Last month you read a piece on common issues fleet managers face and a list of a few telematics/GPS tracking systems that help alleviate a few management headaches. We listed companies that are great for tracking maintenance, some that are great at tracking fuel use, and others that are best for efficiency. One we didn’t mention in the piece was Azuga.
Azuga is a tracking system that records data and offers services and solutions for your entire fleet—no matter its size or your line of work. To give you a bit more information on Azuga, Modern WorkTruck Solutions reached out to the fleet manager of Service Experts, a heating, air conditioning, and plumbing company that operates in the US and Canada. Service Experts uses Azuga for a tailor-made tracking solution that allows the company to get all the data it needs without paying for the extras that it doesn’t.
THE COMPANY
Service Experts began in 1996. The company services HVAC, plumbing, and electrical issues for both commercial and residential customers around the clock, 24/7. The company has 92 locations with a fleet of 2,500 vehicles in the US and 400 vehicles in Canada. With a 100% satisfaction guarantee to its customers, Service Experts can’t afford to keep a customer waiting due to a maintenance mishap or an accident due to poor driver training.
David McCauley makes up Service Experts’ fleet management department of one. McCauley says if it has wheels, he has something to do with it in one way or another. “I handle all relationships with OEMs, manufacturers, and upfitters,” he says. McCauley also manages the GPS systems and assists in GPS tracking in conjunction with Service Experts’ safety department.
Before McCauley worked with Service Experts, the company used a different GPS tracking provider. Service Experts was having trouble with the program’s reporting and even some of its operational functions, McCauley says. Now as the only member of his department, McCauley relies heavily on Azuga’s data, reports, and solutions for a variety of reasons, but mostly for safety.
WHY AZUGA
David McCauley wasn’t around before Service Experts’ implementation of the Azuga system, but he says the company saw Azuga as the most affordable GPS tracking provider that met every need of Service Experts. “(Service Experts) wasn’t looking for a full-service, bells-and-whistles system,” McCauley says. It was mostly looking for a system to improve safety in terms of hard braking, acceleration, speeding, and knowing the whereabouts of its assets and technicians, he adds.
Service Experts found what it was looking for in Azuga’s “a-la-carte” system. It allows Service Experts to use what they need and nothing more. Service Experts uses Azuga’s basic system with just one additional function—that was all the company needed for efficient operations and safety improvement. According to McCauley, the Azuga system included everything Service Experts needed and was much less expensive than the previous provider.
SAFETY FIRST
Service Experts has seen the most benefit of the Azuga system in terms of safety. Azuga’s driver scores track drivers and their behaviors. The system’s driver score reports and trend charts help McCauley compare a driver’s safety scores based on day-to-day driving behaviors opening the door to go back and more effectively coach the driver. Azuga data also helps McCauley learn which drivers need more training and to which drivers he should take disciplinary action if needed. “The biggest impact is safety,” McCauley says. “One of the biggest reasons we stay with Azuga.”
In terms of saving money with Azuga, McCauley says, “It’s hard to put a dollar amount to an accident you don’t have from training.” McCauley says when he started working at Service Experts almost five years ago, 20 to 25% of Service Experts’ drivers got dangerously low driving scores. With Azuga’s scoring system, a score of 75 and above is considered good. A score between 65 and 74 is considered moderate risk, and a score below 64 is considered a risk. Those 20 to 25% of drivers were considered a risk. Yet within four years, McCauley says that driver scores have improved with less than 5% of Service Expert drivers in the danger zone. That is a 75% improvement with Azuga and equates to fewer accidents.
“From a bottom line standpoint, Azuga has probably saved us a lot of money,” McCauley says.
QUALITY OF SERVICE
No system is perfect, and McCauley was honest when asked if he had encountered any issues with Azuga. But fortunately for McCauley and Service Experts, the issues they’ve encountered with Azuga are minimal. Azuga’s system is plug and play. If an Azuga device goes bad, McCauley says Azuga will simply send another device—it’s an easy fix.
McCauley says another Azuga perk is that it is responsive to data requests. Azuga keeps up to six months of tracking data available to McCauley, but if he’s in need of data prior to six months, he has to request it from Azuga. Azuga assigned a customer service representative specifically to Service Experts’ account. When McCauley is in need of data, he simply contacts his representative, and he says she always gets back to him within 24 hours if not immediately. If the need is urgent, he’ll make a call and get issues straightened out quickly.
Azuga is also willing to send out a team of experts if McCauley is in need of additional assistance. “We’ve had a couple of locations where the local management has been a little lax on keeping up to date,” McCauley says. “Azuga has made people available to go in and assist with getting all the units activated and making sure all are functioning. They are customer-service oriented. We don’t use them often that way, but I know if I have an issue and need someone they’ll be there.”
WHAT YOU NEED
Every GPS tracking system is different, offering certain aspects that another one doesn’t or having a specialty in one area while lacking in another. When you’re ready to choose a tracking system, be sure to shop around for the best bang for your buck. If you’re looking for all the bells and whistles, Azuga provides that, but maybe a better solution is to go for Azuga’s more affordable option that allows you to pick only what you need instead of paying for features you’ll never use.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Find out more about Azuga’s GPS tracking solutions, visit www.azuga.com.
