How Telematics can Enhance Your LCV Fleet and Your Business

Telematics can help you, the fleet operator, with two of your leading concerns: safety and cost. By enabling remote monitoring of vehicles, telematics gathers data which can then be used to identify safer or more efficient driving habits, and cost-saving initiatives.

Data that drives change

Information gathered by telematics – such as the solution offered by Volkswagen Financial Services | Fleet – can help to change your LCV drivers’ on-road behaviour for the better. It can help you to make changes to fleet operations, such as planning more fuel-efficient routes. And it can even help to prevent theft. The six key benefits of telematics are:

Improve Safety
Improve Safety

A telematics box encourages drivers to behave as if a passenger is assessing their driving. Over time, their good driving habits become second nature, reducing:

  • Speeding incidents
  • Speeding fines
  • Accidents

Crash detection also means you can respond quickly in the event of an accident.

Cutting fuel costs
Cutting fuel costs

Telematics can help reduce fuel consumption, and therefore costs. The RAC Telematics Report 2016 reported a 55% reduction in fuel consumption by businesses using telematics. Data which reveals erratic and inefficient driving (harsh braking, excessive engine idling etc.) means drivers in need of training can be identified, and mileage data enables planning of more fuel-efficient routes.

Reducing maintenance / operational costs
Reducing operational costs
MPG data gathered by telematics can highlight reductions in engine performance, possibly indicating a need for maintenance or servicing. Telematics also enables preventive maintenance measures, by monitoring:
  • Battery condition
  • Warning lights
  • Fault codes
Improving efficiency and productivity
Improving efficiency & productivity
Poor time management and poor route planning can compromise the efficiency and productivity of your fleet. Telematics data has helped businesses to achieve a reduction of 39% in overtime costs (RAC Telematics Report 2016) by providing the right information to enable redeployment of under-utilised or over-mileage vehicles. Tracking also enables you to keep customers informed of delivery times and to improve routing and job allocation. In addition, crash detection can ensure you’re quickly informed of incidents, so you can minimise downtime.
Security and insurance
Security and insurance

When you know where your vehicles are at all times, it is easy to identify unauthorised use – whether by the driver or a thief. In addition, being able to monitor for unsafe driving helps to change driver behaviour, which in turn reduces the risk of accidents, and therefore has a positive effect on your fleet insurance premium.

Monitoring and reporting
Monitoring and reporting

Providing data on mileage, routes, driving behaviour and MPG, telematics opens up a huge range of possibilities for fleet operators. The information made easily available can be used to create KPIs for your fleet and its drivers, to monitor progress, and to help inform changes to business operations to meet performance targets.

For example, a Department for Transport Energy Saving Trust Guide for Fleet Managers, 2015, showed that a 10% reduction in the average mileage of a vehicle doing 12,000 business miles a year would save £150 in fuel costs alone, as well as freeing the driver for an additional 30 hours of other work. At a payroll cost of £30 per hour, this is effectively an annual saving of £900 per employee.1

1. Assumptions: 40mpg; fuel at £1.09 per litre net of VAT; 40mph ave. speed.

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