Eugene Thomas, General Manager for All Aboard America, started out in maintenance. He moved to the GM position two years ago, but his background made him unique – and ideal – in identifying a provider to provide telematics to the 100 vehicle fleet.
Thomas’s session covered how to manage telematics and how they can be converted into productive tools to improve fleet performance and offer safer passenger transportation.
In short, the data is already being gathered. It already exists and the technology for telematics is evolving every day. Now, make the data work for you.
From telematics, you can get insight into driver behavior, on-time performance, vehicle diagnostics, and accounting. Thomas’s provider can send email or text alerts based on a parameter being met or broken, such as an exceeded speed limit.
One way Thomas uses the data is to build a driver incentive program. “We can compare them easier now and we want to make it fun, competitive, and engaging for the drivers to go toward the same goal,” says Thomas. “Think about the impact of fuel savings that your company will gain from creating an incentive program that gets drivers to reduce idle time. For instance, the top driver gets a $250 gift card. This is minimal compared to the cost savings you gain from fuel savings by the entire driving staff.” Results are posted on on a regular basis to build friendly competition. Less idle time also means less need for maintenance on the engine and there’s savings there, too, as the life is extended on parts because of less wear.
Data can also be used to identify maintenance issues before they are big problems, or to more quickly identify which specific part needs attention, reducing the time it takes the maintenance team to find and fix the issue.
This all, of course, has an impact on safety. Data can be used as a tool to show you “worst offenders” and give you the opportunity to coach and retrain drivers in a constructive way. You want them to succeed and curb bad habits. Data can be utilized to train drivers to stick to schedules and to give wondering customers accurate information regarding a school bus or charter’s whereabouts at any given time.
There are roughly 300 providers on the market, so Thomas encourages taking your time and doing thorough research, after experiencing stumbling blocks in the first couple years of trying out various providers. The big question is, “How can [these providers] help get the data work for you? Utilize the data. That’s the hardest point. It’s already there, so what are we going to do with it?”
Top 5 Takeaways from Eugene Thomas, All Aboard America
- Telematics can give you insight into driver behavior, on-time performance, vehicle diagnostics, and accounting.
- Use data to build a driver incentive program that’s fun, competitive, and engaging for drivers but also helps direct them toward a company goal, such as reducing idle time to realize fuel savings.
- Data can be used to identify maintenance issues before they are big problems, or to more quickly identify which specific part needs attention.
- Date can have an impact on safety, showing you “worst offenders” and giving you the opportunity to coach and retrain your drivers in a constructive way.
- The data is already there, so what are you going to do with it?
