Following a successful tender win in 2016, Teletrac Navman is reportedly saving Shetland Council an average of £8,400 a month with its software.

Teletrac Navman has claimed that its telematics solution has saved the council on average £8,400 a month since March 2017 through fuel reduction alone, equating to an annual saving of over £100,000.

Shetland Council’s executive manager Carl Symons said: “Many of our employees spend a significant amount of time lone working, such as responding to emergencies, and Teletrac Navman’s telematics software lets managers know where they are and if they’re safe.

“Due to the location of our islands, any solution the council adopts has to be locally maintainable and reliable, so being self-sufficient and resilient is critical.

“We also use telematics to monitor driver safety, particularly speed and cornering on minor roads, which can become treacherous in winter. 

“Since February 2017, our driver scores which are based on a range of metrics such as speeding, harsh braking and cornering have improved by 100%, and we expect to see continued improvement in the coming months.”

The council has implemented a speed limit on larger vans of 50mph, and following feedback from drivers about speed and customer requirements, smaller vehicles may take on a greater role within the council’s fleet in years to come.

Symons said: “Our resilience is based on ensuring the correct kit is in the right place, at the right time, and second-by-second vehicle tracking allows us to do this.

“Teletrac Navman has really helped us to deliver solutions to the general public – Shetland still has a lot of blackspots where mobile phone or 3G signals are almost non-existent, but the communication with the system has minimised problems which can arise.

“For example, urgent requests are now routed to the closest person using Director, and this reduces mileage and response time, so people get a better service from the council and saves us money.”