March 2008, Work Truck - Feature

Telematics Solutions Help Fleets Improve Productivity & Trim Costs

By Cindy Brauer

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On a monthly basis, Paul J. Rach saves a minimum of $150 per vehicle in reduced overtime and fuel savings for an annual savings of more than $35,000.

The MRM solution also performs everyday functions such as easy vehicle location identification, routing and playback, and identification of unauthorized vehicle use. Time card accuracy has also increased along with on-time morning arrivals, added benefits that also contribute to the bottom line.

"Occurrences of unauthorized weekend driving — with drivers filling up their gas tanks on Friday afternoon and then again on Monday mornings — are few and far between," noted Tarbart.

 Anchor Pest Control Tracks Vehicle & Driver Performance

mall to mid-sized companies often hesitate to investigate fleet telematics systems because of the expense. The professional installation and monthly subscriber or service fees required by many systems suit larger commercial fleets, but are beyond the needs or limited budgets of small businesses.

Anchor Pest Control in Sonora, Calif., operates an 11- to 12-vehicle fleet of work trucks. Owner Don Wolf had installed a GPS system in the company trucks, which tracked location. However, he needed a system to monitor vehicle and driver performance. He also wanted a vehicle management system that would generate easy-to-ready reports, install easily, and could be expanded as his business grew.

Anchor Pest Control owner Don Wolf reviews employee daily driving reports, generated by the CarChip units installed in the company’s trucks.

CarChip answered Wolf’s needs. A small unit that plugs into the diagnostic port under the vehicle dashboard, CarChip is simple to install — no cameras or straggling wires.

Wolf can now diagnose vehicle problems early and arrange routine servicing to avoid extended downtime. From the CarChip mileage and fuel reports, he can determine if employee driving habits were causing increased brake wear and reduced fuel economy.

System reports, formatted in charts and graphs, also help Wolf correlate service records and employee driving habits.

"Now when I get a complaint about an employee’s driving behavior or our service, I can remove the CarChip unit, download the data, and review an individual report for that day. I can also compare that day with other driving reports to see if this driving behavior is part of an overall trend or if the driver was just having a bad day," said Wolf. "Beyond driving performance, I can determine how long our service technicians are on-site performing their pest control duties," he added.

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