Rocky Mountain Tracking

By Greg Bartlett

With Thanksgiving passed and the rest of the holidays still to come, many are grateful for the opportunity to spend time with family and friends, enjoying fellowship, fun, and food. Unfortunately, a great number of Americans this season will be forced to seek their meals from food banks, churches, and shelters. Efforts by these charities to reach out to those in need are plentiful, yet inefficiency and disorganization can quickly become an issue in churches trying to provide for so many hungry people. Getting food out to where it’s needed most is a managerial nightmare without the proper tools. How can technology, specifically GPS trackers, aid the hungry?

The Athena Project, a $60 million dollar initiative by Feeding America, thinks it has the answer. The effort is developing and installing advanced tracking and management equipment in roughly 200 food banks across the country. GPS trackers will be installed on delivery vehicles and aid packages, allowing management staff to keep tabs on it all. The technology will also allow drivers to pick more efficient routes, saving much needed cash in a non-profit industry hit just as hard by the recession as anyone else.

GPS & Hunger

Waste will be reduced, and in the event of a food product recall (a nightmare scenario to aid workers), management will be able to quickly identify those who received contaminated goods. Also, the information provided by GPS trackers will allow food banks to compare those regions covered by their workers and adjust their responsibilities in the case of overlap.

Charities have just as much need for efficiency as any other organization. While their concern obviously isn’t profit, the bottom line is often aiding the needy in a way that best makes use of their donors’ funds. The savings provided by GPS trackers and advanced fleet management systems truly can help. In this case, GPS trackers made a fine donation to food banks which didn’t individually have the extra cash to invest in such a system, yet will greatly benefit from its use.

Feeding America’s affiliates serve more than 25 million in the US annually, including 3 million seniors and 9 million children. The organization handles over 2.5 billion pounds of found each year. Such a large operation, especially since eclipsed by other similar organizations, demonstrates the great need for organization and efficiency in aid groups across the country. GPS trackers, selected and implemented carefully, can be a great part of that.

By James Neely

Ever feel like you are going in multiple directions at the same time in your business? Wonder what it would be like to actually be able to sit back and watch your operations function without you having to constantly be there to ‘baby sit?’ If you have significant capital invested in assets you can with a GPS Tracking system which is installed in your equipment.

Logistics

Provides instant feedback. Think about your operations. When have you been the most nervous? When new employees are using your assets in order to perform their jobs? Now you can be sure that they are doing well by monitoring for speed, direction, location and information on stops. What better way to train those new employees to become better at their jobs by providing feedback that they can see and hold in their hands?

Helps you schedule your fleet. When you are working out scheduling, sometimes things have to change because of customer demands. With a GPS tracking system, you can see when drivers are close to customer locations and re-route them based on customer demands.

This puts you into a better position that your competition of being able to deliver better service. And that translates into more consistent business over a long period of time. There are few things more valuable than customer loyalty. Use whatever methods that you can to help cultivate this environment by implementing these systems.

Makes maintenance tracking a breeze. Do you struggle to keep maintenance scheduling? If so, you can use a GPS Tracking system to monitor miles driving an hours on the road. Sure you can use the odometers for monitoring mileage, but if you use a GPS Tracking system for the same information plus duration of service and the type of driving conditions in which the vehicles are driven, you can schedule maintenance sooner on vehicles that appear to be in more heavily used circumstances. These are the ones that will develop problems sooner. How about being able to maintain them proactively to keep them on the road with fewer down times?

Puts your assets under tight control. With a GPS fleet tracking system it is all about control. This helps your business in so many ways that it is almost impossible to pick the most valuable. But, once you have these systems functioning for you, you will wonder what you ever did before. And that is the best feeling of all.

By Greg Bartlett

Sending highly sensitive consignments inside a trailer can be a very risky business. Although the contents can be packed very well and insulated, and the trailer can be secure and quality assured, things can always go wrong. A lot of problems can arise when a temperature-sensitive cargo has to be shipped over a long distance, or even over short distances in the summer when temperatures are high.

GPS tracking system devices are a very good way of tracking an individual item. There are many ways that this can be done. A single positional location can be determined. A moving tracker can be followed. This gives information about the direction of travel of an item and the speed it is travelling. As well as this, other information can be added along with the location, such as time-stamps every hour, or even every few seconds, or any other information such as temperatures.

ABS Trailers is a company located near a science park. They are an international courier service that specializes in shipping freight overseas. So naturally, they were the first choice of companies in the science park to send their items to other laboratories. These items consisted of different types of tissue samples, chemicals and genetic material. All these need to be kept within a certain temperature range otherwise they become completely useless. But the trouble was that they had no way of guaranteeing the temperature of the cargo. If a fine range of temperature was needed, then the trailers were next to useless. ABS Trailers was losing their reputation and their customers.

GPS tracking system devices can combine with existing freight technology to provide all sorts of information about a trailer. Temperature information can be time-stamped at the beginning of the journey. Temperature information can be monitored throughout the journey. It can also be recorded for different parts of the trailer. Also, at the best level, it can be transmitted real-time to the customer’s computer and a detailed record sheet can be provided to the sender of the shipment and the person who has bought it.

