Are you trying to find ways to elevate driver safety in your shop? You may not know that driver safety plays a key role in fleet management and other aspects of your business.
If you have not thought about driver safety, what that means, or how it’s impacting your business operations, this in-depth guide will show the connection between fleet management and driver safety to help you make better decisions.
Every driver knows they report to the fleet manager for duties, tasks, and anything else the manager asks of them, which means it’s up to the fleet manager to establish a professional system for the drivers to follow.
A fleet management system helps make the atmosphere of a fleet business run smoothly and more efficiently. It helps fleet managers to outsource their tasks and spend more time focusing on the important aspects of the business, like driver safety and the performance of company vehicles.
Fleet managers set the tone for the business, what the drivers should do, and how they should go about their deliveries and use company equipment. When employees feel that they have a boss or higher up to report to that’s very professional, can communicate effectively, and things run smoothly in the shop, it provides a better work atmosphere.
It’s no secret that fleet managers have a lot of duties. From administrative work to scheduling routes, training drivers, invoicing, and running company numbers, it can be pretty easy to become overwhelmed and forgetful.
That’s why a fleet manager needs to have a well-established system to promote better efficiency out of business and get better results from their employees. Then, instead of being a boss that seems out of sorts, workers are more prone to follow a leader who’s organized and has things under control.
It may not seem like drivers are connected to fleet management in many ways, but in reality, they are.
While it’s the fleet manager’s job to keep their drivers safe and make sure there aren’t any accidents on the road involving company equipment or those deliveries are made on time, it’s also the manager’s job to make sure the vehicles are in check.
One daily task we forget to list that falls in the fleet manager’s hands are vehicle updates. Drivers play a huge role in the number of repairs a vehicle may face due to their driving habits. If you constantly have to replace the brake pads, it could cause your driver to slam on the brakes too harshly too often.
The driver’s also responsible for delivering your items to your clients on time as promised. If a driver were to miss a delivery, it could cause clients to become frustrated and put a bad taste of your company in their mouth.
Having a lot of drivers to manage is part of the game for being a fleet manager, so knowing what areas of drivers to look for to promote a healthier change in the workplace is important for these professionals.
Your employees represent your company every time they leave your shop in company equipment. On top of this, there are innocent bystanders sharing the roads with your workers that are at risk if your employees are not implementing safe driving practices.
One way to promote driver safety is to ensure every driver receives proper training on using your equipment before they get behind the wheel. Accidents on the road can lead your business to lawsuits, and insurance claims your company can’t afford.
Driver safety is also important for the maintenance of your vehicles. Unless you want to pay the money to replace each vehicle, your drivers need to be using your equipment appropriately.
It’s every manager’s dream to be able to trust their employees without going behind them to see how exactly they’re using company equipment, but you can’t exactly trust every word you hear. That’s why it’s better to see for yourself.
As we’ve already mentioned, how drivers use company equipment plays into the maintenance of your vehicles. It’s important to ensure all vehicles are well-maintained so that there’s no vehicle facing downtime and affecting company deliveries.
It’s also imperative for brake pads or other belongings of a vehicle to never wear out, but there is a way to ensure they don’t wear out so easily. If drivers are watching their speed, not idling, and using the brakes appropriately, you can maintain company vehicles effectively, which will make your business more efficient.
A fleet management system can give you data on certain drivers and how they use your equipment, so you can gauge who is practicing safe driving. To cut down on how much you’re spending on repairs, training your employees to preserve your equipment can boost the profit you were losing.
The best way to check driving habits is with a GPS tracker. GPS tracker can tell you more than the location of your employee. It can also tell you how much fuel consumption your vehicles are using and alert you of any bad habits your drivers may be displayed on the road.
A modern fleet management solution tool can give your business telematics that you never knew. Seeing the areas of your business that need improvement, especially in the driver safety sector, can help fleet managers make necessary changes to their business.
Since your drivers are responsible for running their routes and routes consume fuel, there’s a possibility the planned way to a certain destination isn’t the best one to be taking. Through detailed telematics with a fleet management software solution, you can best gauge the best route to certain destinations and how to conserve fuel at the same time.
Another major connection between fleet management and driver safety is communication between workers. While you’re trying to scope driving habits and driver safety, fleet management software can give you data to help have a meaningful conversation with your employees.
Not only can you use these metrics to show your drivers what their score on the road is and how well they are using company equipment, but you can also use these systems as ways to communicate with other coworkers.
While drivers do not have access to your Fleetr account, you can still use the system to stay up-to-date on tasks and repairs that your drivers are part of to inform your employees of what’s coming up on the calendar, so everyone is aware of duties to be done.
Running an efficient business in this industry requires a lot that falls into the fleet manager’s hands. Driver safety plays a key role in a trucking business running efficiently since drivers are the face of the company. While your employees are out making deliveries, they are representing you.
The moving parts to come behind the scenes of a fleet business starts with how organized and informed the manager is about business numbers. For a business to run efficiently, a fleet manager must study the company closely to find areas for improvement.
A non-efficient business will slow everyone down, including the drivers, especially if vehicles are not working properly and drivers are not preserving fuel. By implementing a fleet management system, you will be able to take control of your business and promote a healthier change to the company atmosphere.
What if we told you there was a way for you to see in-depth information on all of your vehicles and your drivers? With Fleetr’s GPS tracking tool, it’s absolutely possible.
We have designed a necessary tool to help all fleet managers track the location of their vehicles, driver habits, and fuel consumption data.
One of our main features for tracking your drivers is our driver safety score. Look at the data if you want to see how safe your drivers are out on the road.
The driver safety score from driving habits such as speed, idle time, and brake use in the company vehicles you track with our GPS tracker. At the end of every week, we will issue out a driver score of the vehicles. A 67 or higher means your driver practices safety while using company equipment. A score of 33 or lower means serious concern and a conversation with your employee.
We also provide weekly, monthly, and yearly reporting for metrics such as fuel consumption for each vehicle you track. You can look at your company’s weekly efficiency score that works the same way as a driver safety score: 67 or higher means efficient. 33 or lower means there are some areas to improve.
Setting up your GPS tracker provides you with other information, too. Here are some more highlights of our product:
Installing a GPS tracker in your vehicles helps hold your drivers accountable for their time in their assigned vehicles. Multiple drivers can use the same vehicle, but it’s important they notify the fleet manager when this happens so the manager can appropriately track each driver.
It is super easy to get started with your Fleetr GPS tracking device. Once you subscribe to your monthly plan (that you can cancel anytime), we will mail out your trackers that you should receive within four to six days and a tracking number within one to two. Login information will be shared with you to use on your smartphone or tablet app.
Our company loves to help smaller fleet businesses, which is why we will send up to 100 GPS trackers to your locations. The tracking device can easily be installed to the OBDII port, and you will know it’s working once a green dot appears. From there, you can start tracking your equipment and employees!
Your GPS tracker is only $9.99 per unit, and there are no contracts with us. If you’re ready to take your business to a new level and have better driving habits, then Fleetr is the system for you.
Get your Fleetr fleet management solution today by calling +1 (416) 651-7575.
