Toromont CAT

Improving routing efficiency, fuel performance, maintenance visibility, and driver safety

Toromont CAT operates a fleet of 433 maintenance service trucks supporting heavy equipment customers across Ontario. As fleet costs increased, the company was looking for better ways to manage service routing, maintenance records, customer billing transparency, and driver safety. By using telematics to connect vehicle location, routing, maintenance, and driver behaviour data, Toromont CAT identified opportunities to reduce unnecessary travel, improve fuel efficiency, strengthen recordkeeping, and support safer driving practices.

The Challenge: A Disconnected Service Network

Toromont CAT’s service trucks were operated through individually managed dealerships, which made it difficult to see how vehicles were moving across the wider network.

Fleet manager Dave Dyer wanted accurate, real-time information about technician locations so service calls could be assigned more efficiently. Without that visibility, trucks from different branches could travel into the same areas, creating unnecessary mileage and increasing fuel costs. The company also wanted better control over maintenance records and a clearer way to support customer billing with accurate travel information.

Safety was another area where better information was needed. Toromont CAT wanted a more objective way to investigate collisions, understand driver behaviour, and use real-world driving data to support training.

The Solution: Connecting Routing, Maintenance, and Driver Data

Toromont CAT introduced telematics across its fleet and began sharing vehicle location information between its dealerships.

After only three months, managers identified a recurring routing issue: trucks from different branches were frequently crossing into one another’s service territories. The company responded by coordinating dispatch between branches instead of operating each location independently. This allowed service calls to be assigned based on vehicle proximity and helped reduce unnecessary travel.

Vehicle location data also revealed that some technicians were assigned to dealerships farther from home than necessary. Reassigning certain technicians to closer locations created another opportunity to reduce fuel use.

For maintenance, vehicle fault information could be shared with the maintenance provider to support preventive servicing. The company also gained better records of fault codes and scheduled maintenance intervals, addressing an earlier gap in its ability to document completed maintenance work.

Driver behaviour information was used for coaching as well. Toromont CAT monitored factors such as idling, harsh cornering, and seatbelt use, giving managers a consistent source of information for identifying areas where individual drivers could improve.

The Results: Lower Fuel Costs and Greater Fleet Visibility

The combined routing changes produced a measurable improvement in fuel performance.

After the first year, Toromont CAT increased its fleet size by approximately 18%, while its fuel expenditures decreased by 4%. This occurred during a period when the cost of fuel increased by 22%, according to the case study.

The company also documented a substantial reduction in excessive idling. One driver who had previously spent approximately 33% to 40% of the day idling reduced that figure to 3% to 4% after management used the driving data as a coaching tool.

Telematics also provided important information during a serious collision investigation. According to the case study, vehicle location and driver behaviour data helped demonstrate that the Toromont CAT driver involved was not at fault. The same information was then used as a training resource to help drivers understand how similar incidents could potentially be avoided.

Improved maintenance records gave the company stronger documentation of vehicle servicing, including fault codes and scheduled maintenance. This was particularly relevant after the Ontario Ministry of Transportation had previously urged the company to improve its compliance records.

For Toromont CAT, GPS tracking and telematics became a practical tool for coordinating service operations across branches. By bringing routing, maintenance, fuel, and driver behaviour information together, the company gained greater visibility into its fleet and identified measurable opportunities to reduce operating costs and improve safety.

Want to see more fleet success stories? Explore our Success Stories to see how GPS tracking and telematics are helping organizations improve safety, efficiency, maintenance, and fleet performance.