There’s nothing easy about running winter fleet operations for a city or municipality. Clearing the roads of ice and snow requires logistics planning and equipment tracking. With so many moving parts running simultaneously, public works teams have their hands full. Telematics plays an important role in overall fleet management. Managing snowplows, salt trucks, snowblowers, and sidewalk plows is complex and often requires system integrations. To keep roads clear, meet compliance, plan routes, and manage material spread, the Geotab Public Works solution checks all the boxes.

1. Liability

No matter the size of your public works fleet, liability claims take up a significant amount of time and resources. From major and minor incident claims to environmental concerns, public works fleets need a reliable system to recount the facts. Telematics solutions provide a rich source of information to support post claim and incident investigations. Our government clients tell us that having verifiable data to defend themselves has saved them an enormous amount of time and money. The Geotab Public Works solution allows users to track vehicles based on date, time, area activity, trip history, and engine data. Regardless of the liability claim, government fleets can confidently respond to incidents and provide peace of mind to their drivers

2. Accountability

Another great benefit of using technology to track public works fleets is transparency. As taxpayers, citizens want to know how their money is being used to service their communities. Live level of service and KPI (key performance indicator) reporting allows you to measure and report on the servicing of roads. With our API integrations, public works teams can apply the Geotab solution to their existing 511 platforms. This information can show citizens when their streets have been plowed and salted. Furthermore, the data collected holds your staff accountable to meet the community’s level of service standards.

3. Material management

Not sure how much material your winter fleet is using to keep the roads safe? The cost of material including salt, sand, and brine represents a major variable expense for winter fleets. Telematics solutions can support remote data collection from a wide range of popular spreader controllers. With the Geotab Public Works solution, governments can measure the amount of material being used and the rate of spread to help budget planning. Public works winter fleets no longer need to keep manual spread reports leading to increased efficiency and productivity.

4. Compliance

All public works groups must adhere to a level of service standard to meet compliance. These standards can change from community to community depending on their minimum maintenance standards to ensure roadway safety. Geotab telematics allows governments to align their winter fleets to meet regulations and measure performance. The event logging tool captures key metrics to prove the level of service compliance. Public works teams can track route completion and vehicle activity within a specific region and time. And if your fleet outsources contractors, the Geotab device can be installed in their vehicles to ensure the level of service is being met across the board.

5. Safety

The safety of drivers and citizens is always a top priority when the winter season rolls around. Ensuring policies are followed and level of service standards are met is especially important for winter public works fleets. Telematics gives government fleets the power to measure and manage driver performance. The Geotab Public Works solution allows users to set customized rules to reduce risk and increase safety. Running regular reports on seatbelt use, speeding, harsh cornering among other activities ensures your winter fleet is servicing the roads safely.

If your winter fleet could use the help of Geotab telematics to manage operations, give Northern BI a shout! We’d be happy to show you how our public works solutions can increase your fleet’s overall efficiencies