The 5 Most Important Things to Consider When Choosing a Vehicle Tracking System

/in , , , , /by

 

While the technology behind all GPS vehicle tracking systems is to gather location-based data is the same, it’s how the tracking data is transmitted, what data is transmitted and how all that data is presented to the user that differentiates quality GPS vehicle tracking from inferior products. Here are the five most important things to consider when choosing a vehicle tracking system:

1. Passive Tracking vs. Live Tracking

For passive tracking, all the GPS tracking data is stored in the receiver and must be downloaded once all the vehicles return for the day.  Avoid systems that give the appearance of 1 or 2 min updates but only move the data every 15 or 30.    What you want is active GPS tracking.  Active tracking means that the data from the GPS receiver is transmitted to a remote user at regular intervals. The best systems transmit data every 2 minutes. This gives you real-time location information.

2. Software

Many vehicle tracking systems utilize proprietary software that requires installation on your computer. These solutions also need frequent manual upgrades and downloads. Another drawback to proprietary software is that the GPS solution can only be used on computers with the proper installation. You want to look for a GPS tracking system that provides the information securely over the Internet. The flexibility and 24/7 accessibility of an Internet-based solution makes is the way to go when deciding on a specific vehicle tracking system.  Freedom to view data from any internet connected device; desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone is ideal.

3. Quality Reporting

A GPS tracking solution should provide you with the data and reporting capabilities necessary to make informed business decisions. One key to reporting is flexibility. If a vehicle tracking system doesn’t allow you to automate reports on a weekly or monthly basis while also giving you the ability to generate reports instantly, cross that one off your list. The reports should be concise and easy to understand.  Reports should be available in your choice of formats:  download to spreadsheet, email or online. Important reports should include vehicle starts and stops, excessive idling times, speed violations and much more.  Information should be archived for at least 1 year and customizable by time and date.

4. Alerting Feature

The GPS tracking solution you choose should include alerting features to notify you of unwanted behavior. Alerts should be flagged in relevant reports and you should also have the ability to be notified of any alerts as soon as a violation occurs via email or mobile device. Alerts can be triggered for excessive speeding  and when a vehicle enters or exits specific geographic areas. The vehicle tracking system should also provide alerts to notify you when vehicles are due for scheduled maintenance. These alerts can be scheduled based on miles driven or engine-on time. If the GPS tracking system you are looking at does not include alerting features, forget about it.

5. Quality Mapping

If the GPS tracking provider isn’t partnered with a well-known mapping provider – like Bing mapping – to provide you with the most accurate and up-to-date mapping available, chances are it’d be a big mistake to invest in it. A vehicle tracking system’s mapping features should allow you to zoom all the way down to street level and provide, street map, satellite and birds eye views.

Next Week: 5 more important things to consider when choosing a vehicle tracking system.

 

5 Tips to save on gas

/in , , /by

With summer driving upon us I thought it would be a good idea to review the best ways to save gas and increase your MPG.

Although gas prices have fallen dramatically over the last few months’ gas is still .20 cents more than the average price just 6 months ago. Saving on gas can be one of the easiest ways to reduce costs and increase your bottom line. These tips apply to personal vehicles as well as business fleets.

Tip #1 – Obey the Speed Limit

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, vehicles that honor the speed limit maintain a higher miles per gallon ratio. Each five mph increment driven over 60 mph is the equivalent of $0.31 per gallon of gas.

Tip #2 – Avoid Aggressive Braking and Accelerating

Not only does frequent braking and accelerating create wear and tear on vehicles, it also significantly decreases MPG. A 2011 study, by the University Of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), has shown that by observing the speed limit and avoiding hard braking and accelerating, drivers can improve MPG by as much as 25 percent.

Tip #3 – Turn the Key: Eliminate Idle Time

One hour of idle time represents 80 miles of engine wear and approximately one gallon of fuel. By turning off the engine when not driving, fuel is conserved, engine wear is limited and carbon emissions are reduced

Tip #4 – Check Your Vehicle Regularly

Checking tire pressure daily and replacing oil on time will ensure optimal performance. Studies have shown that fully inflated tires can gain up to three percent more miles and regular oil tune-ups will net an additional four percent.

Tip #5 – Plan Your Trips Ahead of Time

By mapping routes ahead of time, companies and drivers can look for ways to cut down on the amount of travel time. Plan trips around rush-hour traffic and check local maps for quicker and flatter surface routes.

Boston Global Tracking offers speed alerts sent via email or text to notify of speeding infractions. Reports can easily be viewed, emailed or downloaded for future reference

Reasons for Fleet GPS Tracking

/in , /by

Welcome to our new blog, we thought for out first post we will give a background on why companies need use our Fleet  GPS Tracking

  • To Reduce Fuel Costs – GPS fleet tracking identifies inefficient fuel consumption and will help combat rising fuel prices.
  • To Improve Productivity –  Complete more jobs per day & ensure the most efficient routes are always taken.
  • To improve Customer Service -Real-time location data will allow you to respond quicker to your customer inquiries.
  • To Reduce Labor Costs – GPS fleet tracking will hold drivers accountable for hours they claim to have worked.

This from Wikipedia:

Fleet Management

A study entitled Improving Productivity and Profitability through Service Fleet Management[1] reports on how fleet management impacts on both small and large businesses, was published by the Aberdeen Group, March 2008.

In the report, businesses were grouped together based on the size of their fleet:

1 to 10 were characterized as small

11 to 50 as medium small

51 to 250 as medium

251 to 1000 as medium large

More than 1000 as large

The report also measured the main reasons cited by businesses seeking increased efficiency through the implementation of fleet tracking technology. An intention to improve the customer experience through better response times was listed as a top priority by 73 per cent of fleet respondents.

Other reasons businesses cited for wishing to implement some form of GPS vehicle tracking technology were:

Reduce service response times (57%)

Reduce fleet related operating costs (46%)

Increase service related productivity (41%)

Extend life of service vehicles (16%)

Applications of commercial vehicle tracking solutions in the fields of transport, logistics, haulage and multi-drop delivery environments can include optimised fleet utilisation, real-time operational enhancements and dynamically remote-managed fleets. Fleet tracking is scalable by design and interfaces with the logistics industry’s leading back-office systems[2].

Rising fuel costs constantly challenge fleet operators to maintain movement of vehicles and monitor driver behaviour to avoid delaying traffic conditions by either, combining deliveries, reconfiguring routes or rescheduling timetables. This aims to maximise the number of deliveries while minimising time and distance. It has been found that even restricting the number of left hand turns can improve on time, efficiency and energy savings[3].