Introducing Samsara
Dear Colleague
Safety is our top priority, and as we continue to enhance our operations, we’re excited to introduce Samsara’s innovative video-based safety features for our fleet vehicles.
These advanced tools represent a significant step forward in our mission to use technology to protect our drivers, vehicles, the public and wider communities we serve.
Introducing Samsara
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Why Samsara Video-Based Safety?
Some more benefits of our new Samsara system.
It is fair to say the Lightfoot system has been a source of frustration because the unit announces a “go steady” message and the light bar lights up which fails to explain what went wrong, leaving you to wait for feedback from your manager. Samsara, on the other hand, offers real-time verbal guidance, like “Increase following distance,” helping improve driving behaviour immediately, crucial for your role as a mobile engineer.
In addition, Lightfoot doesn’t consider necessary reactions to other drivers’ mistakes, like harsh braking. Whereas, Samsara’s camera system recognises these situations and won’t record them as incidents, ensuring you’re not penalised for reacting appropriately.
Crucially, we currently lack a way to detect driver fatigue. Samsara’s in-cab, driver facing AI camera monitors for fatigue or distraction, gives audible reminders to take breaks, and alerts the business, enhancing safety, especially during lone work.
Enhanced Driver Safety
Samsara’s video-based safety features are designed to keep our drivers safer on the road. Real-time alerts for risky behaviours such as distracted driving, speeding, and harsh braking help drivers correct course immediately. By integrating these tools, we can proactively reduce accidents and improve overall driver performance.
Reduced Liability and Insurance Costs
Accidents happen, but with Samsara’s video footage, we gain crucial visibility into incidents. Clear, indisputable video evidence helps resolve claims faster, potentially reducing liability and minimising insurance costs. This means protecting our company and drivers from unnecessary expenses and disputes.
Continuous Improvement Through Coaching
Samsara isn’t just about reacting to incidents; it’s about preventing them. By analysing driving patterns and providing actionable insights, our team can deliver personalised coaching to our drivers. This continuous feedback loop fosters a culture of safety and development.
Increased Operational Efficiency
The benefits of Samsara extend beyond safety. With access to detailed reports and real-time data, we can optimise routes, reduce fuel consumption, and improve vehicle maintenance schedules. This means a more efficient fleet, saving both time and resources for our entire team.
Building Trust and Accountability
This system is about more than just monitoring, it’s about ensuring a safer environment for everyone on the road. Footage is only shared with the business if an incident is recorded. The AI-powered in-cab camera adapts to recognise your face over the first 20 days (similar to FaceID) and automatically blurs out any other people, such as passengers or members of the public.
Personal privacy
For personal use, you can cover the camera lens outside of working hours, but the system will alert the business if the cover isn’t removed during work hours. Additionally, the cameras blur out houses and other sensitive areas.
Introducing Samsara
What does this mean for our Fleet?
We have made the decision to install a telematics and vehicle recording system into our company fleet, which includes the installation of an in-cab, driver-facing camera. The integration of cameras into our fleet is a major step in assessing our individual and organisational risks and protecting our company and its employees.
By default, the camera system starts recording from all cameras when the relevant vehicle is moving, a certain g-force is detected, or the driver hits the panic button. It continues recording throughout the trip.
The system also captures road-facing dash cam images at the beginning and end of every trip. The camera hard drive retains approximately 20-300+ hours of video footage, depending on several factors, and the footage is continuously overwritten in a loop. Once a trip ends, the system continues
recording for a period of 10+ minutes to capture any additional relevant information.
It is important to note that the camera system cannot be live-streamed unless we specifically enable that feature. By default, footage can generally only be remotely accessed when triggered by a safety event (e.g., harsh braking, harsh acceleration, fast cornering, or an impact). Alternatively, the Head of Fleet may request a video clip for a specific vehicle and time, if needed, to support a motor incident.
Get Involved
We encourage everyone to engage with this new technology and embrace the future of fleet safety. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your line manager.
Let’s work together to create the safest, most efficient fleet possible. Thank you for your commitment to safety, and we look forward to a successful rollout!
Sincerely,
P.Acharya
Pritesh Acharya Head of Fleet
Introducing Samsara