If there was a simple and fast tool that would cut costs, increase safety, keep your vehicles safer and on the road for longer, you would probably use it, right?
Saving even a moment in time, or making your drivers life that much easier, is worth the future headaches and the countless hours you’ll get back in saved productivity. A major aspect that eats up productive time is maintenance and the necessary checklists you need to complete to ensure your vehicles are fit for duty.
With a digital solution, like Teletrac Navman’s Inspections, completing checklists has never been faster and easier. Drivers can now complete their checklist with the in-vehicle device that they’re already using, and with a few easy taps, they can instantly submit the information to you in the office. That gives you a complete picture of your entire fleet at any point you need to look in.
‘It just works‘
Herberts Transport, a transport company based in Southland, has a full-time mechanic who uses Teletrac Navman’s software for checklists and inspections, managing the Certificate of Fitness and general servicing.
“Teletrac Navman is the first digital system I’ve used in my job, and it’s very easy to use. Before, the driver and back office would have to write down details of the truck’s maintenance, now it’s just a press of a button. I even get a text or email notification if there’s a fault with a truck. It just works,” says Jason Fowler, Head Mechanic.
Jason introduced a tailored electronic checklist, which suit the operation and the workshop team. As soon as there’s a submitted inspection that identifies a defect, Jason will be notified via real-time alerting. Depending on severity, the team can then schedule a service, prevent the vehicle from leaving the yard, or order parts. This helps Jason and the entire team to stay in control and plan servicing or refits as soon as the truck returns, no matter where the driver is in the country. He also gets email alerts at 1,500km before a vehicle is due for a service, allowing plenty of time to organise it to be grounded and get the work done.
Less paper = less risk
Because your fleet vehicles are considered workplaces, you’re required by law to ensure your vehicle is safe to operate on New Zealand roads, and the cab of your trucks definitely doesn’t have enough space for a filing cabinet. For many transport companies in New Zealand, pre-trip inspections are therefore the first line of defence against large and costly maintenance issues that can significantly reduce the life of your vehicles. When considering vehicle roadworthiness, it’s important to know of issues or faults as soon as possible to help prevent collisions and close calls when on the road.
Manual based tasks and paperwork takes up valuable time, and time is not something drivers have a lot of when they need to get to their destination safely and productively. In addition, paperwork is notoriously prone to being destroyed or lost, and the information can only be accessed by one person at a time. So by making sure that all your records are safe and easily accessible, you give your business an extra level of readiness for audits and compliance with Health and Safety at Work Act (HSWA) requirements.
One of the significant benefits of using digital pre-trip inspection tools is the ability to customise pre-built templates. With multiple question input types available, such as yes/no, text, signature, or photos, fleet managers can create a workflow around questions answered by drivers that is all based on your business. This allows for better management of the inspection process no matter the assets you have, ensuring that all necessary checks are completed before vehicles leave the yard.
Keeping up with a fast-moving world
Technology has drastically simplified the maintenance and inspections process, and the time and effort of recording results on paper and then passing them on to managers has been cut out entirely. Businesses like Herbert Transport that have switched to digital solutions, have all seen an instant impact by removing paper processes that delay data capture, prolong the administrative burden on their drivers and have significantly reduced data loss.
Creating digital processes improves the accuracy of the data captured, ensures that information is instantly accessible, increases visibility into issues and improves user experience. Moving to digital checklists also enables you to automate business processes and speed up problem resolution. All this helps you offer the service levels your customers demand, while contributing to a greener, healthier New Zealand through reduced paper waste.
*Michael Barnard is a transport solutions specialist at Teletrac Navman. This article appeared in the March edition of TransportTalk.
