Patrick Kelley, senior vice presidentat ResCare, Inc., knew that his com-pany needed a technology solution

to become a safer fleet. ResCare pro-vides a variety of services to people withphysical and developmental disabilitiesand special needs. Its fleet of passengervans and minivans transports theseclients to different sites, such as resi-dences, group homes, vocational andday habilitation programs, and larger fa-cilities. The risk management concernsof carrying people were obvious — asingle accident could result in major lia-bility damages. Kelley says, “We werelooking for a solution that would im-prove our fleet’s safety.”

Jerome Hoes, director of fleet andtravel at GEICO Insurance, was alsoready to try technology to help his com-pany resolve some challenges with itsfleet. GEICO is the fourth-largest pri-vate-passenger auto insurer in the U.S. Itsfleet of 1,750 vehicles includes cars forits claims adjustors, pool vehicles, andcommuter vans for its employees. Head-quartered in Washington, D.C., GEICOhas seven regional offices and multiplecall centers around the country. SaysHoes, “We were interested in finding outhow onboard technology could help uswith safety, utilization, and other issues.”

Both companies worked with theirfleet management provider, PHH Arval,to initiate a pilot program using PHHOnboard, a new telematics-powered ser-

vice being developed by PHH. The ser-vice includes consultation on technolo-gy options, determination of ROIopportunities, development of imple-mentation and execution strategies,management of installation and activa-tion, and ongoing measurement and re-porting on fleet/driver performance.

David Coleman, vice president, newproduct development for PHH, believesthe convergence of telematics technology,

There are seven steps to implement-ing a successful telematics initiative

1. Identify a high-level organiza-tional sponsor.

2. Create a cross-functional team.3. Select an onboard technology

supplier.4. Working with that supplier,

establish baselines and developspecific measures of how your dri-vers are doing.

5. Develop a driver incentive pro-gram to encourage behaviors consis-tent with your policies.

6. Develop specific plans for im-plementation and execution of yourtelematics program, including financ-ing, inventory, installation, informationcapture and reporting, etc.

7. Identify a resource to managethe program.

At a Glance

Telematics-Powered ServiceTelematics-Powered ServiceFleets Beta Test NewFleets Beta Test New

Several fleets are testing a new telematics-pow-ered service called PHH Onboard. The serviceseeks to help fleets increase productivity of thedriver and vehicle, improve risk management,and enhance vehicle performance.

Jerome Hoes, director of fleet and travel at GEICOInsurance, implemented PHH Onboard into his fleetto learn how onboard technology could help GEICOmaximize safety and and job performance.

consulting expertise, and informationmanagement capabilities will take on-board solutions to increasingly higherlevels of business efficiency. “Our strate-gy with PHH Onboard is to integrate ad-vanced technologies with core fleetmanagement services to help clients inthree specific areas: productivity of thedriver and fleet vehicle, risk management,and vehicle performance. We combine anonboard GPS and vehicle diagnostics de-vice, powered by Networkcar, withPHH’s comprehensive fleet informationdatabase and consultative expertise.”

ResCare Gets Corporate Buy-Inand Immediate Results

The first task was to get buy-in ongoals and measurements for the program.Kelley called in a cross-section of stake-holders in his company to discuss the useof telematics for the ResCare fleet. “Weincluded representatives from legal, risk,information technology, finance, and op-erations and asked for their feedback onthe benefits and risks of implementingthis technology. They were all involvedin the decision to try PHH Onboard. Eachdepartment had its own ideas of whatthey should get out of the technology, soour established goals reflect everyone’slist of targets and measurements.”

ResCare decided to try a pilot in theTexas and Washington, D.C. regions andinstalled more than 100 telematics de-vices in its vans. The company is usingthis initial pilot to establish a baseline inorder to assess improvement and calcu-late return on investment. Each of thetargets defined by the various ResCaredepartment heads is being measured andreported on with empirical data.

Kelley reports on the early results,“Within a few days of installation, wehad some immediate improvements. Forinstance, we discovered multiple driverswere traveling over ResCare’s speedthreshold of 70 miles per hour; after com-municating with those drivers, thosespeeds dropped dramatically. We havealso been able to virtually eliminate vehi-cle use at unauthorized times, namely at

night. The re-duction inspeeds andunauthorizeduse has theadded advan-tage of helpingus reduce ourfuel costs. And,of course, thelocation tech-nology is im-portant to us,

since we always know where our vans arewhen they’re transporting people.”

Another major benefit ResCare hasdiscovered is the ability to determinewhether each vehicle is under- orover-utilized and eliminate “dead pe-riods.” “Through odometer readings,reports on the number of miles driven,and information on how long since avehicle has been turned on, we’re ableto rotate vehicles to equalize mileage.Over time, we’ll be able to see if wehave the right number of vehicles inour operation, thanks to the vehicle di-agnostics and information capabilitiesof the service.”

The engine diagnostics transmittedthrough PHH Onboard will also have apositive impact on vehicle performance,Kelley believes. ResCare subscribes toPHH’s managed maintenance program,which will be using the vehicle diagnos-tics data transmitted through PHH On-board to enable PHH’s technicians tomake smarter maintenance decisions onResCare’s behalf. The technology pro-vides accurate odometer readings, en-gine alerts, and other engine diagnosticinformation.

Kelley’s plans for the technology in-clude developing a corporate risk pro-file that incorporates benchmarks onspeed and unauthorized time usageand, over time, documentation of thechange in driver behavior to increasesafety. This profile will be presented toResCare’s insurance company with ex-pectations for a significant drop in in-surance costs.

GEICO Increases Overall FleetEfficiency

Jerome Hoes of GEICO has also seenbenefits from onboard technology. “Inthe months that we have been usingPHH Onboard in our pool units, ourmain goal was to increase the efficiencyof our mail trucks and van pools, whilemaking the fleet safer.”

GEICO operates mail trucks thattravel between offices, warehouses, andlocal client offices. In the heavily con-gested Washington, D.C. area whereGEICO is headquartered, the companyalso has a van pool that transports em-ployees to and from commuter parkingsites (often more than 40 miles away).These van pool drivers have been ap-proved by the insurance company todrive the vans, having undergone safetytraining and MVR background checks,so safety is a high priority.

Hoes says, “After we installed thetelematics devices in the pool units, wewere immediately able to identify driverswho were speeding. For the commutervans, we were able to re-route them aroundtrouble spots so they could be more effi-cient in transporting our employees. Thelocator capabilities are important to us, aswe often use our pool vehicles for GEICOemployees who have business in othercities, and we want to be able to help themout if they need roadside assistance. Wehave been able to identify cases where cer-tain runs can be eliminated from the sched-ule, because the reports indicated that theruns were not necessary. And usage reportshave enabled us to identify vehicles thatare not being used. Finally, we’re also ableto tell when a vehicle is idling too long andtry to cut down on that when appropriate.”

Hoes says that GEICO plans to ex-pand its telematics program with PHHto include other vanpools around thecountry and with its claims departmentto customize the technology and extendit to adjusters’ cars.

Coleman says that PHH has a num-ber of other client companies pilotingPHH Onboard, which will be generallyavailable in the fall of 2005.

Reprinted from AUTOMOTIVE FLEET / July 2005AF

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Patrick Kelley, sr. VP forResCare, wanted asafer fleet.

AF