The fleet uses fuel cards and reducing fuel costs is, understandably, a key area of focus for the RSPCA.

The organisation recently invested in Trimble’s GeoMaster software in a bid to reduce fuel consumption and improve driver behaviour.

Although the fleet does not have full 12 months’ figures, the RSPCA predicts that the minimum fuel saving just from fitting telematics will be 65,000 litres fuel a year.

Once structured driver management is initiated, that figure is expected to increase by at least 50% to 100,000 litres a year.

“Telematics has made a considerable difference to our costs by reducing fuel consumption and improving driver attitude and behaviour, while identifying the closest vehicle to any incident has enabled us to better manage our fleet mileage,” says RSPCA fleet manager Tony Branch.

Due to the introduction of telematics and risk management initiatives, the RSPCA has received £15,000 in funding from its insurer Allianz. In future, it also hopes to negotiate lower premiums.

The work of RSPCA inspectors can be dangerous – and not simply because of the animals that require rescuing (among them, a tiger living in someone’s flat).

Vehicle tracking improves driver safety by providing visibility of the inspectors’ locations, while the vehicles come with non-permanent magnetic livery so officers can remove it if they feel it compromises their safety.

Because of the nature of the drivers’ work, accidents and repair costs can be a real issue for the fleet.

“Cost of accidents and repair is always an issue although we have made progress over the past two years through driver training. We are hoping to reduce this further now we can monitor driver behaviour through telematics,” says Degenhard.

The fleet policy allows the RSPCA to ask a driver for a contribution towards the excess in the case of an own-fault accident, which Degenhard admits is something that may have to be pursued more frequently in the current economic climate.

All new starters have to pass an internal driving assessment course, which is repeated every three years.

The RSPCA also has a programme of in-car driver training based on the online assessment, accident record, penalty fine record and information from telematics.