Into the Clouds:
In Canada and the Northern U.S., the winter months can bring certain challenges to day-to-day life, particularly when it comes to driving. For example, “nearly 30% of Canadian car accidents occurring on snowy or icy roads.”i This means that businesses that conduct winter operations need to be prepared for unpredictable weather and dangerous conditions in order to help keep their drivers and fleet vehicles safe while delivering essential services.
Here are some ways that fleet management can help you prepare your fleet and drivers for winter:
1. Proactively schedule maintenance checks
No business wants their drivers stranded in the snow or experiencing issues while also dealing with poor road conditions. Luckily, fleet management solutions can help you prevent these outcomes by offering data insights on vehicle health and utilization. Understanding engine run times, fuel consumption, and other vehicle diagnostics can help you proactively plan maintenance checks that will ensure your fleet vehicles are operating in tip-top condition during the winter months. Plus, with real-time alerts, if an issue does arise, you can act quickly to solve the problem and keep your operations moving forward. Detailed reports also provide an opportunity to review historical vehicle data so you can identify ways to optimize vehicle usage.
2. Monitor and coach drivers through using real-time alerts
Businesses that offer essential services often have to battle rough weather conditions while working late into the night or in the early hours of morning, making it critical to ensure that drivers are focused on the road and are not distracted or fatigued. Fleet management solutions that incorporate a 2-way driver and road-facing dashcam can give you increased visibility into what’s happening on the road and how your drivers are performing. Additionally, some dashcams enable AI coaching and event-based notifications that can alert you if one of your drivers is distracted or falling asleep.
The data collected by fleet dashcams can also be reviewed historically, which can help you identify behavior patterns and inefficiencies that can be corrected with additional training and safety awareness.
3. Make sure your fleet management devices are properly tested
As winter comes into full swing, it may be beneficial to test your fleet management before hitting the road in order to make sure you’re getting proper signal coverage. For certain vehicles it’s extremely important to place your fleet management solution (eg. GPS trackers) in the ‘right’ spot. If it’s not installed properly, you could risk losing connection to your fleet and valuable data! This is especially important during the cold winter periods, when snow can cause cell receptions to drop off. Thus, if you want to extend the life of your fleet make sure your fleet management solutions are installed correctly and properly tested!
If you’re not currently using a fleet management solution to track and monitor your fleet, feel free to contact our specialist's today to discuss how we can help make your operations more efficient while keeping drivers and vehicles safe this winter!
i https://www.gregmonforton.com/windsor/car-accident-lawyer/safe-winter-driving.html#:~:text=When%20it%20comes%20to%20winter,be%20affected%20by%20winter%20precipitation.