Better fleet management can reduce the effect of rising fuel costs

As fuel prices continue to rise as a result of a sliding Rand coupled with further increases in the cost of oil, South African fleet managers are feeling growing pressure to employ effective strategies to reduce the impact of these increases, which may constitute as much as 42% of the operators’ running costs.

Hannelie Snow, Communications Officer for Matrix Vehicle Tracking says the Matrix MX4, which has been used highly successfully in the transport industry, is now being recognised as a powerful tool to assist fleet managers with their fuel saving strategies.

Based on state of the art technology, this powerful management tool allows fleet managers to track their fleets on a web-based platform via the internet monitoring both their vehicles and their operation at all times.

“The manager is able to establish whether his drivers are employing harsh braking/accelerating, which may then result in premature and/or regular replacement of tyres. Extended and excessive idling is also another means of unnecessary consumption of valuable fuel, and managers can track any unauthorised trips and usage of the vehicles after hours, which all contribute to a company’s rising fuel costs,” says Snow.

She says not only does this impact positively on security of the assets but also the running costs thereof and subsequent vehicle life.

To ensure constant communication from the device, the MX4 Fleet Management unit is supported by a back-up system that will immediately come into effect and take over and complete the communication process if required.

“Communication from the device is enabled through General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), which is the primary means for the transfer of data, and if required, this can seamlessly switch over to SMS communication. Both communication methods have their own sets of positioning interval logging and downloading settings. Positioning is done via GPS, irrespective of the
ignition state,” concludes Snow.

*Based on the vehicle electronics addition hardware may be required for some
of the fleet features.