How Gunida Gunyah Drivers Stay Safe in Harsh Conditions
Ensuring the safety of drivers and vehicles in remote areas is a complex task. For drivers travelling more than 300 kilometres through New South Wales (NSW) from Pilliga up to Mungindi on the Queensland border, the risks are amplified. No matter how experienced your drivers are, they’re likely to encounter harsh conditions and unpredictable hazards, often without mobile reception.
Barraba Road is a dirt track on the way to Manilla. If a driver rolls a truck in this isolated spot, they’ll need to walk almost 10 kilometres uphill before connecting to the cellular network. They’re likely to endure temperatures that soar above 40°C while they wait for the rescue crew. There’s also a worrying chance that crucial safety alerts won’t be picked up immediately and could even be missed entirely.
This was a daily challenge for Gunida Gunyah, a housing and support services provider for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are financially unable to gain access to the rental market. Managing 400 properties in more than 14 Indigenous communities across NSW, gaining fleet efficiencies means the non-profit’s 18 staff members are able to focus on directly engaging with the communities they support. This includes visiting each tenant every fortnight, as well as overseeing cleaning services, yard maintenance, project facilitation and community consultancy.
Strong Focus on Safety
Journey management practices are particularly important as drivers head into remote areas of NSW. “For an organisation like ours that travels throughout rural communities across the state, a vehicle is very much a workplace. Not only do we need to pinpoint the location of drivers, particularly when out of range, we need to monitor adherence to safety regulations, addressing behaviour where necessary,” Daniel Irwin Housing Services Manager, Gunida Gunyah, says.
The organisation’s mixed fleet of cars, vans and sports utility vehicles (SUVs) covers hundreds of thousands of kilometre seach year. With drivers visiting extremely remote communities in telecommunications blackspots, Gunida Gunyah needed a way to track vehicles and contact drivers in case of emergencies. Drivers travelling through Pilliga have no network coverage, so if their vehicle breaks down they have no way of reaching out for help. This is also a concern for managers who are unable to track vehicles or contact drivers to find out why they’re having difficulty.
Teletrac Navman’s GPS fleet management technology was installed across Gunida Gunyah’s fleet in July 2015. All vehicles were fitted with tracking devices and navigation systems, which are connected to Telstra’s mobile network. There have been numerous times where two-way communication has enabled managers to contact lost drivers and redirect them to new destinations. While driver safety is the priority, back-office can also add client visits to a driver’s schedule, even if they’re out of network range. This saves time and fuel, while cutting maintenance bills by reducing unnecessary vehicle wear and tear.
"The service is wonderful and the price is competitive so it was a no brainer. Teletrac Navman’s people are knowledgeable and responsive– they really believe in the cause, putting our team and vehicles to work in the most efficient and safest manner possible."
-Ian Daniel, Vice President of Asia Pacific
Improving Client Service
Fleet visibility also plays an important role in meeting requirements for visiting each community. Gunida Gunyah has seen a 20 per cent reduction in overtime hours as a result of vehicle usage reporting. This means it’s able to focus time and resources where they should be – engaging with communities. Irwin and his team can now see travel distances, idle time, average speed and fuel used within a selected date range to ensure drivers stay on schedule and are working as efficiently as possible. Reports are also used to determine which drivers need to take a break so they don’t travel too long without stopping.
Irwin says the decision to work with Teletrac Navman was simple and the rollout will continue as the fleet grows. “We received three separate quotes, but Teletrac Navman’s team was the only one to visit us in person,” he says. “The service is wonderful and the price is competitive so it was a no brainer. Teletrac Navman’s people are knowledgeable and responsive– they really believe in the cause, putting our team and vehicles to work in the most efficient and safest manner possible.” Ian Daniel, Vice President of Asia Pacific. says Teletrac Navman is proud to support the excellent work Gunida Gunyah does in Indigenous communities around NSW: “Our technology is helping to improve the safety and efficiency of its fleet operations, directing more resources into the delivery of front line services.
