How can police raise service levels while reducing costs? – with MiX Detect, the key to smarter policing
27 August 2011
MiX Telematics, the global provider of vehicle tracking and fleet management solutions, has developed MiX Detect, a system which enables Britain's police to cut waste whilst protecting front-line services by operating more efficiently overall. At the same time, the system facilitates greater compliance with a force's duty of care obligations. Already a partner-supplier to 23 police services nationwide, MiX Telematics has used its expertise and experience within the sector to develop MiX Detect as a technology-based response to the needs of modern day policing.
"While emergencies will always demand a reactive response from the police, there is much that can be done pro-actively in terms of operational planning and live decision-making when it comes to routine policing, the area upon which MiX Detect focuses," explains Steve Coffin, Marketing & Operations Director for MiX Telematics. "Essentially, MiX Detect’s resource monitoring capabilities provide team leaders with a range of valuable and efficiency-enhancing information:
"MiX Detect provides live mapping, delivered directly to team leaders and annotated with the precise whereabouts of a force’s mobile resources. This enables decisions to be taken in real-time as to how tasks should be prioritised and scheduled, travelling time minimised and resources utilised to their full capacity. The mapping feature of MiX Detect is already in use in commercial sectors such as courier services, and in itself provides a major benefit which can improve operational efficiency by up to 20 percent. From the officer's point-of-view, moral is boosted as it means they can spend more time doing the job they signed up to do, namely, serving the public.
"MiX Detect also monitors a vehicle's performance in terms of how it is being used. Over-revving, harsh acceleration or braking, speeding and many more factors can all be recorded. The data captured is then analysed by our software, presenting controllers with easy-to-interpret reports which reveal instances where premature wear and tear is likely to be occurring or additional driver-training may be required. Once again, our experience demonstrates that vehicle and driver monitoring can deliver significant cost reductions by improving fuel efficiency and helping to identify and cut out waste. Vehicle availability is also improved through reduced downtime.
"A further benefit comes from having better trained drivers and drivers who are more aware of how they are using their vehicles. This awareness leads to a considerable reduction in traffic incidents. Here too, the effect is to improve availability across the fleet by reducing the downtime required for repairs.
"It is not uncommon for fleet operators to report up to a 30 percent reduction in their incident rates. This has a knock-on effect on repair costs and we can confirm we have operators who have succeeded in achieving a 20 percent reduction by using our solution.
"In addition to fleet and resource management, there are other ways in which MiX Detect can also help police protect front-line services. For example, vast amounts of time are currently spent investigating claims or proving that officers have delivered service to the appropriate level. In many such cases, the data captured by MiX Detect can be used to confirm movements and actions, thereby quickly providing the verification required."
National Association of Police Fleet Managers Conference and Exhibition
MiX Detect will feature prominently on the MiX Telematics stand at the forthcoming National Association of Police Fleet Managers Conference Exhibition (6-7 September, Exec Exhibition Centre, Peterborough, PE2 6XE).