Once GPS tracking system devices were acquired by ABS Trailers, they were able to provide very accurate readings to their customers. Their custom base increased rapidly as their new service proved to be efficient and effective. They had to expand and buy new trailers with this new service fitted and their business went from strength to strength. Boost your business today with GPS tracking systems by calling Rocky Mountain Tracking, Inc at 1-888-242-0500.

By Greg Bartlett

Every year, forest fires destroy thousands of acres of timber and threaten many homes along the way. Most emergencies call for the set up of a central command center to take care of sending equipment and manpower where it is needed most. In the past, this has not always been an easy task because in an emergency, there is a lot of confusion and sometimes assets can become lost in the shuffle, so to speak. GPS vehicle tracking makes the task of routing equipment and crews to the areas that need them most a lot easier for incident commanders who are in charge of making these decisions.

Many emergency vehicles, such as fire trucks and ambulances, have GPS vehicle tracking devices installed in them. These devices transmit information in real time over a wireless network to a monitoring station that can make the information about the location, direction and speed of travel, and other features of these vehicles available to incident commanders via any computer with an active internet connection.

Being able to pinpoint the location of vehicles and the crews that man them can prove to be of paramount importance in the case of a large scale emergency, such as a forest fire. Incident commanders can compile data about the movement of the fire, wind speed and direction, and other pertinent information, and look at where they have assets located on a map of the area. Crews can be sent to areas where they will be needed soonest and others that may be in danger in just a few minutes can be pulled back before the danger develops.

Medical assistance in the form of ambulances can be staged at different locations around the perimeter and sent to wherever needed at a moment’s notice with the commanders of the situation being able to dispatch the unit closest to where the need is located.

GPS technology has many uses in business and in the private sector. Vehicle tracking by GPS technology has proven invaluable as a means of reducing thefts and increasing recoveries of stolen vehicles. It has also proven useful for tracking the movements of spouses and teens. Today, GPS technology in the form of a vehicle tracking device is an invaluable asset to the command crew dealing with large scale emergencies and natural disasters. The ability to track the movements and locations of emergency vehicles makes it possible for command staff to focus on getting resources to where they are needed quickly and efficiently.

Fleet management is the primary reason for installing a GPS system, but there are many added-value benefits. While you are tempted to utilize this modern technology for your fleet business, it is essential to evaluate your requirements and then choose the most appropriate system.

Let’s make an effort to determine your requirements and find a solution accordingly.

Size of Your Fleet
There is no such thing as too few vehicles or too many vehicles to benefit from GPS. Whether you have one vehicle or one hundred thousand vehicles, everyone benefits. The number of vehicles in your fleet can help you choose the appropriate GPS fleet tracking system. While a group of 3-4 vehicles can be easily managed by a simple location-tracking system, you need a sophisticated arrangement for larger fleets.

Future Growth Evaluation
Do you expect to add more vehicles to the existing fleet in the future? Then, be wise and go for a high-level fleet GPS tracking system well in advance. You can save the cost of replacing a system by starting out with a device that meets your needs and the growth of your business.

Encompass All Cost Factors

• Consider the interest rates, if you are borrowing a bank loan for purchasing GPS fleet management system.
• Leasing can be a good option, as a monthly expenditure can be easily adjusted to the overall business costs. On the other hand, one-time investment in these equipments can also be a wise choice.
• How much will you need to spend for monthly monitoring fees? For this, take into account the number of pings and alerts you expect from each vehicle. Also, the cost for installation should be calculated.
• Above all, you need to evaluate the operational effects and the cost-saving benefits of installing GPS fleet tracking system. The good news is that insurance premiums are reduced. GPS vehicle tracking systems reduce accidents and traffic violations. As a result, discounted insurance rates are being offered by nearly all insurance companies.

A GPS tracking system is capable of introducing savings that will neutralize the burden of investment costs of this technology. The implementation of GPS vehicle tracking will provide you with an increased knowledge of managing employees and assets, and it will improve the efficiency of your overall business operations. To inquire about GPS for your fleet, call Rocky Mountain Tracking, Inc at 1-888-242-0500.

By Harriette Halepis

GPS tracking systems can be used for a number of things. Recently, this innovative technology has been put to work for public transportation systems. Numerous cities across North America have begun to use GPS tracking technology in order to provide public transport users with accurate arrival and departure times.

The Toronto Transit Commission has started to use GPS tracking in order to update their existing system. This tracking technology will allow customers to find out exactly when that next train or bus is going to arrive. This means that customers no longer have to wait for a bus or train to show up – instead, they simply have to look at an updated arrival board for accurate information.

Further, public transport users in Toronto will be able to dial a number on their cell phones in order to obtain up-to-date arrival information. No matter what time of day or night it happens to be, transport customers will know exactly when to catch that next train. While the implementation of this new GPS tracking system will be rather expensive ($5.2 million CDN), it has proven to be a worthwhile investment.

