Installing cameras on vehicles has become the most popular strategy for fleets in search of a way to deal with the trucking industry’s insurance crisis. Insurance rates have risen 17% since 2013, and fleets are paying something like 8.4 cents a mile for coverage. Capturing video footage and transmitting it through telematics not only helps clear drivers of charges when they’re not at fault in an accident, they can also be instrumental in driver training and a reduction in safety incidents.
Here are some of the most common pitfalls to steer clear of as you move from weighing options to choosing providers, all the way to kicking off your first camera-based safety initiative.
Mistake Number 1: Not Beginning with Your Goals
The thing to keep in mind here is that telematics come with a slew of potential benefits, from boosting fuel efficiency, to finding quicker routes, to improving customer satisfaction. But none of these benefits come about through simply installing a system and turning it on. A successful implementation requires a great deal of planning, customized configuration, and user training. That all starts with setting clear goals, determining the best ways to measure progress, and getting buy-in from all the key stakeholders, particularly your drivers.
A good telematics provider will probably walk you through the proper steps, but it’s usually better to have all these questions answered before you bring in any outside help. After all, knowing what your goals are will help you decide which provider will be best suited to your needs in the first place.
Mistake Number 2: Trying to Measure and Improve Everything at Once
Once you know what dials you want to see moving, then you can determine how you’re going to measure performance in those areas. The pitfall to watch out for here is getting distracted by all the different types of information the telematics system delivers.
One way to think about this is to start with the assumption that you’ll have about twenty or thirty minutes a week to go over any given driver’s performance metrics and offer instructions on how to improve. (Though many fleet managers take even less time than this.) Within that window of time, you have the following options for what to focus your coaching on:
Speeding
Tailgating
Harsh Braking
Harsh acceleration
Lane Changing
Idling and Leaving the Vehicle Unattended
Fuel Efficiency
Routing
GPS Location Tracking
Returning to your goals, you could instead prioritize the performance areas most directly tied to what you’re hoping to achieve. Maybe your insurance provider highlighted metrics that could influence your rates. Maybe your goal is to achieve better fuel efficiency while optimizing route choices. Obviously, these are the areas you want to prioritize.
Mistake Number 3: Losing Track of What the Measures Stand for
The benefit of using machine learning technology with your performance tracking is that you won’t have to watch your drivers every minute they’re on the road to ensure compliance with your safety protocols. Instead, the system will recognize potentially problematic behaviors and send an alert—either to the manager or to the driver.
Cameras and telematics are powerful tools, but merely installing the technology on all your vehicles isn’t going to radically transform your fleet’s behavior. Having the right tools is only one of three critical elements to any effort at reducing your company’s risk profile—the other two being a set of strategic goals and an effective coaching program for drivers. But far too many fleet managers fall prey to the temptation of letting the gadgets do all the work and thus fail to achieve the results those tools might otherwise deliver.
The key takeaway here is that your cameras and telematics system isn’t ultimately about technology—it’s about accountability and profit. Performance tracking is a great tool for changing behavior, but at the end of the day gadgets won’t improve anything on their own.