Geotab has launched a new incident investigation tool designed to help fleet operators bring telematics data, supporting evidence and case management into a single workflow.
Called Geotab Investigations, the solution is aimed at fleet safety, compliance and operations teams that need to investigate incidents including collisions, customer complaints, property damage and alleged safety violations.
For larger fleets, determining what happened during an incident can involve information being gathered from multiple systems and people, including fleet managers, safety teams, insurers, drivers and legal advisers.
Geotab says its new platform is designed to reduce that administrative burden by using existing telematics information to reconstruct events and create a central record of the investigation.
David Brown, Associate Vice President, Sales, APAC at Geotab, said increasing safety and compliance requirements were making access to accurate incident information more important for fleets across the region.
“Across Asia Pacific, fleets are managing increasingly complex safety, compliance and operational requirements, making it critical to have accurate information available when an incident occurs,” Brown said.
“Geotab Investigations brings critical data together in one place, giving fleet managers a clearer picture of what happened and the insights they need to resolve incidents faster, support their drivers and make informed decisions.”
Reconstructing what happened
One of the key functions of Geotab Investigations is the ability to search vehicle activity by location and time.
Fleet managers can then bring together information including vehicle trips, speed events, driver behaviour and location data to reconstruct the sequence of events before, during and after an incident.
This can be particularly useful when a fleet receives a complaint from a member of the public or needs to establish the circumstances surrounding a collision or property damage claim.
Rather than relying solely on recollections or manually extracting information from different systems, the telematics record can provide an additional source of evidence.
External material including photographs, video, documents, emails, reports and notes can also be attached to the investigation, allowing the fleet to maintain a more complete record of the case.
Greater consistency for fleet investigations
The platform includes a structured case workflow that allows investigations to be tracked from opening through to closure.
For fleet organisations managing hundreds or thousands of vehicles, a consistent investigation process can be important for demonstrating governance and ensuring incidents are handled in a similar way across different locations or business units.
The information can also support insurance claims, internal reviews and compliance processes.
There is a driver-management benefit as well. Reliable telematics information can help establish whether a vehicle or driver was actually involved in the behaviour alleged, reducing the risk of assumptions being made before the available evidence has been reviewed.
For Fleet Managers already using telematics for utilisation, maintenance, safety and driver performance, incident investigation represents another opportunity to make greater use of the data being generated by connected vehicles.
As fleet safety programs become increasingly data-driven, tools that can turn telematics information into a structured and auditable investigation process may help organisations move beyond simply recording incidents towards understanding exactly what occurred and applying those findings to future risk management.
