First responders are some of the most important workers in our society. If they aren’t able to work efficiently, many people may be in danger. Mistakes in this profession can be fatal, and every second is a matter of life or death. That’s why these fleets often take advantage of fleet management tools to make their jobs more efficient, allowing them to help people as quickly and easily as possible. There are many fleet management tools that a police fleet or a fire department fleet would benefit from, and we will break those tools down in this article.
GPS Tracking
GPS tracking is vital for dispatchers of first responder fleets. Whenever there’s an emergency, you want to dispatch the closest person to get there the fastest. GPS tracking shows dispatchers a map of all the vehicles in the fleet, allowing them to quickly pinpoint the nearest responder and get them to the scene as soon as possible. Fleet management software also gives you more details when you dispatch, making it easy to ensure that you send the correct person for the job. These details may include what equipment each vehicle has on hand and what expertise each nearby responder has. This dispatching software also makes it easy to schedule based on how many responders you think you’ll need out on the road at a given time. Handling all of your responders becomes much simpler with GPS tracking.
Dashcams
Dashcams are a necessity for many first responding fleets, especially police fleets. When a police officer stops a driver or someone on the side of the road or even gets into a car chase with a fleeing suspect, dashcams can capture critical information that officers might otherwise miss. If the suspect escapes, dashcams have images of the car and suspect so that police can circulate the images and find the suspect later. Furthermore, dashcams show exactly how altercations go down in dangerous situations, so police can reference them if they are questioned later. Dashcams aren’t just useful for keeping drivers safe but have a specific use for police officers that make them uniquely handy.
Maintenance Alerts
Keeping vehicles well maintained is one of the most crucial parts of keeping a fleet effective and safe. Whenever a vehicle experiences a breakdown, it takes time and money to correct the issue, burdening everyone. Police vehicles, fire trucks, and other emergency vehicles travel at very high speeds and are more likely to experience maintenance issues than other fleet vehicles. Luckily, telematics tracks your vehicles’ health and tells you when your vehicles experience problems that may require maintenance with maintenance alerts. These maintenance alerts help you repair the issue before it causes a breakdown, keeping your first responder fleet efficient and safe. Furthermore, scheduled maintenance alerts remind you when it’s time to take vehicles in for their routine maintenance, preventing issues from arising in the first place.
Route Optimization
The most important job for a first responder vehicle is to get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible. Route optimization can help. This technology uses algorithms and machine learning to help first responders achieve this goal. Not only does it save on time, but it also saves on fuel use, meaning fleets also save money in the long run. Route optimization takes traffic data, construction, and road closures into account to ensure that nothing gets in the way of first responders doing their jobs. It is an absolute necessity for first responder fleets, and those who don’t use it are sure to fall behind.
Safety Tools
While first responders work on keeping everyone else safe, it’s their manager’s job to keep them safe. There are many technologies available to keep them safe on the road. Telematics help track their behaviors and the vehicle’s health to ensure nothing concerning is going on when the driver is behind the wheel. Driver rewards programs incentivize drivers for safe driving habits, promoting them to prioritize their own safety as much as their jobs. Targeted coaching uses telematics to track mistakes that a driver makes and give them coaching that helps them eradicate those specific mistakes. There are many options available that keep drivers safer on the roads, and it’s crucial to take advantage of as many as possible to ensure our first responders are well protected.
Conclusion
First responders have a high-stress job that keeps them on their toes for long shifts. These tools make the job easier on them and their managers so they can focus on what they do best: saving lives. Azuga offers all of these tools and more to help first responder fleets optimize their operations.
