Any business that runs fleets of vehicles, can benefit from GPS equipment tracking. If you need to know where your vehicles are, what their condition is, how a driver is behaving on the road, keep track of trips and deliveries, and move goods from one place to another, a fleet tracking system makes your job easier and more efficient.

Fleet telematics has enabled multinational companies to track fleets in even the most remote areas, in all road and weather conditions, all over the world. Some of the industries that have benefited most from using a GPS tracking system are:

• Public Utilities
• Public Transportation
• Consumer Goods
• Rental and Leasing
• Landscaping companies
• Pest Control companies
• Police and Emergency Services
• Security companies
• Transport and Distribution
• Government vehicles
• Construction
• Oil & Gas companies
• Mining

No matter the size of fleet, type of vehicles, route optimization, scheduling of trips or complexity of compliance regulations, GPS fleet tracking enables operators to improve the overall safety, security, efficiency, and productivity of their fleet.

Here are 43 ways that fleet tracking can help save your company time and money:

1. Increase safety measures for assets and employees
2. Identify and correct risky driver behavior
3. Develop targeted driver training programs
4. Increase driver engagement and retention
5. Improve route planning
6. Real-time intervention when routes change unexpectedly
7. Improve dispatching
8. Improve operational efficiency
9. Reduce amount of traffic violations
10. Reduce crashes
11. Access detailed data when crash reporting
12. Less wear and tear on fleet vehicles
13. Reduce vehicle downtime
14. Reduce maintenance costs
15. Fewer carbon emissions
16. Extend the lifespan of your vehicles
17. Reduce misuse of assets
18. Optimize utilization
19. Maintain licensing and certification compliance
20. Maintain ELD compliance
21. Maintain Hours of Service (HOS) compliance
22. Access to real-time data
23. Allow in-cab communication with drivers
24. Real-time journey management
25. Reduce fuel waste
26. Reduce insurance costs
27. Flexible data inputs
28. Reduce paperwork
29. Tracking and monitoring of high-value or high-risk loads
30. Faster stolen vehicle recovery
31. Reduce timecard theft
32. Reduce payroll fraud
33. Optimize workflow approvals
34. Inventory management
35. Improve job estimation and billing
36. Lower labor costs
37. Improve crisis management
38. Improve customer service
39. Custom reports for data analysis
40. Maximize fleet productivity
41. Increase profits
42. Improve the total cost of ownership (TCO)
43. Increase your bottom line

What does fleet efficiency mean for your business?

All businesses face the challenge of optimizing operations to increase their bottom line. They need to be able to rely on the day-to-day data they’re getting to keep assets and employees safe, stay compliant, save time and money, and maximize efficiency. Often, that means being able to covert vast streams of data into actionable insights to manage their fleets as efficiently and economically as possible. Fleet telematics takes the guesswork out of getting an accurate overview of a team’s performance. Fleet managers can now intervene as often as necessary to better driver performance, locate vehicles, and monitor job sites.

One of the most important investments a company can make, is in their drivers. Drivers need to be well-trained and well-versed on compliance protocols. Their ongoing engagement with telematics hardware solutions, actively keeps them safer and performing better. That in turn has an impact on fleet efficiency; helping to reduce accidents and saving time and money. GPS fleet tracking is hugely beneficial in this instance, as operators can monitor real-time notifications on driver behavior, deviations, and impending collisions.

Vehicle Tracking Devices 101

THE TRACKING DEVICE

A vehicle tracking device is compact and can be installed under a dashboard for convenience and space saving. It tracks your fleet vehicles and converts that data into real-time notifications that allow you to manage your fleet as effectively and efficiently as possible. Used in conjunction with telematics software, you can use your unique data to track driving trends and improve fleet operations across the board. Having this information at your fingertips enables you to manage multiple vehicles, varying routes, fuel consumption, vehicle downtime, your drivers and assets, from anywhere in the world. Streamlining processes makes fleets safer, more efficient and increases your bottom line.

HOW DOES THE DEVICE WORK?

How does a vehicle tracking device work? A GPS tracking device connects with the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) network. GNSS is a group of orbiting satellites that relays positioning, navigation, and timing data to IoT devices. They do this by transmitting high-frequency signals from space to receivers all over the globe.

When talking about the performance of different GPS systems, there are three criteria used:

• Accuracy: Measuring how factual the actual position, speed, or time are compared to that measured by the GNSS.
• Integrity: This describes the system’s ability to give a threshold of confidence in the data it provides and to raise the alarm when abnormal information is recorded.
• Continuity: This is the GPS’s capacity to provide continuous information without disruptions.

This highly accurate positioning software can be picked up by anything with a receiver such as cell phones, cars, law enforcement systems and airplanes. Most people use this technology at least once a week via their smartphone, to help navigate from A to B. GPS fleet trackers further provide information on present location, vehicle speed, proximity to hazards and forward direction to name a few.

All GPS tracking devices have these four components:

• GPS satellite
• A vehicle with GPS tracking device installed
• Wireless network
• GPS Servers

THE TRACKING PROCESS

Once the GPS tracking device is installed it uses the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) to always track the vehicles. The device monitors driver performance, traffic data and vehicle condition amongst other metrics. The information gathered is initially stored locally, and then transmitted over a wireless network back to a server.

The server allows fleet managers to access the information through any mobile device. This information can then be displayed on a map so drivers and operators can view breadcrumb trails of the vehicle's travels, vehicle speed, and more. Data gathering is fully automated, so fleet managers can log in and set-up alerts and reports based on the data sets they prioritize.

TYPES OF TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES

If you've been researching the best method to track your fleet, you've probably found information about two different ways to track fleet vehicles: smartphone tracking apps, and GPS tracking devices. Though similar, they perform different functions. Understanding these differences is key to making the right decision about which one will optimize operations for your business. Often a hybrid set-up will suit your fleet best.

Smartphone apps are frequently used by drivers for navigation to new destinations. While this can be useful to individual drivers, it does not let fleet managers track their fleet's location or speed. More hardware is needed to collect these vehicle metrics. Simple cell phone navigation apps do not let you create alerts, define geofences, or run reports on driver behavior; they track the driver’s location, not the asset’s.

Each fleet is unique and has specific needs. Rather than forcing a one-size-fits all approach, MiX Telematics offers integration services and add-ons to help customize our customers’ telematics systems.

Interested in how our GPS fleet tracking software can keep your fleet connected and protected? Contact us for a personalized quote today.