Keeping track of farm life

It’s that time of year again for Fieldays, New Zealand’s iconic farming event now open and in its 49^th year. With over 120,000 visitors expected ranging from 39 different countries, Fieldays remains the yearly event to attend for agricultural technology & innovation.

Teletrac Navman is at Fieldays showcasing the capabilities of its’ GPS software platform, DIRECTOR. The platform helps farm owners and managers to better understand their fleet and help the business comply with various regulations e.g. RUC and Health & Safety. It can really ease the burden on those in the farming and agriculture industries.

High definition data generated from the GPS tracking device is used to claim back RUC from the NZTA. Using the RUC management platform, fleet managers can pull an automatic report that shows when vehicles have travelled off road – keeping costs down for farms and farming-related businesses.

Claiming back RUC

Haddrell’s, a Cambridge-based bee product producer, racked up significant savings on road user charges (RUC) once they installed the Teletrac Navman system. The business does about 3000km off-road each year and previously didn’t claim back the RUC as it was too difficult to work it out what was on-road and what off-road. But the Teletrac Navman system provides all the information required for Haddrell’s to claim back the RUC.

Giving tech a chance

Similarly, Professional Farm Services, a Cambridge-based sales and service company, saw opportunity in adopting a GPS fleet tracking system into their business.

Teletrac Navman was initially only installed into about 10 vehicles, but soon grew into a necessity for the entire fleet. Director Dave McMillan and the office staff use Teletrac Navman DIRECTOR software every day to see where all the guys and the vehicles are. Dave even uses the Teletrac Navman app on his phone.

“I’m the 24/7 response person,” says Dave. “I get the calls when an urgent job needs to be done. I can go into my phone and pull up location of the guys straight away, then send the closest person to the job. It’s fast and efficient.”

Managing mileage

Dave says that when they installed Teletrac Navman, the business made savings in charged-out mileage straight away.

“We saved about $125 per vehicle per month, which is a very significant sum of money! Before the installation, the guys would leave the shop, go to a farm, go to another farm and back to the shop. They would guess the mileage at about 20km, but that was way under.

“Now we know the mileage exactly, and can apportion it correctly to the right client. It’s all in the system: when the guys start driving to a farm, when they arrive, when they leave. It’s so damn simple,” adds Dave.

Maintenance, management and business longevity

Professional Farm Services uses the Teletrac Navman DIRECTOR maintenance module to keep track of WOF, tyres, oil changes, and so forth. Dave says that the alerting functions have been very useful for staying on top of vehicle maintenance.

“The Teletrac Navman system has become a business tool for us and we wouldn’t be without it. It has smartened up a lot of things in the business.”

To learn more about the benefits of GPS fleet tracking, stop by the Teletrac Navman stand at Fieldays, and check out the live DIRECTOR demonstrations!

Being compliant also means keeping your drivers safe, download our free Driver Safety eBook for more details.