How Do Fleet Alerts Reduce Costs and Risk?

An early problem resolves at a much lesser cost than a late one. A speeding driver, an idling engine or a vehicle leaving a job site after hours are all easy fixes at the time, but hard to pass up on the money. Unfortunately, there’s no time or space to watch all vehicles all day. Fleet alerts do this for you. When something goes wrong, they notify you and you take action — before a minor problem turns into a major bill. It outlines what fleet alerting is, what is important and how to configure it without getting lost in the noise. Designed for fleet managers who want to avoid unpleasant surprises and reduce expenses.

Quick answer: Fleet alerts are automatic notiﬁcations that warn you when there is something to be done, such as when you are speeding, idling, breaching a geofence, or dropping fuel levels. They allow you to control the actual action and reduce fuel loss, enhance safety and prevent fuel theft. The US Department of Energy estimates that, when idling alone, vehicles consume approximately 0.5 gallons of fuel per hour.Alerts for idling pay off quickly according to US Department of Energy estimates that indicate vehicles idle alone consume approximately 0.5 gallons of fuel per hour. It’s important to not have all the alerts because the key is setting the right ones.

Key Takeaways

Fleet alerts will alert you in real time, allowing you to take action before costs start to add up.
The most helpful alerts include speeding, idling, geofence violations, and fuel drops.
Avoid being overwhelmed by alerts; establish thresholds and priorities.
Alerts combine tracking, fuel, driver, and maintenance information.
Saving money is not about getting alerts, it’s about taking actions based on them.

Table of Contents

What Are Fleet Alerts?

Fleet alerts are automatic alerts that are sent when a vehicle or driver does something that requires attention. These vehicle alerts can include speeding, hard braking, idling, geofence entry/exit, fuel or maintenance required. These fleet notifications are received in real-time, via app, email, or text. They convert raw tracking data to timely and clear warnings.

Alerts are important because they allow you to react at the moment. You don’t have to wait until next month for documentation of the problem; you solve it today. The key to cost control is good alerts management.

Why Real-Time Alerts Matter

The majority of fleet costs are due to unnoticed small issues. The driver idles for 1 hour. A van skips a stop from its route.A van misses a stop on its route. Fuel is gone by the time you wake up the next day. None of these are substantial individually but multiplied across a fleet are pretty significant dollars. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, idling of U.S. vehicles consumes billions of gallons of fuel annually. The question here is the timing. At this point, the money has already been spent and these problems have been identified in a report.

Alerts resolve this issue of timing. They inform you when to act when something occurs, before it is too late. You can coach a driver today, not after a crash – with a speeding alert. A geofence alert is the warning before an after hours move occurs and becomes a loss.

How Fleet Alerts Work

A fleet alert’s operation is based on a simple chain. Each vehicle has a tracking device that logs information such as vehicle location, speed, and engine performance. The software validates your data to rules which you have established. The system will notify you via SMS or email if a rule is violated.

You set the rules. For instance, give me a warning if a car drives faster than 75 mph, idles for longer than 15 minutes or is in a set zone. The system is able to monitor all vehicles simultaneously and will only alert you when a rule is violated. This is powered by GPS and live tracking, which provides the status and location data that alerts are based on. You don’t have to sit and watch the screen for hours and hours to get the signal.

Most modern fleet platforms also allow you to tailor alerts to the vehicle, driver, department or operating hours, so different areas of the business only receive the notifications they need.

Which Fleet Alerts Are Most Useful?

A few alerts provide most fleet value, but there are many that can be configured. These are the ones that are most important.

Speeding alerts. Any Flag Drivers exceeding a limit. Driving at high speeds increases fuel consumption, the likelihood of accidents, and insurance premiums. These alerts lead to better safety in a timely manner through coaching.
Idling alerts. Install flags on engines when parking. Don’t waste fuel by idling. These alerts can typically provide the fastest fuel savings.
Geofence alerts. Mark the entrance and exit of cars in a designated zone. They are created using geofencing and provide alerts as to when a vehicle arrives at a location or departs after hours.
Fuel alerts. Indicate any abrupt change in fuel level that does not correspond to a stop. Together with fuel management, they detect fuel theft that is not detected by fuel bills.
Harsh driving alerts. Signal for forceful braking, sharp turns, and violent acceleration. These are indicators of unsafe drivers, and contribute to high vehicle maintenance expenses.
Maintenance alerts. Services to the flag based on mileage or date. They are associated with maintenance and service and they avoid breakdowns and aid planned maintenance that we have outlined in our guide on how fleet maintenance software reduces costs.

What Costs Do Fleet Alerts Prevent?

