Fleet Management Guide
Protect your technicians, vehicles, & bottom line: Fleet Management guide for field service excellence
Field service businesses—from HVAC and pest control to landscaping and utilities—operate in a fast-paced, high-pressure environment.
Their technicians are constantly on the move, working in demanding environments and on strict timelines. At the same time, fleet managers must ensure safety and maintain operational efficiency while facing rising fuel costs, technician shortages, vehicle damage, and missed appointments.
This is where an integrated fleet management and safety platform plays a crucial role. Unlike traditional telematics solutions that only focus on tracking vehicles or monitoring driver behavior, solutions like Netradyne’s Driver·i One provide an all-in-one platform that optimizes both safety and operational efficiency, making it an ideal tool for field service companies.
Let’s take a closer look at how an integrated fleet management solution eliminates the unique challenges field service businesses face.
Field service operations depend on the smooth coordination of technicians and vehicles to ensure jobs are completed on time. But even with challenges like rising fuel costs, technician shortages, accidents, and missed appointments, some field service businesses still use basic telematics tools to address these issues.
More robust fleet safety and management solutions, like Driver·i One, go further. They offer fundamentally different features that not only track vehicles but also optimize routes, support drivers, predict maintenance needs, and provide video evidence for incident exoneration. These result in benefits such as:
Reduced Claims and Insurance Costs
Technicians often deal with tight schedules and challenging driving conditions, increasing the risk of accidents and insurance claims. Driver·i One mitigates these risks by providing real-time feedback on driving behaviors and can detect risky habits like hard braking, speeding, and tailgating—before they lead to costly incidents.
More importantly, Netradyne’s system promotes a uniquely proactive and constructive—not punitive—approach to safety. Fleet managers receive data that highlights both good and risky driving behaviors, allowing them to reinforce positive habits through training and recognition. This not only improves driver performance but also reduces the likelihood of accidents, ultimately lowering insurance claims and associated costs.
The GreenZone® Score (developed by Netradyne) is the industry's first driver score that reflects both safe and risky driving behaviors. It also gamifies safety by rewarding technicians for good driving, which motivates them to stay vigilant on the road. Based on Netradyne’s analysis of 1.3 billion miles of driving data, every 50-point improvement in a fleet’s GreenZone® Score correlates to an approximate 13–15% reduction in accidents.
By leveraging the GreenZone score to monitor and improve driving habits, Driver·i One helps field service companies create a culture of safety while significantly cutting down on accidents, claims, and insurance costs.
“I switched to Netradyne 18 months ago, and since then we have experienced a 60% improvement in our loss runs, and our vehicle incidents continue to plummet. I could not be happier with the switch and how it improved the life of our drivers and managers. I used to battle with our drivers about having cameras in the trucks, but that ended when we installed the Driver.i cameras. The three best things about Netradyne’s platform are: 1) The technology is superior 2) The gamification is superior, and 3) It shifts responsibility for coaching to the driver, which is preferred by everyone.”
Tom Godfrey
Safety Director at Parker Gas Co.
Greater Efficiency and Fuel Economy
Field service vehicles are essential to business operations, and ensuring they’re in peak condition is key to preventing costly downtime. Platforms like Driver·i One allow fleet managers to monitor vehicle health continuously, identifying engine faults and potential maintenance issues before they result in breakdowns. This predictive maintenance ensures that technicians don’t miss appointments due to unexpected vehicle malfunctions.
Driver·i One also provides insights into vehicle operations, including fuel consumption, idling time, and driving behaviors. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, aggressive driving can reduce gas mileage by 15% to 30% at highway speeds and 10% to 40% in stop-and-go traffic. By identifying inefficient driving habits, fleet managers can promote safer, more fuel-conscious driving, ultimately reducing operational costs and improving overall efficiency.
More Effective Advocacy for Technicians
With Driver·i One’s real-time monitoring and data, fleet managers can reward safe driving behaviors and also provide more objective and targeted coaching to ensure technicians have the necessary support to improve their driving skills and overall performance.
Beyond improving safety, Driver·i One’s video recording capabilities serve as a critical tool for protecting both technicians and the company. This proactive approach is especially important given that, according to a poll by Pest Control Technology, half of pest management professionals (PMPs) report having been involved in a service vehicle accident. In the event of an accident or dispute—such as a technician being falsely accused of causing property damage—fleet managers can access dashcam footage to provide clear evidence, exonerate drivers, and prevent costly legal claims.
“Since I have had Netradyne my vehicle accidents went to almost zero. I have been able to sit down with my team and correct driving behaviors. I love the fact that it gives you your potential driving score and the actual score, and ways to improve it. It creates accountability while protecting our assets and our employees. It also provided us with footage that proved we were not at fault in one of our accidents! I wish I would have had them in my vehicles years ago.”
