At the recent Local Buy forum, Darren Scott, Manager of Fleet Services at Ipswich City Council, delivered a lively and practical presentation on using telematics to turn guesswork into strategy. With 40 years’ experience – from mechanic to NSW Police Highway Patrol officer to fleet leader – Darren has seen the good, the bad, and the expensive sides of fleet utilisation.
Fleet Utilisation is About More Than Vehicles
Darren reminded the audience that fleet utilisation isn’t just about tracking kilometres travelled, rather it’s about people, data, and decisions. At Ipswich, telematics is the “brains behind the wheel,” delivering real-time insights into location, usage, performance, and even maintenance needs. This data touches every part of the organisation, from finance, to HR, and operations, and it can be the difference between reacting to issues and preventing them entirely.
One example was identifying a piece of equipment travelling only 1,200 km in four months despite a strong business case for purchase. Another was the discovery that a 35-tonne excavator was being driven 800 metres to the toilet on hot days, wearing out drive motors that cost more to replace than buying the operator a ute.
Driver Behaviour: Cost Savings at the Wheel
Telematics also helps address one of the biggest cost drivers – literally – operator behaviour. By monitoring acceleration, braking, and cornering, Ipswich found fuel savings of up to 15% and reduced idling time by 5% across its heavy truck fleet. In waste operations, aggressive driving was contributing to rotor replacements every 500 hours. Small changes in driving style could extend component life, cut fuel bills, and improve safety.
Darren’s hypothetical comparison between two Ford Ranger drivers – one efficient, one not – showed a $1,600 monthly cost difference per vehicle. Across 160 vehicles, that’s a potential $260,000 in annual savings, enough to fund driver training programs and still have change left over.
Geofencing: Invisible Boundaries, Visible Benefits
Ipswich uses geofencing to match operational activity to cost recovery. For example, with street sweepers, telematics reports when brooms are down and in which jurisdiction, helping the council recover costs from the appropriate road authority. The same tools improve security, monitor asset use, and ensure equipment is where it should be.
From Monitoring to Empowering
For Darren, the real value of telematics is empowerment, not surveillance. When operators understand the financial impact of their driving habits, they become part of the solution. That’s why Ipswich starts with ground-up engagement, talking to staff first, then working upwards through the organisation.
His message to fleet practitioners was clear: if you have telematics, interrogate your data. Work with your provider to get the right reports. Use the insights to drive efficiency, reduce costs, and empower your teams. In today’s budget environment, the return on investment can be measured in hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“If telematics is used correctly, we turn guesswork into strategy. There’s big money to be had if you act on the information.”
