ABC’s fleet manager was able to prove that the fleet reduced fuel costs each quarter. Here comes the bonus cheques!

Interested in looking at fuel management systems for trucks? Click here for more info.

Links
Geotab: Fleet Savings Summary
Geotab: Last 3 Months Fuel Trend Report
Fuel Tracker
Geotab: Fuel Consumption Analysis

FAQs – Asset Tracking Services

Posted on | by Jimmy Song

What do warehouses, schools, and construction sites all have in common? All of these places have valuable assets lying around. In order to protect and control these assets, people started using asset tracking services.

Here are some of the FAQS for asset tracking services.

 

What are asset tracking services and how does it work?

Asset tracking services manages a business’s tools or inventory. Management can include anything from locating to labeling assets.
There are typically three ways where this works – either by barcode, sensors, or tags.

Barcode

Barcode tracking is probably the most common asset tracker. People use it all the time. For instance, stores would attach barcodes to keep track of their stock.

Sensors

Sensors are another way to track assets. Some sensors are attached to an asset through hardwiring, while others sensors are easily screwed onto the asset. Once attached, the sensor uses satellite to locate and follow the asset.

Tags

Tags are very similar to sensors. Like sensors, tags are easily attached to assets. The main difference is that tags send data to a receiving device. For instance, some tags use Bluetooth to send data to phones.

What can asset trackers do?

The top 3 uses for asset tracking services include location tracking, geofencing, and environment sensors.

Location tracking

Location tracking is still the biggest reason why people use asset tracking services. Asset trackers provide real-time accurate location updates, which improves asset management.

Geofencing

Geofencing is a tool where users can draw zones. When assets enter or leave these zones, an alert is triggered. These alerts are helpful for preventing theft.

Environment sensors

Besides location data, asset trackers can collect other data points such as motion, light exposure, or temperature. Some businesses came up with creative ideas to use these data points, such as using motion sensors to create reports on how often the assets are used.

What are some real-life applications of asset trackers?

Case study – facility

Issue:

Some facilities process and ship hundreds of inventory. When facilities are large scale, they run into issues such as lost inventory and poor asset management.

Solution:

Bluetooth tracking tags are a great tool to improve asset management. Facilities frequently install Bluetooth tags to track inventory from manufacturing to shipping.

After installing Bluetooth tags, employees were able to quickly locate inventory on their phone. Also, before sending out the order, the tags confirm that all items in the shipping order have been loaded into their truck. As a result, the Bluetooth tags decrease missing inventory and increase productivity flow.

Case study – construction site

Issue:

The average construction job takes several months. Because constructors take a while to complete a job, a lot of them are required to leave equipment on

site. This makes their equipment an easy target for thieves. In fact, a recent example happened in Gatineau, where thieves stole a $160,000 lift from a site.

Solution:

Construction companies are installing sensors to monitor assets. A popular technique is drawing a geofence zone around the construction site. If an asset is stolen and taken off-site, then an alert is triggered. From here, the company can share live location data with the police to quickly recover the stolen asset.

Links
Ottawa Sentinel: Gatineau police seek assistance in heavy equipment theft investigation