Do you think that one day all business vehicles will be telematics-equipped?

The main reason why the majority of fleets do not use telematics is resistance by drivers.

Just as when tachographs were first introduced across larger commercial vehicles in the 1970s, there is great suspicion that telematics is a ‘spy in the cab’.

As such, employees object on the grounds that they feel they are being unnecessarily scrutinised and that the company doesn’t trust them.

This is particularly acute among commercial vehicle drivers who feel they are professional drivers who can be trusted to carry out the tasks set.

The key to successful adoption is to clearly communicate with drivers and make them understand the business case for the introduction of telematics and that it is not a means to keep a constant eye on them.

The below are a few tips on how to do that successfully:

1. Ensure your drivers know you have an obligation to manage your assets as efficiently as possible. This is especially relevant in tough economic times.
2. Explain how the system will benefit the company. A system could improve productivity and reduce liability and insurance costs and employees are generally rational and will understand reasoning.
3. Don’t spring the new system on drivers after you’ve installed it. This will make drivers feel you don’t trust them and rumours will spread.
4. Involve key drivers in the process of choosing the system: identify advocates with influence who can help with adoption.
5. Make sure you know the system inside out before talking to employees about it. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, your drivers won’t have confidence in the gameplan.
6. Explain how telematics will help the drivers through sat-nav with traffic avoidance, and protect them against false claims of customer disputes, vehicle damage and driving infringements.
7. Set rules for infringements from the start and stick by them.
8. Have an incentive programme to reward employees for meeting KPIs like driver behaviour for instance. Maybe even create a league table to foster spirit in the team.

In these financially straitened times, if a fleet manager wants to introduce a relatively inexpensive system to track vehicles and provide some basic usage reports, what sort of systems are available?

The range of options available to fleet managers considering adopting telematics is so wide and diverse that you will find whatever you need at a budget to suit.

Everything from a dot on a map to fully-integrated, bespoke systems are all out there. However, the single most important factor the fleet manager should focus on is the specific need of the operation.

A responsible vendor will take this approach with a prospective fleet manager, but there are still unscrupulous dealers who will sell a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

This has not done the telematics industry as a whole any good and a fleet manager is best advised to spend time carefully selecting their technology.

A thorough understanding of your business, undertaken by an expert, will quickly identify your needs and enable them to demonstrate a cost-effective solution with good return on investment that is fit for purpose.

Be sure to look into the hardware and software offered and be sure that it gets regular updates – with the better manufacturers it will be obvious that the solutions benefit from decent R&D spend – you can tell by the number of innovations the company releases.

You don’t want to be left with the same solution two years on when your needs and the market have changed.

This relationship will be ongoing, so a good primary indicator of who to partner with is to ask how long a supplier has been in the market.

With numbers of suppliers increasing, and start-ups regularly fading away within a few years of entering the market, organisations can be left with either no system support, or worse, no system at all.

As with all types of business, trusted brands with a record for stability are the safest place for your financial investment.

Similarly, rather than being the first to integrate a ‘bespoke’ telematics system and taking the associated risk (costs, implementation time), look first at what has already been done.

Proven solutions should guarantee savings and an increase in efficiency. A customised solution may ensure every possibility is covered, but cost, integration time and a reliance on integration partners have to be factored in.

All businesses want first-class service and support but all too few enjoy it. From initial consultation to integration, from training to system enhancements, it is vital to have a regional contact.

Local service and a network of integration partners with implementation know-how are also critical for the speed and success of a systems deployment.

If a solution is successful, the vendor will have a loyal customer base and be able to provide references.

You mentioned the integration of telematics systems with other back office systems?

One of the reasons organisations look to employ telematics is the simplification of administration across working hours, driving hours, job despatch, fuel claims, tax compliance, legal compliance and invoicing.

All of these are very easily achieved through the integration of a telematics system with existing back office systems.

The two should not be distinct but blend seamlessly.

Many manufacturers charge for API access, but others see this area as an essential part of today’s fleet business.

The ability to have systems talking to each other drives efficiency throughout the business, which is the number one objective of today’s fleet manager.

Integration can be a key requirement for an installation and this means that fleet managers need to be assured that previous integrations have been successful.

There are plenty of gains to be had from implementing telematics: this can be done in ‘day one’, or can be carried out later in order to drive further efficiency.

Telematics systems can deliver huge amounts of information. How can the fleet manager be sure he receives relevant information that can be used to make key decisions?

One of the big fears of adopting telematics is that it will add to the administrative workload due to the amount of data created.

Where is a manager supposed to find the time to sift through reams of data to get the information they need?

There is, of course, the potential for this to happen, but it is easily avoided if the system produces live dashboard reporting in combination with easy-to-read historic reports and is set up to the specific KPIs of the individual customer.

These can be delivered either on-screen in real-time in colour-coded graphs and charts or in pdf or spreadsheet format as historic reports – and need to be very easy to either configure or compile with only a few clicks of a mouse.

After this point it should be fairly intuitive for the fleet manager if the system has been developed to be user friendly.

A thorough training plan should also be considered to make sure each user knows how to use the system to enhance their role and become more efficient.

Even if the supplier charges for training it is an essential part of the implementation process which should not be overlooked.

If you were to advise a fleet manager on best practice in the use of telematics systems, what would that advice be?

The primary requirement is for a good implementation plan.

Many systems have been unjustly considered failures because a company was sold the wrong system for its requirements, the drivers rejected it, or the interface meant that using the system was too difficult.

All too often, fleet managers who have endured similar failures feel they have had their fingers ‘burnt’ by a previous telematics company and are reluctant to try again, even though the technology itself may not have been at fault.

Knowing what you need from the system is a primary consideration but implementing telematics into a fleet, especially a large one, will often require a fundamental change in working practices.

Change is often hard to accept, particularly for employees who have been used to working in a certain way for a long time.

Therefore, the implementation will initially take a lot of effort and commitment.

However, with the right motivation, training and possibly incentives, newer and more efficient ways of working will soon become accepted as beneficial to all.

As with most planning, implementation is best achieved by breaking down the overall objective into individual elements such as these:

• Fleet’s needs: What does your fleet need from telematics?
• Finding the right vendor: Products and solutions are one part of the equation, but what sort of back-up will you receive?
• Employees: Make sure they understand why telematics needs to be adopted and prepare them for how it will affect and enhance their work.
• Vehicle managers/administrators: For a smooth transition, make traffic office staff comfortable with the system.
• Drivers: Many may feel telematics are there purely to spy on them – as discussed, there are ways to explain the business advantages.
• Software support: If there is IT support for existing systems, involve them in the adoption process so all parties know what is happening in case they are required to step in.
• Assess work practices: How will the data received from telematics be used on a daily basis? If it doesn’t become part of the working routine soon after installation, chances are it won’t ever be, so you should plan with the system vendor to ensure a successful post-launch take-up.