WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS TO MY BUSINESS?
FINANCIAL BENEFITS:
Knowing where your drivers are, their start times, end times and where they have been throughout the day can help prevent time-theft. Don't be surprised if, after having a tracking system installed, you see a significant increase in productivity.
Being able to dispatch the nearest vehicle to a job and better route planning are just two ways that tracking can save on your fuel costs. In addition to these, as you will be able to track the whereabouts and speed of your vehicles, drivers will be less inclined to break speed limits or take detours for personal reasons, which mean a significant saving in fuel costs.
Your accounts office can create a report detailing the employee's working hours and can use this to check the employee’s time sheets before paying their wages. This ensures the employee’s time sheets are correct and many customers have found that this alone saves them more than the system costs, creating a saving from day one.
Reduce your wage bill by ensuring vehicles are used more efficiently during the working day and overtime is being claimed correctly and honestly.
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Lower communication costs
Calling drivers on their mobile phones can be expensive (and illegal if they do not have handsfree kits installed). This can also be time consuming, especially if you need to contact a number of drivers with the same message. Your Navman tracking system may incorporate a messaging terminal whereby you can send messages to one, some or all of your drivers and they can send messages back to you. The Navman Avl (the software your PC uses) will store all the messages so you can look back later or see proof of delivery should it be needed at a later date.
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Control personal usage of your vehicles
Unauthorised personal use or, even worse, moonlighting with your vehicle costs your business money. The tax implications of employees having access to a vehicle for personal use are high, the employee has to pay for this use and as an employer you have to pay the NI contribution on this. Employers must be able to prove that employees do not have use of the vehicle outside of working hours. If you allow your drivers to take the vehicle home a tracking system means that you can be alerted if they are using it without your permission and means that you can produce a report to prove to the Inland Revenue that vehicles are not driven outside working hours.
OFFICE BENEFITS:
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See where your vehicles are at any particular time
You can dispatch the nearest vehicle to a job, saving time and fuel. You can also view how long a vehicle is on the road or at a customer site, ensuring that staff are working efficiently.
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View historical reports on a vehicles movements
A quality tracking system not only lets you see where your vehicles are in 'real time' but also allows you to produce and print reports. With the Navman AVL system you can instantly view reports dating right back to when the system was fitted. There are many report options available, including: activity, trip and mileage reports which also include ignition on /off, speed, entry or exit of designated areas, time spent on-site and much more. You can even set the system to schedule regular reports which are delivered to you via email.
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Faster information back to the office
Information on job types, parts used, refused deliveries etc can be sent from the vehicles MDT to the office at lightning speeds. This can speed up the invoicing process or allow the office to react quicker to problems and issues. Most businesses only receive this information when a driver returns to base which is often too late to take action or means an invoice or delivery note is inaccurate.
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Make vehicle maintenance more efficient
Your tracking system will keep a record of when vehicles are due for MOT, road tax, servicing or any other maintenance. The information collected by the tracking system is displayed via a clear traffic light system, so if a road tax is due or a vehicle is due for a service it will be clearly displayed in the tracking system and an email will be sent to remind you. The system can also require that the driver completes a daily vehicle check before leaving each morning; this ensures the vehicle is road worthy at the start of each day and any defects are brought to your attention quickly and easily.
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Receive alerts when a vehicle enters or leaves a designated area
You can create a designated area known as a ‘geofence’. The system will then log each time a driver enters or leaves these areas and you can even have a message sent to you to let you know when this has happened. This is a very popular tool and has many uses, for example; if a driver is prone to going home during the day you will receive an alert to tell you, or if you require notice that a vehicle is coming back to the yard, you can have its goods ready in advance, saving down time.
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Identify which driver is in which vehicle
Tracking the vehicle alone is not always enough, especially if vehicles have multiple users. Driver ID ensures that you know which driver is, or was, in each vehicle.
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Ensure drivers keep within the law
As well as ensuring vehicle maintenance is carried out on time and keeping drivers within the speed limit, the system can ensure that drivers of heavy goods or passenger vehicles comply with the Working Time Directive by notifying them when they need to take a break or stop work for the day. You can print working time directive reports by vehicle or by driver ensuring compliance is long longer an option.
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On-screen and email alerts
The Navman tracking system can be set up to provide alerts for a number of scenarios, for instance a stationary vehicle, lets say a lorry has not moved in half an hour, it could be stuck in traffic, parked in a lay-by or worse still involved in an accident. The office will be alerted and action can be taken, even if its just a call to the customer to say your delivery will be late. The system also offers unauthorised use, moving without ignition and many more alerts.
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Integration with on-board vehicle systems
We can offer integration with any piece of electronic equipment that is fitted to the vehicle, this is via our conex module. This can include a PTO, swing or bin lift, pump, sweeper brushes, refrigeration unit etc. etc. This gives the office staff the ability to monitor such devices and also print history reports detailing their use.
Driver benefits:
Panic buttons can be incorporated into the system which will alert you with the exact location of the vehicle if pressed.
This eliminates any confusion over who was driving so a complaint from a member of the public, a speeding ticket, parking ticket or damage to a company vehicle can be easily be assigned to the correct driver.
Most drivers are required to complete mileage and time sheets etc. The tracking system automatically accumulates this information and can create a report instantly.
'Where are you?' is a favourite, the office will automatically know the location of the driver and non urgent messages can be sent to the MDT so the driver can deal with them at a suitable time (similar to email for an office worker).
The driver is informed via the MDT when he or she needs to stop driving or take a break and also when to resume, this reduces stress on the driver and leaves them to concentrate on what they do best, driving!
CUSTOMER BENEFITS:
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Give accurate arrival times
Most commonly, when a customer wants to know when a driver will reach them, they will telephone the office. The office then has to call the driver to find out and call the customer back. With a tracking system installed you can see the location of the vehicle and give this information to the customer, saving time, expense on phone calls and showing good customer service.
If you invoice your customer for time spent on site or by distance travelled, then the system can help ensure that your invoices are correct and precise. You can see exactly when a driver arrived with a customer and should an invoice be queried or a discrepancy arise at a later date you can print a report to confirm your invoice is correct.
When transporting goods you will be able to reassure the owner that the goods are in safe hands. If a vehicle were to be stolen you would be able to locate it and act without delay informing the police of its exact location.
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