Georgia County Government - September 2008 - (Page 33)

Feature Drive Your Fleet into the Next Generation of Efficiency, Profits All commercial fleets can benefit from improved communications. The ideal situation is to equip the truck cab as a mobile office that is rarely out of reach of dispatchers or managers. For example, fleets that deliver cement to construction sites need to know if the weather will be suitable for pouring, and utility and telecom fleets must quickly respond to power outages. To exchange crucial information and collect data from trucks, some fleets use cellular or satellite communications to enable virtually constant contact. Some departments in Georgia are using a wireless solution called AVL (automatic vehicle locator), which allows them to track each truck and ensure the shortest route to maximize fuel efficiency. It’s also a very valuable solution from a security standpoint, allowing departments to track their assets, know where their vehicles are at all times and ensure that drivers stay safe. If drivers are out of touch for too long or don’t show up at a scheduled location, managers and dispatchers can put emergency plans into motion to make sure drivers are located and out of harm’s way. By Howard Faber Director, Business Sales, Verizon Wireless Georgia/ Alabama Region here are many things weighing on the minds of government fleet managers today, keeping them awake at night. Perhaps the greatest challenge faced in the current market is one of efficiency, in both time and money. Getting the most out of your f leet’s daily routes is more important than ever. Government Fleet Magazine calls the need to reduce fuel spend the No. 1 trend over the next 12 months. And while issues such as the cost of fuel contribute greatly to the problem of inefficiency, there are technological solutions available that can not only help but make huge strides in our efforts to do more with our day and cut costs. Among the many points of contact within any fleet – dispatcher, sales representative, marketing representative, quality control experts, drivers and more – communication can be the one underlying service that can help increase efficiency and reduce spending. T Myth No. 1: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Unfortunately, however, it is broken. Rising costs of everything strain our business’ bottom line. And the increased societal pressure on our day-to-day lives to fit everything (work, kids, soccer, friends, boss, eat, sleep) into 24 hours or less, continues to strain both companies and employees. When talking about moving to a wireless system, we are typically trying to get a non-technical workforce to turn into a technical organization utilizing the latest in equipment. There is an understandable learning curve. Many of the applications offered today didn’t exist four years ago. So, if a company has been in business 50 years and has 100 trucks, it’s not very easy for them to switch quickly to a new technology and abandon the current processes. Myth No. 2: Big Brother is watching. One of the other biggest obstacles can be employees. No one likes to feel they are “tracked” on a daily basis, their every move monitored and questioned. But these myths must be shattered once and for all if our state’s fleets are to compete today and over the coming years. Standing still really isn’t an option anymore. Fleet managers have to be willing to look at an ROI model, re: the payback period to determine the value of installing a wireless system. The truth is fleets can recoup the cost of their investment quicker than most think is possible. A well-chosen system can yield a rapid return on investment. FLEET continued on page 34 Industry Myths If you look at the industry as a whole, the largest technological improvement in recent years is the move to wireless. Until recently, many fleets still had their work orders on paper and piled up in fi ling cabinets. But challenges remain in the adoption of wireless technology, in the form of myths: Among the many points of contact within any fleet – dispatcher, sales representative, marketing representative, quality control experts, drivers and more – communication can be the one underlying service that can help increase efficiency and reduce spending. SEPTEMBER 2008 www.accg.org 33 http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - September 2008

Georgia County Government - September 2008 Contents President’s Message County Matters Cobb County: Quality of Life is Job No. 1 Innovative Transportation Financing in Georgia Drive Your Fleet into the Next Generation of Efficiency, Profits Spotlight: Georgia Technology Authority Media Productions GEMA News: Hurricane Season Could Cause Natural Gas Spike GDEcD News: Communities Receive Funds to Develop Tourism Assets Georgia’s Grand Old Courthouses: Upson County Extension News: Radon: Georgia’s Silent Danger Research Corner: Conserving Fuel Costs in Your County Staff News County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - September 2008

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