A top tips document will be created with input from the three telematics suppliers for distribution to drivers and ongoing contact to provide advice to poor performers.

The KPIs will cover three main areas relating to using company cars.

The cost of fuel will be measured during the trial and compared with a benchmark from before the systems began operating.

Figures for average fuel economy, along with best and worst figures, will be monitored as well as with the total amount of fuel used during the trial.

Linked to fuel use but viewed in isolation will be the environmental impact of the vehicles during the trial.

CO2 emissions of each vehicle will be measured, while any faults with vehicles that might impact on CO2 emissions or fuel consumption will also be identified.

The amount of time a vehicle spends idling will also be considered, especially as automatic stop/start technology is included as standard.

The technology operates only when the engines are warm and if other systems aren’t draining too much power, but they can also be switched off by drivers.

Safety is the third area under scrutiny to assess the success of the trial, and some of the factors involved are also linked to fuel cost and environmental impact.

Incidence of speeding – with vehicle speed and length of time – will be monitored, as well as any harsh acceleration and braking, and over-revving.

A month into the trial, Bauer Media will identify the worst offenders and ensure correct advice is given to encourage an improvement in performance.

Data will be collated into reports around the performance indicators which will be available to Bauer fleet manager Debbie Floyde and supplied to Fleet News regularly.

There will be monthly updates in Fleet News with a final summary in January 2011, including a comparison from a usability perspective of the systems from each of the three suppliers.

The trial with company cars follows a three-month trial with a van fleet.

Household appliance company Indesit underwent a trial with 15 of its field service engineers based at three of its depots.

That test discovered that engineers were spending longer on the road between jobs through no fault of their own, and has resulted in the introduction of a new job allocation system being planned for 2011.

What telematics suppliers say

Greener, safer fleets are more productive fleets and in order to ensure that company policy is carried out on the road, TomTom monitors driver performance.

Worksmart solutions measure carbon footprint, mileage and fuel efficiency as well as driver behaviour (such as harsh braking and harsh steering) through telematics technology.

Driving aids such as intelligent routing and live traffic information help drivers reach their destination in the quickest or most eco-friendly way (depending on the preference) while reducing fuel and time wasted by avoiding traffic congestion.

Data gathered is automatically collated into predefined reports around performance
indicators which are available to the fleet manager, at a glance, in the TomTom
dashboard a Worksmart Insight tool.

The data is shown in easy to interpret graphs with easily configurable exception reporting functionality.