Fleet Management Systems Features and Benefits (UPDATED JUNE 2022)

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What are Fleet Management Systems?

Fleet management is the implementation of processes to manage large fleets of vehicles. Fleet management systems are software systems that help automate these processes. They also make them more consistent and efficient.

Fleet Management Systems are often used to optimise the management of commercial fleets. These fleets may include various types of vehicles including –

cars
trucks
taxis
mining equipment
construction equipment
forklifts

… and so on.

These systems are online, and either include or integrate with telematics systems.

What are Telematics Systems?

Telematics systems use an in-vehicle unit (IVU) to track the activities of vehicles and drivers.

The IVU can collect information such as –

location
speed
live odometer readings
engine status
vehicle accessory status (eg temperature of refrigerated trailers)
fault codes

It may also collect information on undesirable driver behaviour such as –

excessive speeding
not wearing a seatbelt
harsh cornering
harsh braking
harsh acceleration

… and so on. The driver may input further information, such as log-in information, and rest status.

How Fleet Management Systems work with Telematics Systems

As we can see, telematics systems provide a variety of raw data. Fleet management systems can then convert this data to useful and actionable information. Fleet management systems typically provide complete vehicle life cycle management functionality. This may include vehicle purchasing, legislative compliance, operations, maintenance, and finally disposal. They can use inputs from the telematics system as required. For example –

Route planning requires driver location
Speeding alerts requires driver speed
Geofencing requires driver location

etc.

Typical Features of Fleet Management Systems

Fleet Management Systems are typically cloud-based software. Users can access them via an internet browser. Common features of fleet management systems include –

Pre Start Checklist
Geofencing
Route Optimisation
Preventive Maintenance
Driver Coaching
Crash Detection
Mobile Workforce Management

and other functions. These provide benefits such as –

Equipment productivity
Labour productivity
Better safety
Legislative compliance

Australian has a unique physical and legislative environment. This leads to Australian fleet managers having specific needs. For example, many Australian fleet managers require functionality such as –

Fuel Tax Credits
Intelligent Access Program
Chain of Responsibility
Electronic Work Diary
Electronic Logbook

All fleet management systems include reporting functionality. They include standard reports, and non-standard reports are prepared using a report writer.