When you are running a landscaping business, tracking your fleet vehicles may not be the first thing on your mind.
You are always on toes, juggling between managing your team, completing current projects, visiting sites, meeting potential clients, and keeping existing clients happy. With such a tight schedule, it could be easy to forget the importance of having a well-managed fleet.
Landscaping businesses heavily depend on the performance of their vehicles, therefore their fleet needs to be expertly managed. Arriving late or failing to show up due to logistical problems signals to the client you are unprofessional.
To manage your fleet better and help your business reach its potential, you need to invest in the right technology. One critical technology solution is GPS tracking. Here's how it can help you.
Improved Safety
Road accidents not only risk the lives of your employees, but they also threaten the future of your business. A crash can injure your crew members and damage the work truck. This results in downtime, meaning you can no longer fulfill your obligations. Fortunately, GPS tracking allows you to monitor your employees on the highway in real-time.
With this capability, you can quickly identify a driver who is speeding, hard-braking, tight cornering, ignoring traffic rules, and performing any other actions that could increase the chances of an accident occurring. With such knowledge, you can remove irresponsible employees from driving positions and place them in the passenger seat.
Increased Accountability
Keeping employees in line is not always easy. Dishonest employees not only damage your company's reputation, but they can also eat into your bottom line. Without proper monitoring, employees may use your vehicle to do side jobs or run personal errands. They may also deliberately use longer routes, take longer breaks, or idle around.
GPS tracking allows you to have a presence in the vehicle and learn every move of the crew. When employees know they are being watched, they are more likely to behave appropriately. You can use this information to reward competent employees and to root out the bad apples.
Improvement To The Bottom Line
Some employees submit more time than what was actually worked. When you pay employees for hours they never worked, you affect your bottom line. However, there is no way to tell how many hours an employee has worked without a tracking system.
GPS tracking will allow you to verify how long a crew member has spent on a particular property. This will ensure all your team members are honest when submitting timesheets.
Remember that when employees complete a project on time, you can send them to another site, thus allowing you to quickly finish pending projects, and look for new ones.
Efficient Dispatching
How fast you respond can make or break your relationship with a client. If you want to be a fast responder, incorporate GPS technology. Dispatching the right vehicle requires knowing where all drivers are currently located, and a GPS tracking system does just that.
When all vehicles are in the field and you receive a call from a new client, GPS tracking can point to you which vehicle is available and nearest to that client. All you have to do is direct that driver to the site. Since the trip is short, the crew arrives faster, resulting in happy clients. Don't forget you'll also have saved on fuel.
Wrapping Up
GPS tracking is a core piece of the fleet management puzzle. If you want to keep tabs on your vehicles and your employees, nothing beats this technology. It can help you keep your workforce safe, reduce expenses, boost fleet productivity, and increase customer satisfaction. If you are considering fleet management solutions, feel free to contact Wilmar today!
