Improving Accountability, Driver Safety and Customer Service

With a fleet in excess of 100 vehicles, Garden Grove needed to find an efficient system that would improve driver safety and further improve their high level of customer service.

Challenge

Alicia Critchley, Accounts Manager for Garden Grove, says what led the company to telematics in the first place was the ability to get a better sense of where the trucks were at all times. ‘By doing this we would be able to provide answers on how long it might take untill our vehicle would arrive, while eliminating the time wasted calling back and forth between the driver and the customer,’ she says.

Solution

The Rollout

After initially fitting only 10 haul trucks with a Geotab GO device and letting them run for a 6 month period, Garden Grove have now fitted their entire fleet of 120.

Training

To enable themselves to get the most out of the solution, Garden Grove have utilised a variety of the different training services offered by Fleet Complete.

‘We have been able to use the Free Webinars as a great refresher, or induction for new staff, while the customised one-on-one sessions have enabled us to learn more about the software’ said Critchley.

“We are now able to update our customers on stops made by the driver, schedule routes, arrival and departure times, without having to interrupt the driver on the road. It has also enabled us to provide feedback to customer enquiries on historical trips, like being able to verify, without doubt, exactly which location a particular load has been delivered to, which is very important to large customers with multiple delivery locations.”

– Alicia Critchley, Accounts Manager – Garden Grove Haulage

Broader knowledge of the software has encouraged Garden Grove to explore areas such as automated vehicle maintenance as a potential to increase business efficiency within the company.

The Results

Greater Level of Customer Satisfaction

Since the implementation of the Fleet Complete Fleet Management Solution, Garden Grove have been able to significantly improve the quality of information being provided to their clients, while reducing the amount of time handling customer enquiries.

‘We are now able to update our customers on stops made by the driver, schedule routes, arrival and departure times, without having to interrupt the driver on the road. It has also enabled us to provide feedback to customer enquiries on historical trips, like being able to verify, without doubt, exactly which location a particular load has been delivered to, which is very important to large customers with multiple delivery locations.’ Ms Critchley said.

“Partnering with Fleet Complete has been a great decision on our part. It’s cost effective, has helped us be more efficient (on many levels), improved driver behaviour and it has ‘saved the day’ more than once!”

– Alicia Critchley, Accounts Manager – Garden Grove Haulage

Improved Driver Safety and Behaviour

From a WH&S point of view, the solution has proved an invaluable tool for the company. ‘With up to a 100 drivers on the road at any one time, it can be difficult to ensure the safety of our drivers. Using the solution we have setup a big screen in our transport office which shows live tracking of all our vehicles at any one time, allowing us to be accountable for their safety’ said Ms. Critchley.

Further to knowing where their drivers are, Garden Grove have been able to increase safety by utilising the solution to improve driver behaviour. The Geotab GO device uses accelerometer technology to determine things such as harsh braking, cornering and speeding. Garden Grove use this data to generate weekly reports in particular on speeding and then educate their drivers on the matter. This has resulted in improved driver behaviour, meaning a safer environment for the driver and improved wear and tear of their vehicles.

Added Benefits

For a company as recognisable as Garden Grove, public perception is an important part of business. The company was visited by the police department over public complaints surrounding the driving behaviour of some of their trucks.

‘Using the solution I was able to show the data to the police regarding the trucks in question, who were quickly able to admit that this was a case of the public not understanding heavy vehicle behaviour.’

In a separate issue, Garden Grove were able to help aid the police when one of their trucks was stolen.

‘Once we were advised the truck had been stolen, we were able to locate it via the tracking and inform them of its location. Unfortunately the police were unable to catch the thief at the time, but were able to get our truck back in one piece’ Ms. Critchley said.