Tires that are slightly under-inflated might seem like a trivial matter and, over short distances, they generally are. But change the distance or the number of fleet vehicles with tires that haven’t been inflated to the correct pressure and the effect is significant. And it’s hurting more than just your fuel economy.
With the new Work Health and Safety Bill, due for release on January 1, 2012, Australian businesses need to review their workplace safety, as the bill further extends the scope of business liability for employee welfare.
Of particular interest to fleet managers is that vehicles are defined as a ‘workplace’ and a duty of care is imposed on employers to ensure the health and safety of their mobile employees within this workplace.
Fines up to $600,000 or imprisonment
If you own construction equipment you don’t want it getting into the wrong hands. The construction manager of a building site in England had a rude shock to find his JCB bulldozer had gone missing. Turns out it was in the hands of a madman, who had stolen the bulldozer from the constructin site and was rampaging through the village, using the bulldozer as a “ram rod”, destroying gravestones in the local cemetery.
If you’re a rental car company there’s a certain amount of risk you incur when you rent out a vehicle. You trust that the majority of customers will treat your vehicles with respect and a reasonable duty of care. But there are always a certain percentage who feel renting a car gives them license to treat it like it was their brother’s go-kart.
The growing number of ‘rental car abuse’ videos on YouTube continues to highlight the potential loss faced by car rental firms, with much of the damage hidden from inspection on the vehicle’s return.
If you’re in business you’ll know all about quoting for a job, also known as tendering or bidding on new work. If you’ve been in business for a while you’ve probably learned a few tricks along the way, things that can mean the difference between a successful quote and one that isn’t.
And it’s not just about winning the contract either. A job poorly quoted might mean you’re the cheapest option for the customer but it can end up being an expensive burden for your business because you failed to cost it accurately, otherwise known as underquoting.
We know that a GPS unit can calculate a route, but what about calculate savings? An advanced business planning tool, Telogis Route, is gaining popularity for its ability to help fleets calculate savings on planned routes.
Telogis Route is a route optimization application that is part of the Telogis platform, a complete telematics solution that uses GPS technology. It’s used by fleets to calculate smarter routes for drivers, schedule vehicles and personnel as well as helping fleet managers calculate costs and compare routes.
GPS fleet tracking is growing in popularity as managers discover the many benefits of being able to follow their vehicles in real-time, as well as generating reports on worker activity.
But some employers worry that by tracking staff using GPS will expose their business to a lawsuit. Is it legal to use GPS to track staff?
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Situational awareness is the new buzzword among fleet managers and VPs, particularly those operating in high-pressure, dispatch situations, where trucks, drivers and other assets need to be corralled to respond to emergencies or ad-hoc jobs where little notice is given.
What is Situational Awareness?
Before we can talk about how GPS is helping create situational awareness, we first need to cover what it is. Essentially it is all about providing decision-makers (e.g. fleet managers) with the big picture, a 360 degree view of not just the fleet but other assets that need to be coordinated to respond to a new work order.
If you’re a fleet manager looking for recognition, then the NAFA Sustainable Fleet Awards 2011 (previously called the Green Fleet Awards) might be the perfect vehicle for you to earn the accolades you deserve.
Every year NAFA accept submissions from members for efforts made to make a fleet more environmentally-friendly, reducing its carbon footprint.
Every business changes over time. No business can remain unaffected by the surrounding economic environment of its competitors, its customers and changing technology.
So it’s absolutely critical that your business is prepared for change. Sadly for many businesses, change is the one thing they can’t cope with.
Change is such a challenge for modern businesses that an entire industry has been built around helping businesses deal with it. Change management consultants assist businesses to survive the growing pains of an ever-changing world.