Daniel Fiedler
Owner at ProServ Pest Management
With the industry’s high turnover rates and persistent labor shortage, creating a supportive and fair work environment is also key to retaining technicians. Driver·i One fosters trust with technicians through its positive reinforcement model, where safe driving is recognized and rewarded. This approach not only provides transparency and autonomy, but also reduces the need for micromanagement, allowing technicians to self-coach and improve their performance. The result: reduced stress, more engaged technicians, and lower turnover.
Optimized Routes and Higher Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is heavily influenced by the reliability and efficiency of service technicians. Delays caused by inefficient routing can lead to frustration, missed appointments, and ultimately, lost business.
Driver·i One’s real-time GPS tracking and route optimization ensure that technicians take the most efficient routes, which improves on-time arrival rates and translates into more reliable ETAs. Driver·i One’s geofencing feature also helps field service companies verify service completion by automatically tracking when technicians enter and exit customer locations. For example, if a technician is assigned a service call but later a customer disputes that the job was completed, geofencing data can confirm the technician’s presence and time spent at the site, providing clear evidence of service delivery.
With more efficient travel and fewer unplanned stops, technicians can complete more jobs each day, directly increasing revenue potential for the business.
When selecting a fleet safety and management solution for your field service business, it’s essential to evaluate the technology based on your specific needs. The right solution should address both safety and productivity concerns through an integrated platform that empowers your fleet to operate smoothly. Below are some key considerations for choosing the best fleet safety solution.
Choose an All-in-one Solution
Field service companies often juggle multiple systems for different aspects of fleet management like GPS tracking, maintenance scheduling, fuel management, and driver safety. This fragmented approach increases complexity and reduces efficiency.
An all-in-one fleet safety and management solution like Netradyne’s Driver·i One consolidates these functions and reduces the need for multiple systems. This integrated approach makes it easier for fleet managers to monitor safety, track vehicle performance, and optimize routes—all from one place.
Leverage Real-time, AI-powered Insights
Field service technicians often have to juggle unpredictable road conditions and tight deadlines. A good fleet safety solution should provide real-time insights into driving behavior and alert drivers to self-correct risky practices such as harsh braking, speeding, or unsafe lane changes.
AI-powered solutions, like Driver·i One, use advanced algorithms to detect these risky driving behaviors and send real-time alerts to both drivers and fleet managers. This proactive approach reduces accidents and fosters a culture of safety within your fleet, which leads to fewer claims, lower premiums, and significant cost savings for your business.
Ensure the Solution Provides Video Evidence for Incident Exoneration
Field service technicians are often in customer homes or businesses, which means the risk of being wrongly accused of property damage or unsafe driving is ever-present.
Driver·i One’s integrated dash cameras provide a 270-degree view of both the interior and exterior of the vehicle, with the option to add external cameras to provide 360-degree visibility. This allows fleet managers to capture video evidence in the event of an accident or dispute, and exonerate technicians who may be falsely accused of causing damage—ultimately preventing costly legal battles and insurance claims.
With its cutting-edge Driver•i technology, Netradyne is a leading provider of innovative fleet safety and management solutions across field services industries, from pest control to utilities. Here are a few reasons why it’s become a top choice:
Increased safety.
Driver·i One builds safer driving practices across your fleet by tracking both positive and risky driving behaviors and road conditions in real time. This proactive monitoring allows fleet managers to get a holistic view of an entire driving day, quickly address any risky behaviors, and provide objective, data-backed feedback for improvement. The system also highlights positive driving habits, making it easier for managers to recognize and reward safe practices
Data-driven insights for better decision-making.
Driver·i One provides actionable data and insights into route progress and driving behaviors, which helps managers identify inefficiencies, keep fleets well-maintained, and allocate resources more effectively.
Protection for drivers (and the company).
Driver·i One’s integrated telematics devices mitigate risk by capturing video footage that deters unsafe driving and supports accountability. In the event of an accident or dispute, this is valuable evidence that helps resolve insurance claims quickly. Netradyne’s system also includes collision management features like First Notice of Loss (FNOL) for real-time collision reporting, which reduces time and resources spent on claims.
“I can't tell you how many accidents we've probably avoided since we have the cameras." …as far as I'm concerned, the jury is in. I wouldn't want to do this job without those cameras.”
Wayne Larson
Safety and Compliance Director at STS Recycling
Choosing the right fleet safety and management solution is crucial for the success of your field service business. Netradyne’s Driver·i One offers a comprehensive platform with features like real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, video evidence, and route optimization to help you streamline operations, improve driver safety, and boost efficiency.
Book a demo to try Driver·i One for yourself and see how it can help transform your fleet operations.
* Individual results and conditions may vary.
** Based on customer data.
† Netradyne must receive written approval to share client data.
Images may be for illustrative purposes only and may not be an exact representation of a product.
