Government Fleet, November 2020

As government fleets adapt to more advanced usage of telematics solutions they are quickly discovering data produced by the technology can have a big impact not only on their vehicles but their budget as well From catching issues before they have a chance to impact vehicle health to alerting customers they need to be a bit more careful with how they are driving telematics are swiftly becoming a vital element to successful fleet operations No More Delays Charlotte Ashcraft director of fleet management for Franklin County Ohio originally decided to look into telematics for her fleet because not enough drivers were heeding the check engine light on their vehicle Most employees just want to drive the vehicle and get their work done If it doesnt impact their driving they will ignore it While it could be something simple it could also be something major and wed rather not take that chance Ashcraft says when she first implemented telematics in 380 vehicles she was greeted by 67 check engine lights none of them previously reported When drivers wont tell you when somethings up its hard to miss when technology is there to give you more insight Telematics have made it much easier for her and her team to respond to alerts they otherwise might not have been able to catch before problems became more serious Initially there was a bit of pushback from department supervisors but when she informed them of the unreported check engine lights they saw well the light Using this technology is the best way to mitigate this behavior because you cant refute data Using telematics can also help a great deal when creating replacement plans Ashcraft produces a five year replacement plan for the whole fleet to help her budget Telematics can assist fleet managers in better understanding how cars are being utilized which therefore also helps in determining when they might need to be replaced For example our public facilities employees dont drive that many miles However they make a lot of trips You cant tell that when youre strictly going by mileage I just know they only drive about 30 miles a day Thats not enough to justify having a vehicle But if you actually look at it they made five trips With telematics you can see they do a lot of driving just not very far The data they collect through telematics also helps them discover maintenance patterns Fleet managers often purchase Fleet managers and telematics experts touch on how government fleets can go longer and stronger using data to curb maintenance issues before they happen or get worse BY LEXI TUCKER Can Help You Health and How 10 GOVERNMENT FLEET COM NOVEMBER DECEMBER 2020