Telematics

TELEMATICS AND ELECTRIC VEHICLES – TWO HOT TOPICS RIGHT NOW AND EACH WITH SIGNIFICANT STUMBLING BLOCKS: FOR EVS, IT’S RANGE ANXIETY, FOR TELEMATICS, IT’S THE ‘BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING’ SYNDROME.

Well, we are working constantly on range improvement and adding more charging stations as time goes on, so the EV issue is easy enough to fix, even if it will take time.

Changing the human condition with regards Telematics – yeah, that’s more of a challenge.

Telematics is close enough to the silver bullet for fleet managers.

Providing a comprehensive solution, telematics addresses health and safety concerns, company efficiency, driver ability (within your fleet and as a societal consideration – safe fleet drivers are better drivers) and reduces unnecessary expenditure in repairs, maintenance and accident costs.

If there is one single factor a fleet manager should consider above all others, it’s the decision to implement a telematics solution – even if it’s not an all-encompassing one. Any telematics solution is better than no telematics at all.

All right, let’s make a few assumptions here, the first being you have made the decision to opt for a telematics solution for your company and your fleet. What’s the first step?

Before you start looking at choosing a telematics partner ( and we’ve given you some clues on this too), you’ll need an internal plan to get your drivers to buy-in to the solution.

In some cases, it could be a simple thing: “Hey guys, we’re looking to maximise efficiency, so we’re putting a telematics solution in place. All cool? Great. Let’s arrange to get your vehicles equipped.”

Oh, if it were just that easy. Unfortunately, a telematics solution – for all that it is great news from the company’s perspective – may not sit so well with the employee, especially those employees with long standing company history.

These are likely to be your biggest objectors, since you are implying that even after years of productive service and company profitability, your ‘team players’ are still (self-perceived) to be considered something of a liability at best, and nobody likes that feeling.

Take the time to think about how you are going to handle objections like this.

Your telematics provider will have heard every objection under the sun and (a good gauge as to whether your supplier is a good one) will most likely have found the best ways of handling them.

But here’s a few ideas which might help: While it is not a legal requirement to tell employees that the vehicles your company uses are GPS tracked, its advisable – and smart – to tell them.

Failure to do so – in the event of a vehicle mishap and the resultant disciplinary action – will lead to poor relations between the employee and employer.

Best to be upfront about a telematics solution; you are upfront with your customers – you should be upfront with your team.

There are considerations about the holding of personal information too. The office of the Privacy Commission has a tool to help you add a personal information clause into company policy documents (which you have, of course) and it will cover your company ass(et) as well.

You should also explain what data is being collected, and who its going to be shared with (if anyone).

Frank and earnest discussions should be encouraged; and with more employees than just Frank or Ernest. Sorry, just checking you were awake.

So, what do you tell your people outside of having an inclusion in your policy clause? You can start by explaining why the telematics solution is required.

It may be fuel savings: “Times are tough, people and we are looking at saving fuel to avoid redundancies or reduced hours’’ or something similar. “We’ll be using the telematics system to ensure the most efficient use of the vehicles we have.’’

It may be improving driver behaviour: “Guys, we really like having you as part of the team and we want you going home safely at the end of the day, so we’re using the telematics systems to make sure you are the safest drivers you can be.’’

See where this is going? As the FM, you

have to think about how the telematics system benefits your drivers and present it that way, with the driver’s best interests first and those of the company second, despite the fact that the company is paying for it.

If you have a good business culture, you can explain that the system does have inherent benefits to the company, improved maintenance efficiency, the ability to recover stolen vehicles, making sure point-to-point customer service speed improves and so forth.

In smaller organisations where employee commitment to the company is healthy, sure.

Be mindful of the Kiwi mentality that says: “I’m grateful for the job, but corporate giants are big enough to look after themselves and are more geared to that than looking after little old me,” and tread carefully when it comes to comments regarding money, especially if it benefits the company.

Last in the reasons-we’re-doing-this list should be a comment on cost savings/ financial advantages and words to that effect. A smart employee will get that on their own and belabouring the point will likely undo the “we’re doing this for you” groundwork you’ve just laid down.

But do let your employees have the chance to ask questions about why the systems are being implemented and take the time to answer them rather than dismiss them. You can also re-emphasise the benefits to them at this point.

A little knowledge empowers the user and understanding a system is a good way of making sure your people are not mistrustful of them.

Make sure your drivers know how to use the systems you are using, especially if your chosen system has a privacy switch, which allows employees to turn off the tracking systems when the vehicles are being used for personal reasons, as and if such vehicle use is stated in the employee’s contract.

As time goes on, some of your drivers may be encouraged to use more advanced system features or troubleshoot for you. Some may even want to learn more about the in-office aspects of the system, and this should be encouraged.

Telematics is an industry on the rise. As a fleet management tool, it’s one of the most useful – as long as IT IS USED CORRECTLY.

Use it as a stick and it sucks. In fact, it’s money and effort wasted when used as a punitive measure.

Use it as a candy-coated carrot though, and its advantages are far greater than you might think.

It is now more cost effective than ever; the satellite soaring costs of five or 10 years ago have come right down to less than an employee’s weekly wage for initial start- up and two Auckland city lattes a week for on- going subscription services, which will save you so much more than you would expect.

More than ever, telematics will benefit small to medium fleets as well as the bigger national fleet users and in this article, we’ve only scratched the surface of what telematics can do.

A good telematics provider will be able to tell you so much more and give you the information you need to make your decision as to which provider to use so much more relevant to your business.