When disaster strikes, everyone is depending on utility technicians to keep our essential services running, and field crews need to be safe when they’re out on the road.
Not only do field workers need to move quickly, they often have to travel out great distances to service remote assets and navigate harsh climates.
Utilities need to ensure their vehicles are compliant and can withstand the journey without incident, but they also need to ensure that field technicians are safe behind the wheel.
A modern solution
According to the Transport Accident Commission (TAC), driver fatigue contributes to around 20 per cent of all road incidents in Victoria alone. And in an environment where skills are in short supply there’s a mounting pressure to increase productivity, and do more with less.
The work that utilities do is incredibly important, but so too are the people on the ground. The solution is to build a safety-first culture that prevents collisions before they occur. But what does that look like in practice?
For utilities, it means taking a more strategic, preventative approach to risk management – and the sector is increasingly turning to AI-driven, analytics-based approaches to managing fleet safety.
Modern fleet technologies can monitor driver behaviour, identify emerging safety concerns, and benchmark performance over time – improving safety while also unlocking operational efficiencies.
Geotab’s Safety Centre is designed to help fleet managers shift from reactive to preventative safety measures. This AI-driven platform provides real-time visibility into vehicle and driver performance, alongside actionable insights that can reduce incident rates and create a culture of accountability.
Geotab Business Development Manager, Alkan Ciftci, said that the platform gives users the ability to benchmark their vehicles and drivers against similar fleets.
“It generates a predictive collision risk – or PCR – score based on driving patterns, allowing fleet managers to identify where risks are emerging and provide targeted coaching before incidents occur,” Mr Ciftci said.
“It’s designed with usability in mind – even for organisations without a dedicated data team.
“From the moment a user logs into the system, they’re greeted with a clear safety dashboard that highlights priority risks, trends and benchmarks.”
The platform analyses a detailed set of driving behaviours – such as acceleration, harsh braking, cornering, and speed – and compares them to industry benchmarks. It then provides councils with a clear view of how their fleet’s safety profile is changing over time.
Setting the standard
What sets this tool apart is that it leverages AI models trained on data from Geotab’s network of over five million connected vehicles, to benchmark a fleet’s vehicle and driver performance. This means utilities can compare their operations to similar fleet types under similar conditions.
“The benchmarking is not generic – it reflects the specific context of the vehicle’s use,” Mr Ciftci said.
This comparison enables targeted intervention. Fleet managers can identify which areas require training, understand the types of risks their drivers face, and use real-world evidence to justify investment in safety initiatives.
By shifting from a reactive to a proactive model of fleet safety, utilities can see measurable improvements – not just in reducing collision risks, but in operational costs as well. AI-driven safety platforms can enhance driver wellbeing, improve service delivery, and demonstrate strong governance. When combined with advanced analytics, easy-to-use dashboards and predictive insights, utilities are empowered to deliver reliable services to communities and keep their people safe behind the wheel.
For more information, visit geotab.com
