Aug/Sept 2008

Vehicle operators suffering from this year's massive surge in fuel prices can cut their costs significantly by tracking and monitoring their vehicle use.

That's the claim of the telematics suppliers. Several have come out with strong statements in this vein. Typical is Andrew Yeoman, managing director of Trimble MRM in the EMEA region. He points out that scaling back on field service support is often not an option for businesses running vehicle fleets. 'Yet the key focus now has to be on using less fuel.'

Isotrak echoes some of these sentiments, and is throwing particular emphasis on the benefits achievable with better driving style. It says this alone can generate fuel cost savings of up to 19 per cent. Isotrak offers a driving style monitoring system as an optional module for its standard ATMS GPS/GPRS satellite tracking system.

Trimble MRM's Andrew Yeoman says research for the company by AberdeenGroup has shown that among other significant cost savings, many customers can save around 6 per cent in fuel costs by adopting a range of management tools, while some can save twice that amount.

He also points out that speeding accounts for the largest percentage of fuel wasted during aggressive driving. According to the AA, he says, driving at 85mph instead of 70mph increases petrol consumption by 20 to 25 per cent.

Isotrak acknowledges that the full fleet benefit of driving style improvement depends not only on seeing where improvements can be made, but also on appropriate and effective training.

It says it can help its customers devise, choose and implement training such as that promoted under the Government-sponsored SAFED for Vans scheme. This initiative (it stands for Safe and Fuel Efficient Driving) is managed on behalf of the DfT by the AEA Group.

Trimble MRM's top tips for saving fuel

Track driver routes: Don't let drivers diverge from planned routes.

Out of hours use: Stop unauthorised side trips during the day or after hours.

Better work management: Send the nearest person to each job.

Aggressive driving: Encourage responsible driving; it can save a 20 per cent in costs.

Idling time: Cut the idling time; reducing idling time of a service vehicle from one hour to ten minutes a day can save up to 564 litres of fuel per vehicle per year.