Spend 15 minutes each morning on exceptions, not on the map: first trackers that stopped reporting or lost power, then overnight movements and geofence exits, then speeding, harsh driving and idling, then fuel drops and generator alarms. Finish by giving every open alert an owner. Weekly, review driver scores, maintenance and exported reports.
What should a fleet manager check every morning?
The order matters. Data quality comes first, because every later check depends on trackers that are actually reporting. Security events come next, then driving behaviour, then fuel and generators, and finally the open items that need an owner.
| Minutes | Check | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 0–2 | Non-reporting units, power disconnects, low backup battery | Separate coverage gaps from tampering; call the driver or site; book a technician if the cause is unclear. |
| 2–5 | Overnight movements and unauthorised stops | Compare with the duty roster; ask for an explanation the same morning. |
| 5–7 | Geofence exits and route deviations | Confirm the trip was approved; redraw a zone that keeps causing false alerts. |
| 7–9 | Overspeed, harsh braking and harsh acceleration | Note repeat drivers and locations; keep the evidence for the weekly review. |
| 9–11 | Idling time | Look at vehicles far above their usual pattern; check whether there was a reason. |
| 11–13 | Fuel drops, refuels, generator runtime and alarms | Open a check on any unexplained drop; match refuels to receipts; follow up generator alarms. |
| 13–15 | Open alerts without an owner | Assign each one with a deadline; close those already resolved. |
Which trackers stopped reporting overnight?
Start with the list of units whose last record is older than expected. A unit goes quiet for one of three reasons: it is in a coverage gap and will send stored data later, it lost power, or someone disconnected it. Coverage gaps are a normal part of rural operations; ITU’s Facts and Figures 2024 notes that areas where 2G is the best available standard are found in rural regions. A silent unit is not automatically a problem.
The context usually tells you which reason applies. A vehicle parked in a known weak-signal area that went quiet in the same place as last week is probably in a coverage gap. A vehicle that raised a main-power disconnect alarm just before going silent needs a phone call now. Never treat the last position of a silent unit as its current position; write the timestamp next to it in any report, as the fleet tracking operations guide recommends.
Did any vehicle move when it should have been parked?
Filter trips between the end of the last shift and the start of the morning. Compare each one with the roster and the approved night trips. Look also for stops at places that are not customers, depots or fuel stations: a short unplanned stop at night next to a known resale point deserves a question, even if the fuel level looks normal.
Then check geofence exits: vehicles leaving a site or corridor outside working hours, or taking a different route. If one zone produces false exits every day because it is drawn too tight, fix the zone instead of learning to ignore it.
Who drove dangerously, and who idled too long?
Overspeed and harsh braking, acceleration and cornering events are best read as patterns. One event on a broken road may mean nothing; the same driver at the top of the list every day does. Note names and locations for the weekly review rather than calling every driver about every event.
Idling is a fuel cost that hides in plain sight. Sort vehicles by idling time and look at the top few. Some idling is legitimate: loading, waiting at a checkpoint, a refrigerated body. Long idling at the depot before departure or during a driver’s break usually is not.
Is this fuel drop theft or a sensor reading?
A sharp drop on the fuel graph is a reason to look, not proof of theft. Before you call a driver, check four things:
- Slope: was the vehicle parked on an incline? A level change that reverses when the vehicle returns to flat ground is not a loss.
- Movement: was the vehicle on a rough road? Fuel sloshing makes the reading oscillate, and terminals filter for it. Omnicomm’s documentation, for example, offers stronger filtration settings for severe road conditions than for stationary tanks.
- Sensor and power: did the reading jump, freeze or fall to zero together with a voltage change? That points to a wiring or sensor fault.
- The level afterwards: a real removal leaves the tank lower once readings settle, at a time when the vehicle was stopped with the ignition off, often at a location that explains it.
Check refuels the same way. A refuel detected by the sensor should match a receipt, a station and a time. A refuel on a receipt that the sensor never saw also deserves a question. The litres shown depend on the tank’s calibration table; Omnicomm describes it as a conversion table between fuel level and volume that the monitoring system uses. A tank that was never calibrated properly will give unreliable litres. The fuel monitoring guide covers calibration and investigation in more detail.
Only after these checks should an unexplained drop be raised with the driver, with the graph, location and time in hand.
Are the generators running as planned?
For sites with generator telemetry, compare runtime with the schedule, look at controller alarms (low oil pressure, high temperature, overspeed, failure to start) and check the day-tank level. A generator that ran all night at a site with grid power, or that started and stopped repeatedly, needs a call to the site supervisor. The generator monitoring guide explains how controller data is collected.
Does every open alert have an owner?
Finish with the unresolved alerts. Each needs a named person and a deadline. Close what has already been explained, with a short note of the reason. An alert list that only grows means either the rules are wrong or nobody is responsible.
What should be reviewed weekly instead of daily?
- Driver scores: rank drivers, discuss the bottom of the list with evidence and recognise the best.
- Maintenance due: service intervals by mileage or engine hours, and vehicles that keep generating device faults.
- Repeated false alerts: tune thresholds, zones and schedules.
- Report export: send fuel, idling and trip summaries to finance and operations in a fixed format.
- Units that came back online: confirm that stored data arrived, or book a technician visit.
When should an issue be escalated?
- Immediately: a power disconnect or tamper alarm followed by silence, a vehicle moving outside approved hours, or a significant fuel drop on a parked vehicle with the ignition off.
- The same day: a generator alarm that stops a site, a geofence exit on a sensitive route, or a driver with repeated severe events.
- At the weekly review: idling trends, moderate speeding patterns and recurring sensor faults.
- Never on one graph alone. An accusation without evidence damages trust with drivers and makes the next real case harder to prove.