ON a monthly basis, the Ctrack Transport and Freight Index notes the ongoing decline of South Africa’s rail network, with the road freight sector having to pick up the slack. While this growth is welcomed by the road freight sector, it naturally results in more trucks on the road, more strain on the road network and more dangerous roads. The result is that transporting goods by road is becoming a much riskier undertaking, and businesses need to put extra measures in place to protect their goods and assets.
The recent Easter holiday accident rate once again highlighted just how dangerous South African roads are, and criminal activity surrounding our road network is growing at an alarming rate.
A vehicle’s safe and efficient use is directly related to how it is used by the driver making a bespoke fleet and driver management app critical for the running of fleets in today’s environment. Ctrack’s fleet management systems comprise well-developed hardware and software solutions that have been refined over 35 years of continuous research and development.
Keeping an eye on drivers
“Effective driver management is no longer a nice to have; it is now a critical factor in the running of any business that utilises vehicles. Systems that prioritise the safety of vehicle occupants and cargo are imperative in running a transport operation profitably on South African roads,” says Hein Jordt, Chief Executive Officer of Ctrack Africa.
Ctrack allows for real-time tracking of vehicles from any device with an internet connection through “Crystal” the all encompassing fleet management platform. A powerful user experience with real-time visibility of all movable assets via a digital dashboard is the most effective way for fleet managers to manage the daily movement of vehicles. Cloud-based functionality means reviewing footage is as simple as entering a date and time.
Keeping an eye on drivers and vehicles in real-time allows fleet managers to react as soon as they notice something out of the ordinary and put preventative or reactive measures in place immediately.
Ctrack offers a variety of camera systems that can monitor all areas of a vehicle, including the road ahead, the driver, the cabin and the load area. Overlaid with data harvested from the vehicle CAN bus system, as well as accurate tracking data, ensures a clear picture of how the vehicle is being used every second of the day and accessed from a single management platform “Crystal”.
In the event of an accident, it is easy to determine exactly what happened and use these learnings to prevent similar accidents from occurring in future.
App gives drivers full picture
Advanced analytics allow operators to clearly understand exactly how and where their vehicles are being utilised. Learnings from these accurate data streams can be used to streamline operations and put measures in place that increase safety and efficiency.
The driver app gives managers, and drivers enhanced control of their daily activities via a single application that offers a myriad of functionality and allows for safe navigation and effective time management.
Fleet managers can now assign jobs to drivers and provide them with details regarding the pickup or delivery via the driver app, which is particularly useful for reacting to changing requirements such as new orders or calls for collections to a driver in that particular geographical area and ensures more efficient use of resources.
Scheduling allows for differentiation between planned and actual delivery and turnaround time, allowing fleet managers to continuously refine schedules due to unforeseen delays or traffic.
“The ability to manage drivers in a way that considers traffic, changing load requirements and customer demand is a massive advantage and being able to do so from one platform, “Crystal” is the optimal way of ensuring safe and efficient use of assets and resources,” says Jordt.
Driver scoring assists drivers in making their own driving improvements, while usage and behaviour reports can be used for periodic coaching and addressing common shortcomings.
“Ctrack takes the guesswork out of driver and fleet management and ensures that you can take decisions that impact the safety and security of assets and drivers efficiently,” concludes Jordt.
