Balancing Your Budget and Increasing Fleet Efficiency
Throughout your work in the government sector, you know the importance of maintaining expenses and staying within a manageable budget. While the economy is said to be improving, budget cuts and reduced funding are still hitting government agencies hard. Moving forward and managing a successful fleet can prove to be difficult when you are faced with increasing operational costs and a shrinking budget.
When taxpayers are expecting the most from their dollars, how do you decide where to give and take? With fuel, maintenance, payroll and insurance all factoring into the success of your organization, can you really prioritize one over the other? Fuel costs are constantly fluctuating, and when they are on the rise, it may seem impossible to remain within your budget. Maintaining a well-run fleet of vehicles can also cut heavily into your expenses. Without proper routine maintenance, your vehicles won’t be running smoothly for very long. So, what can you do to cut back on costs while still maintaining a successful organization?
With a GPS fleet tracking solution, you can provide your employees with efficient routes, so your vehicles are burning less fuel. Vehicle idling not only wastes fuel, but also increases engine wear-and-tear. With reporting functionality, you can monitor and reduce excessive vehicle idling, lowering your fuel costs and prolonging the life of your vehicles.
When you’re able to reduce fuel and maintenance costs, you can free up more room in your budget. But how can government agencies specifically benefit from a fleet management solution? In this white paper, we set out to show how GPS fleet tracking can help you improve your government fleet operations at reduced costs.
While the economy is said to be improving, budget cuts and reduced funding are still hitting government agencies hard.
Government Pressures Piling Up
There’s a certain level of accountability that people expect from the government sector. Along with fuel and maintenance, payroll and insurance costs also factor into your fleet spend. If your employees aren’t keeping track of their timecards accurately, you could be spending more on labor costs than you should.
The government sector is known among many taxpayers for the job security and stability it provides to government employees. How can you be sure your employees are working efficiently when they are out in the field? If you are unable to monitor your employees, you can’t be certain that they are staying within authorized parameters.
When you have a reputation to uphold, you don’t want unsafe driving behaviors to bring down your organization. Speeding or aggressive driving not only leads to accidents on the roadways, but also costly lawsuits draining your budget. Fighting false claims and winning potential legal battles can be difficult when you’re unable to present any proof or documentation to defend your case. When your employees spend most of their time on the road, not having the ability to efficiently monitor their driving behavior can be a huge risk for your organization.
Is your government agency feeling the pressure to comply with green standards? With the “green movement” sweeping the nation, it’s especially important for the government sector to implement green initiatives. Motor vehicles contribute greatly to the spread of harmful pollutants throughout the environment. If your drivers aren’t practicing fuel efficient methods, your organization is increasing the amount of carbon dioxide polluting the air. And if you are unable to efficiently monitor your fleet, you can’t be certain which drivers are wasting fuel and which are contributing to sustainability.
While these challenges may seem overwhelming, there is a solution to help you improve your fleet operations and keep your government organization moving forward: GPS fleet tracking.
When your employees spend most of their time on the road, not having the ability to efficiently monitor their driving behavior can be a huge risk for your organization.
GPS Fleet Tracking Technology: Maintaining a Successful Organization
With budget setbacks, government agencies have no other choice but to cut back on costs. GPS fleet tracking allows you to reduce expenses without cutting into the success of your organization. Along with fuel and maintenance, you have to factor in the cost of payroll and insurance. When you implement a GPS fleet tracking solution into your fleet operations, you can receive discounts on insurance. And with accurate timecards, you can validate employee hours and reduce labor costs. Reducing your fuel, maintenance, payroll and insurance costs can make a world of difference when you are on a tight budget.
Along with a reduction in costs, GPS fleet tracking technology also allows you to improve employee productivity. You can view your drivers’ locations, so if they are taking long lunch breaks or driving to unauthorized locations, you can hold them accountable for their behavior. But GPS fleet tracking isn’t just used to monitor your employees. By providing your drivers with the necessary tools to improve fleet efficiency, you can boost employee morale and increase worker productivity.
Not only does a fleet management solution help you improve employee productivity, but it helps to reduce the risk of vehicle accidents and expensive legal claims. When your drivers are speeding or driving aggressively, you can be alerted immediately, allowing you to prevent accidents before they happen. Ensuring your drivers are maneuvering the roadways safely helps you to maintain a positive reputation. If false claims are thrown your way, you can quickly pull up vehicle location and history so you can prove your case.
By utilizing a GPS fleet tracking solution, you can reduce your carbon footprint and contribute to a cleaner environment. You can monitor and reduce excessive vehicle idling, lowering the spread of harmful carbon emissions throughout the environment. With efficient routing, your vehicles are burning less fuel, also decreasing pollution. And with many organizations receiving additional funding for practicing sustainability, making the green switch may benefit you in more ways than one. Implementing green initiatives is easy when you are provided with the necessary tools to help you.
Now that we’ve taken a look at how GPS fleet tracking technology can help you maintain a successful organization, let’s take it one step further and look at why NexTraq® offers the greatest in fleet management solutions for the government sector.
By providing your drivers with the necessary tools to improve fleet efficiency, you can boost employee morale and increase worker productivity.
Put NexTraq to Work for Your Government Agency
As a leader in the telematics industry, NexTraq is proud to say that all research, development, sales and customer service is 100% U.S.-based. With NexTraq, you can manage your government fleet operations with more efficiency. Instead of wasting valuable time on manual data entry, you can utilize our automated data process, easing your heavy workload.
Our easy-to-use, cloud-based system means you can access the platform right from your computer or mobile device with our mobile apps: NexTraq® View for managers and NexTraq® Connect™. Turn your staff’s smartphones and tablets into time clocks for more accurate time tracking—and to help reduce overtime. You can also view your fleet’s activity right from the dashboard, giving you clear insight into your fleet operations. Being able to monitor your daily fleet operations helps you determine what the issues and challenges are, so you can implement the necessary changes to resolve them.
Government agencies simplify daily planning with NexTraq® Job Schedule Board, quickly getting streamlining their workflow with simple drag-and-drop functionality. With NexTraq® Dispatch, your drivers can be re-routed on the fly when there’s traffic congestion or road delays. NexTraq provides the ability for two-way communication between your driver and the dispatcher. You can also curb distracted driving within your agency because your drivers are provided with a hands-free communication process. NexTraq® Driver Safety Scorecard helps you stay on top of how your drivers are doing on the roads, and provides the opportunity to correct poor driving habits.
Effective information and reporting is crucial when your employees are working out in the field. Government agencies from utilities, public safety, school buses, and others selected NexTraq in part because it provides more than 27 reports and 17 alerts. With the Idle Report, you can see which vehicles are idling and how much money it’s costing you. The Maintenance Schedule Detail Report allows you to keep track of routine maintenance, prolonging the life of your vehicles. With Speed Alerts, you can receive instant notifications when your drivers are exceeding the posted speed limit of a roadway or your own user-defined thresholds. With reporting and alert functionality, you can gain a better grasp on all aspects of your fleet operations.
NexTraq is dedicated to providing you with the most advanced and reliable government solution on the market, so you can be proud of your purchase.
For more information on how NexTraq can help you optimize managing your government-owned vehicles, call 800-358-6178.
“We saw results quickly. As an organization, we have virtually eliminated unauthorized vehicle use while increasing our fleet’s efficiency and decreasing fuel costs.”
Chip Hiebler
Senior Project Manager
Baltimore County