Shaun Wilson talks about the GPS revolution and how it’s now Securatrak’s bread and butter
Corporations around the world, large or small, turn to technology on a daily basis to improve productivity, discover alternate communication platforms, change workplace culture, but more importantly, to gain an edge on competition.
In-Vehicle Management Systems (IVMS) is one of these technologies that used properly embraces many parts of the business and can become an integral part of your company’s HR, Operations and Financial strategies.
From humble beginnings, emerging from the smoke of WWII and the 60s jet age, the technology has developed light-years from the “big brother” dot-on-a-map it once was. Originally called “GPS Tracking” in the 90s, it now has myriad terms, including ‘Telematics’, ‘Fleet Management’, ‘IVMS’, ‘Connected Car’, ‘Vehicle Tracking’ and ‘Big Data’ to name a few in our industry alone. Regardless of nomenclature, corporations now use this technology to gather fleet data and use it to find enormous benefits and impressive returns on investment.
Securatrak has been providing this technology in Australia since 2003 and have used customer feedback to develop a bespoke solution that is easily installed in light vehicles but expandable to cater for heavy or unique fleets like construction equipment. With the addition of technology such as cameras, collision avoidance systems, driver ID, duress pendants and geofence software, they bring this technology to a point where traditional need for a dot-on-a-map is virtually forgotten.
Regardless of the technology or the asset being tracked, the return provided to companies across the world are supported by three ethical pillars. Each pillar makes up the structure Securatrak’s business operates under: OH&S, Productivity and Fleet Health.
The broad spectrum of investment return can sometimes be overlooked when evaluating this technology. Many HR managers in Australia approach Securatrak with a narrow but important need to provide a safer environment for their remote workers, which naturally sits under the OH&S pillar. With the provision of this service, these workers not only become safer, but their driver behaviour and activity also improves, forming a great foundation to save money on vehicle costs such as fuel and tyre use. This then compliments the fleet health pillar and quickly brings the solution to fleet managers’ attention.
So now we have the fleet and HR mangers working together to develop the solution further. The remote staff are safer, driving less aggressively, but while this is all happening the company is also able to evaluate their activity to formulate a plan to perhaps re-route, re-allocate jobs or communicate better, forming the option of doing more in a day, bolstering the final pillar of productivity.
Now, the operations manager joins the conversation, with the management wondering why they didn’t put their heads together earlier.
To be fair not all companies find return in all pillars, but the majority do. The report taken to company CFO and CEO is not about costs, but about overall business savings that strengthen the company’s competitor advantage.
