The benefits of a key control and management solution for fleet management applications has been compellingly demonstrated. With so many physical keys in use, management needs a robust system for securing them, along with the vehicles and doors they represent. But beyond the physical security of these keys, there is a need to track and audit and control their use both in real time and in the long term. For that, the user needs specialized software, which is often resident in key control solutions.
The overall development and availability of a wide range of operational software for the fleet management market provides organizations with more convenience in managing vehicles. For most every aspect of fleet management between acquisition and disposal, including profiling, dispatch, diagnostics, tracking, security and remote control, there is now a software application available to help improve efficiencies.
The trend is based on more than simply making fleet operations easier to manage. It’s a transformational change to the landscape that allows business owners to have better control of vehicles and improved management of information related to costs and other analytics.
In applications for automated key control and management systems used in fleet operations, software is available to track key usage so that management knows at any given time who has accessed keys and when. Fleet operations that network their key control systems can experience additional benefits in managing vehicle usage. For example, scheduling can be used to ensure that drivers can’t simply grab the newest car on the lot while older cars sit unused. Additionally, networked systems allow keys to be returned to any fleet key cabinet in the system. This makes it easier to track a vehicle that has been returned to a different location from where it was picked up. The system software will record the location and time so anyone looking for that vehicle will know where it – and its keys – are currently located. This benefit allows vehicles to be moved around and located as needed.
Key control software can be programmed to run all remote functions and reports and key activity reports can be scheduled and automatically sent to specific users. Changes or additions including user authorizations are synchronized across the enterprise. With the addition of key control management software, organizations can effectively cut costs and optimize operations.