..:: AUTO REPORT AFRICA ::..
Related Articles
The next few months holds plenty of uncertainty for businesses, from concern about future lockdown levels to what the economic consequences of the risk adjusted lockdown strategy will be. What is clear is that the economic implications will be widespread, affecting even those who operated throughout level five.
The managing director of Legratron Electronics, Itumeleng Matshego, says consequently, fleet operators need to do what they can to reduce their costs.
“One way in which to do this is to use telematics to reduce fleet costs. Telematics can save costs in a number of ways.
“The data provided by telematics can reduce fuel costs. It allows for better planning of routes to reduce unnecessary travel. It provides an indication of which drivers are not driving fuel-efficiently. Additionally, telematics indicates the precise driving behaviours that are costly to fuel consumption and which employees need training. Businesses that struggle with diesel theft can also use their telematics to monitor this,” he says.
Telematics can even help you make informed decisions when saving on labour costs.
“You can use it to identify employees who result in higher costs than the rest of the workforce. Telematics data can indicate who is the best performing employee and who responds to training with the least expense.
“When you are working with a limited workforce, according to the level four restrictions, your scheduling decisions need to be correctly informed that so that you’re not placing some drivers under undue pressure. Telematics can also provide an accurate costing of wages and overtime due,” Matshego maintained.
Maintenance costs can also be reduced with the help of telematics. “This can be by providing timely reminders of when maintenance needs to be conducted. It can also help companies navigate the more complicated field of maintenance in an era where vehicles may be used for longer. This requires getting more out of the vehicles but you need to know which drivers are operating their vehicles harshly and rectify this quickly to achieve this.
“Certain telematics systems can also be linked to the vehicles so that you receive diagnostic information without relying on pressurised drivers to give it to you.
“If your telematics system provides drivers with an app on which they can record maintenance requirements, this can reduce errors and delays in communication and consequent maintenance. Essentially, it allows for a timely response to maintenance needs and avoids costly incidents,” he said.
There are a number of other small ways in which telematics can save costs.
“One way is if your insurer provides a discount for making use of telematics. Additionally, data from telematics can paint a picture of your current demand versus the size of your fleet. You may discover you are no longer in need of as many drivers or vehicles as you have.
“The only way to accurately determine if you are properly capitalising on your fleet is to look at the telematics data. This can reduce total spend on fleet costs as a result. Additionally, you will see which of the vehicles in your fleet are used more often than others and use this to inform future buying decisions,” he explained.
As you navigate the uncertain future COVID-19 holds for all business, telematics will be a vital tool.
“Telematics provides you with the data you need to make important decisions that are based on hard evidence rather than suppositions or assumptions,” Matshego said.
