Ingersoll Rand Reaps $85,000 in Savings from Fleetmatics GPS Tracking

In today’s economic climate, it is crucial for businesses to find new ways to differentiate themselves from competitors while also improving efficiencies. Companies with fleets of vehicles face the additional challenge of reducing fleet expenses in the face of rising costs.

Several years ago, Ingersoll Rand decided to confront these business challenges instead of surrendering to the down economy. They discovered that Fleetmatics GPS vehicle tracking provides a complete solution to help maximize profits while minimizing costs.

Within a year, Ingersoll Rand experienced significant costs savings and found a host of additional benefits that helped the company become a leading HVAC-R company. Ingersoll Rand recently renewed its commitment to Fleetmatics GPS and continues to realize the financial benefits of using GPS every day.

Exceeding Expectations

Ingersoll Rand needed to find a way to remain viable in the competitive HVAC-R industry. Rising fuel prices and increased competitive pressure threatened to cut profits. After a lengthy search, the company decided to install Fleetmatics GPS tracking on 100 vehicles servicing North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland and Tennessee.

The Fleetmatics GPS Vehicle Tracking Solution was created specifically to help small and medium sized businesses increase profitability and productivity. According to Brian Saunders, Territory Fleet Administrator of Ingersoll Rand for the SE division, his company found a variety of ways to use Fleetmatics GPS to improve their entire business model.

Curb Vehicle Expenses

By utilizing Live Fleet, Mr. Saunders is able to ensure drivers use the most direct routes to job sites. Dispatchers have the ability to locate the vehicles nearest to any job site, thus further cutting fuel usage. The automated reports also allow Mr. Saunders to see any excessive mileage and unauthorized vehicle usage on off-days.

In addition, the idling reports show which drivers waste fuel by running their vehicles as climate control during hot or cold days. Ingersoll Rand effectively reduced idling times to just 10 minutes per vehicle per day by using this report.

“In just one year, we saved $85,000 in fuel costs alone,” said Mr. Saunders. “We implemented the system right before fuel prices spiked. It made us look like geniuses.”

Validate and Control Payroll

Mr. Saunders makes extensive use of the Fleetmatics reporting features to verify payroll. Ingersoll Rand found they were losing money because some employees were providing false information regarding how long they spent at a job site.

With Fleetmatics, Mr. Saunders knows exactly when an employee arrives on a site, how long they stayed there, and when they left. They found that some employees were charging the company an additional three to four hours per week, and some were even charging an extra two hours a day. Mr. Saunders now uses the information from the report to ensure employees get paid only for actual work done.

“Initially, we checked everybody to put a quick end to the discrepancies in work hours. But now we just randomly pick five guys every week to audit,” said Mr. Saunders. “This helps us ensure employees are still doing what’s expected of them and that they get all the pay they deserve. We have improved payroll accuracy and significantly reduced overtime while better meeting the demands of our customers.”

Improved Customer Service

Using the Nearest Vehicle Locator, dispatchers at Ingersoll Rand can now respond quickly to service calls and exceed customer expectations. In addition, if a driver gets lost or stuck in traffic, Live Fleet gives dispatchers the ability to find the fastest route to the next job site.

“We used to have territories for drivers in an attempt to keep response times low,” said Mr. Saunders. “With Fleetmatics, we don’t have to worry about territories. We just dispatch the person we know can get there first.”

Increased Security

Theft is a concern for many businesses with vehicle fleets, but with Fleetmatics Live Fleet, Ingersoll Rand has been able to quickly retrieve stolen vehicles and the expensive tools on board.

The system even helps Ingersoll Rand eliminate employee theft. Used copper from any job is supposed to come back to the company. Mr. Saunders set Point of Interest alerts on all the scrap yards in the area and found that some employees were turning in the copper for their own personal profit.

“Now, we can see if an employee goes to the scrap yard,” said Mr. Saunders. “We can just call them up and tell them to bring that scrap check right to us.”

In addition, the speeding alerts have helped improve safety. When a driver exceeds the speed threshold set by Mr. Saunders, he gets an automated alert.

“I’ve had drivers call me up and apologize for speeding because they had to pass a tractor trailer on the road,” said Mr. Saunders. “And the alert will pop up as I’m talking to them. They know that I’ll always know if they broke one of our rules.”

Peace of Mind

In the end, Ingersoll Rand and Mr. Saunders know they have done everything they can to reduce costs, increase productivity and protect their business.

With the Fleetmatics GPS Vehicle Tracking Solution, Ingersoll Rand has achieved results beyond what they expected and have remained competitive in a volatile market.

“I could not imagine doing this job without Fleetmatics,” said Mr. Saunders. “It would be like going from a new 52″ high definition TV back to an old 24″ black and white TV. Once you’ve used Fleetmatics GPS, you never want to go back.”

Category: Featured, Fleet Tracking