The IPWEA FLEET Ask Your Mates online forum is a great way to share information and find out what your colleagues in the industry are doing.
Find out more
here.Here’s one we picked up on Telematics from Cindy at Tea Tree Gully:
Hi fellow fleet and plant gurus,
We are looking at implementing telematics into our fleet. Whilst still in the early stages of scoping I would love to hear from anyone who has some handy hints to help with smooth roll out. Spec writing, works with union and surveillance laws or any words of advice are all appreciated. Thanks in advance! Cindy McDougall Fleet Management Officer
Michael Graham
Mercurian
Hi Cindy Declaration : I sell this stuff as a part of our insurance for light commercial fleets. Here are some thoughts you might find helpful. 1. Decide what problem you are solving. Is it safety, efficiency, work force management, fleet utilisation...? Different systems have different perspectives depending on the people that made them. 2. You must know the frequency of the data. If it is every 30 seconds to sample the system cannot do driver behaviour and is only useful for asset location. Why? Because 30 seconds of driving at 100Km/h is 833 metres. We did 1 second sample because we wanted to be able to analyse crashes for insurance. That helps with mapping to speed zones and harsh driving. (also I would rule out any system that does not map to the actual posted speed zones). We see most speeding in 40-80Km/h zones - i.e. built up areas with people in them. This is the number one thing to stop IMHO. 3. Utes will be subject to ongoing FBT scrutiny. The system should have a log book in it and preferably a Class Ruling from the ATO for compliance. 4. It should generate data for fuel tax claims. Councils often do not claim FTC on their light commercials. Ditto on a Ruling for compliance here. 5. Workplace Surveillance Laws are strict. Get advice from legal and ensure you comply. I recently saw a company with 1000 cars and no notices in the cars. The breaches are $55,000 per instance. 6. Explain to your people and Unions why you are doing this. Do it early. The car and the road is a workplace and 46% of workplace injuries and fatalities involve motor vehicles. 7. If you have not a booking system consider Poolcar out of Melbourne or similar. 8. Beware installs that are hard wired - the down time and costs of install/de-install is a real barrier. The good self installs all have a 'heartbeat' that can be monitored for removal 9. Talk to your insurer to see if they will provide a 'claims experience discount' for better claims experience for the coming year. You may self insure anyway but I don't know.10. Understand EXACTLY what the system can do NOW. Vendors will tell you all the fancy stuff but it's often 'in the pipeline'. Know what you will actually use 11. Have a cancellation clause - some contracts make you stay the whole term or pay the whole term.That's my 11 commandments. Happy to assist further with specific questions. It's hard because clients buy this stuff very rarely and many providers are simply reselling the same system. For example Toyota and Custom Fleet both sell Procon telematics but rebadged as their own "proprietary" system. Securatrak now Fleet Complete was selling Geotab out of Canada.There are really only 3-5 operators with stable, viable systems and businesses. You will find them pretty easily. Beware the old established names - their tech is dated and usually clunky.
Neil SmithFleet and Supply Coordinator Ballina Shire Council Hi Cindy, We currently use Navman for telematics. We didn't have any issues with union. Temematics comes under the surveillance act and you will need to ensure that you have a policy in place. email me at neil.smith@ballina.nsw.gov.au if you want a copy of ours. You will need to notify the operators in writing that their vehicle is being monitored and we also add a decal inside the vehicle to advertised that the vehicle has telematics. In regards to managing this, we give access to team leaders and managers of each section to monitor the data and they only have access to vehicles in their section. They are not provided access to other vehicles outside of their control. If you only install to selected vehicles, it can raise concerns that some staff are monitored and not others. Ideally its would be best to fit on all vehicles. We do not fit to private use vehicles. Happy to discuss further if you have any question. My mobile is 04118 220 463 Regards Neil