Sheila Smith

“Lex believes the employer has a responsibility to oversee the activity of both employee and their car during working hours”

Using Global Positioning Satellite technology, the box of tricks transmits this information to the company’s office, which can then be analysed to help improve all elements of efficiencies across the driver and their vehicle. Perhaps it sounds too simplistic, but Lex Vehicle Leasing is the very first contract hire company to see it as an important-enough area to appoint a full-time telematics product manager. Sheila Smith is responsible for taking telematics into the car and van fleet arena. Lex already has telematics units fitted to more than 2,000 vehicles through its alliance with Cybit, but Lex is confident this is only a drop in the ocean. “Telematics has been firmly established in the HGV arena for some years and the technology cannot only track vehicles, but it can even detect what temperature the goods are being stored at whilst in transit,” says Ms Smith.

“Companies that run cars and vans have only just switched on to the fact that their corporate social responsibilities mean they have to ensure their employees are provided with a safe working environment while they are driving on company business. That’s where telematics comes in. As well as being able to reduce fuel usage and make the use of vehicles more efficient, the units can trace vehicles, record driving behaviour and generally help an employer manage their mobile employees more efficiently,” she adds. There has been much debate about telematics being a way of spying on employees, but Lex believes the employer has a responsibility to oversee the activity of both employee and their car during working hours. Outside working hours, the system can be programmed not to report vehicle movements, so the “Big Brother” argument is now wearing thin, says Lex.

“If a company employee is driving around the country constantly at 90mph then an employer needs to know so they can do something about it. If an employer is truly going to be responsible for an employee’s well-being, then they should be able to take a problem such as speeding, provide feedback to the driver and address the problem with training,” says Ms Smith. Another benefit of telematics isn’t necessarily about employers encouraging sales people to carry out more calls per day. It’s just as important the driver knows when they are pushing themselves too hard, when they should be taking adequate breaks and how to plan their week more effectively to reduce miles covered and time on the road.

This is particularly relevant for van drivers at the wheel of vehicles less than 3.5 tonnes. Currently, these drivers are not governed by tachograph use, although legal experts argue that the Road Transport (Working Time) Regulations 2005 are applicable (see legislation). There are fears that some van drivers will be on the road for as long as they want each day and for as many hours as they want each week, which has to be a safety concern for employers. Also, with some vans generating in excess of 150bhp, they can often be seen in the third lane of the motorway travelling at well over the national speed limit. Both problems could be addressed through fitting telematics units to vans. Not only will the employer be able to gauge average speeds, distance and time travelled, but they will also be able to gauge whether their vans could be routed more effectively across their delivery schedules.

Telematics units can help employers manage their mobile employees more efficiently

“It's important that drivers know when they are pushing themselves too hard”

“Safety and cost saving can be combined, as I have witnessed in the past. I have worked with fleets, which have saved 15% in fuel costs over a fixed period and the same in operating mileage. Another company that had 350 boxes fitted to its vans saved £2m across the board over a three-year period,” explains Ms Smith. “More importantly, they were able to gauge how their vehicles were being driven, at what speed and for how long each day and identify where education and training was required for individual drivers. This, in turn, resulted in fewer accidents and a lower annual bill for vehicle repairs and lower insurance premiums. It was a win-win situation all round. “One of the challenges of getting car and van fleets to fit telematics units to their vehicles is the argument that they have survived quite happily without them up until now. Well, they may have been lucky and not had to deal with the aftermath of a serious crash and the possibility of directors being jailed for neglecting the safety of their employees while they are at work,” she says.

Telematics and the management data it generates allows a company to proactively manage the risk of their employees and their company vehicles being involved in accidents. Just by tracking speeds and distances travelled each day, fleets can build a picture of whether a driver is taking risks in their company vehicle. This pro-active management could well avoid accidents in the future and also will show that, in the event of a major crash, fleet operators have done everything possible to help keep employees safe. That may keep a company director out of jail and, more importantly, avoid the costly problem of having an employee seriously injured and their car off the road.

For more information, visit: www.lvl.co.uk