Here are some widespread alerts and the expenses they can assist you to save.

Alert Type	What It Flags	Cost It Prevents
Speeding	Driver over the limit	Accidents, fuel waste, insurance
Idling	Engine running while parked	Wasted fuel
Geofence	Entry or exit of a zone	Theft, unauthorized use
Fuel drop	Sudden loss of fuel	Fuel theft
Harsh driving	Braking, cornering, acceleration	Maintenance, accidents
Maintenance due	Service by mileage or date	Breakdowns, downtime

Each alert is directed towards a specific cost. As a group they transform your fleet from reactive to proactive, solving issues before they start.

Challenges and Limitations

Alerts are great, but they come with a cost — too many. If you receive notification for every little thing, you’ll get “alert fatigue” and begin to tune out. Then, the alerts that really count are missed. The solution is to establish reasonable and realistic thresholds and priorities, rather than activating everything.

Good setup and action are needed for alerts to work. If it’s set too low, you’re getting a lot of noise. If you set the threshold too high, then real problems will be missed. And an alert, of which nobody reacts, is a wasted alert. The aim is a focus of alerts, with each alert having an owner who responds. Once they are set, tune them, and go over them.

Illustrative Example

The above is an example scenario and not a specific customer. A fleet of 20 vans was activated. Within a week, managers were getting hundreds of notifications a day. They ceased to read them and a true fuel theft got through.

They retained four alerts: speeding, idling for more than 15 minutes, geofence exit after hours and fuel drops. Both went to a named manager. Now there were fewer and more definite warnings. The next fuel drop was later in the same night. All they did was select the right alerts and take the necessary action.

Common Mistakes Fleets Make

Activating all warnings. Too many notifications leads to fatigue and real problems will be overlooked. Use 4 or 5 important alerts.
Setting thresholds poorly. If you set your limit too low, you’ll be swamped with noise. Customize each threshold to your fleet, so you can keep alerts intact.
Not assigning owners. If no one’s responsible for an alert, no one’s going to take action. Assign an individual to each alarm class.Assign individuals to respond to each alarm class.

Best Practices

Begin at the top of the list with high value alerts. Start with speeding alerts, idling alerts, geofence alerts and fuel alerts. Put in additional amounts only when these are functioning.
Adjust thresholds as a function of time. Analyze and tweak the alerts that fire. The purpose is to signal and NOT to noise.
Have an owner identified for each alert. Ensure that there is an individual to respond to each alert type. Having ownership makes alerting into action.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are fleet alerts?

Fleet alerts are self-generated notifications that alert drivers and vehicles when they’re in need of assistance. They alert on speeding, idling, geofence violations and fuel drops. These are sent to you instantly through app, email or text, for action before costs add up.

Which fleet alerts are most important?

Speeding, idling, geofence entry/exit and fuel drop are the most valuable alerts. These target the biggest and most common fleet costs. Once the basic alerts are in place, harsh driving and maintenance alerts will provide additional benefits.

How do geofence alerts work?

A Geofence is a virtual boundary, or radius; you can create a location or area on a map. When a vehicle moves in and out of that zone, it will alert the system. This will indicate when a vehicle is arriving at a job site or traveling after hours; helping to deter theft.

Can fleet alerts reduce fuel costs?

Yes. Fuel alerts alert when there are sudden drops and Idling alerts when engines are idling when parked. These cuts drive up fuel consumption and reduce losses. Idle alerts can save you the most money out of any alert.

How do I avoid too many fleet alerts?

You don’t have to use them all; begin with four or five, high-value alerts. Define thresholds that are appropriate to your fleet, and don’t result in a barrage of pings. Check and adjust alerts periodically to ensure they continue to be relevant.

Do fleet alerts help with safety?

Yes. Harsh driving, speeding alerts warn in real-time of hazardous driving behavior. By coaching drivers according to these alerts, driving improves, accidents reduce and insurance costs can often decrease.

Conclusion

Fleet alerts convert tracking data to actionable, timely data. They alert you when someone is driving fast, a car is idling or fuel is missing, so you repair minor issues before they escalate. The most helpful alerts are for speeding, idling, geofence violations, and fuel depletion. The secret is focus: select a few high-value alerts, establish reasonable thresholds, and have an owner for each alert. Then, your fleet becomes a cost prevention organization instead of a cost reaction organization. Work from the alerts that count, and reduce your expenses. The best fleet alerts are the ones that your team responds to, not the ones that are sending alerts.

Want alerts that catch problems in real time? Explore Fleet Scanner alerts management and see how the right notifications protect your fleet.

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