While Toronto may have paved the way for GPS public transport tracking, other cities across North America have begun to pick up on this trend. When all is said and done, this form of tracking is safer, more efficient, and easier for customers to use. Many cities have found that by using GPS vehicle tracking software, crime rates within public transport buildings has decreased. Why?

Rather than waiting around for a bus or train to arrive, patrons now know exactly when that next bus or train is going to show up. This means that customers spend less time waiting around train and bus stations, which means that there is less room for any kind of criminal incident to occur. Not only has GPS tracking made public transportation safer, it also helps out when it comes to the environment.

With an improved public transportation system comes more customers willing to use public transportation. This equals a reduction in the number of emissions released into the environment. As more and more people begin to use public transport, personal vehicles will be used on a lesser basis. In short, a GPS fleet tracking system has the ability to cut down on violence, and help to make the world a greener place to live in.

By Greg Bartlett

In some areas of the U.S. a great deal of natural gas exploration is taking place. One of the tricks used to locate unproven gas reserves is a seismological examination of what is below the surface of the earth. These tests are performed using very sensitive seismological equipment and many miles of sensor laden cables that connect to several computer terminals in a network to compare the readings obtained on one computer to those on another to for a sort of 3D picture. These cables and computer terminal boxes must be moved from one location to another quickly and efficiently.

Many of the areas where crews are working to lay out these sensor cables and set these computer terminals are very rural, overgrown, and impossible to reach in a ground vehicle. Most of this equipment is far too heavy to lug in by hand and try to walk in these areas of heavy growth. For this reason, helicopters are used on an almost daily basis to pick up bags of cables and terminals from one location and fly them to another to be dropped to a crew waiting on the ground.

How do the pilots know where to locate these ground crews, especially if working in thickly grown forest areas? The answer is simple. The ground crews are equipped with GPS locators that transmit a signal picked up by a computer on board the helicopter that gives the pilot the coordinates for the next drop. One man is on site at the next pick up area with a similar device to direct the pilot to the location for the next bag pick up. This is a very time saving method of moving this equipment from one location to another. It makes it possible for pilots to fly by the most direct routes between points without having to search for markers or people to signal them where to go.

When one considers the cost of aviation fuel and a pilot’s salary, it makes perfect sense to use every advantage available to maximize the benefit of having the helicopter to pick up, transport, and drop off sensitive and bulky equipment. GPS tracking allows the pilot to know exactly where he/she is going from each pick up or drop off point to the next so that there is no flying in circles looking for the ground crews.

By Mark Peterson

Sole proprietors without additional employees constantly face the challenge of weighing cost to benefit when buying service and product for their business. Will the purchase make my business more efficient, more profitable, or more productive? The business owner will give the purchase serious consideration if the answer is yes to any of the three

A GPS 3100 is a small economical investment that actually assists the self-employed sole proprietor or independent contractor track the success of their efficiency, profitability, and productivity for their business. Business owners, especially sole proprietors with no other employees, rely heavily on external resources. “I am a plumber. I’m not an attorney. I’m not an accountant. I’m not auto mechanic.” In the perfect world, this business owner wants to focus on one thing…plumbing. That is their dream world. The reality is that the business owner has many distractions thrown into the pot like product supply, tax management, billing for service, legal issues; the list goes on and on. The result is that the business owner is constantly performing a balancing act of his or her time.

With a GPS 3100, the business owner has a secretary that tracks their time on the road, where they go, how long they stop at certain places, and what distances they travel. It is extremely portable. It simply attaches to the vehicle by a magnet. At the end of the day or week, the business owner takes it off the vehicle and plugs it into a USB port on their computer. The information can then be transferred and charted so the business owner can see his or her own efficiency, productivity, and ultimately profitability.

It’s a golden key for small business time management.

• It provides data that can show them how to condense on-the-road appointments and tasks into less time and fewer miles.
• It keeps track of mileage. One more task the lone eagle doesn’t have to perform manually for tax advantages.
• It records work efficiency. The plumber, for example can track how long it takes to perform certain types of jobs, and thus set future estimates on that time average.

The GPS 3100 vehicle tracker doesn’t give legal advice or suggestions on which insurance to buy. Instead, it records data that shows efficiency, productivity and profitability, which in turn frees up time so the lone eagle business owner can visit the attorney or insurance agent when necessary, and do even that, in a time efficient manner.

By Greg Bartlett

Recent increases in fuel prices have made it very difficult for many shipping companies to maintain reasonable prices for their services and still make any profit. In the scramble to cut costs wherever possible to keep shipping costs down, a new technology was found to of tremendous assistance. GPS tracking makes it possible for shipping companies to locate the best truck for a specific load based on location, route to pick up, and delivery date. Surprisingly, many companies are finding that sending the closest truck is not the most efficient.

Through GPS tracking, dispatchers are able to locate every truck in a shipping fleet. They are then able to map out the most fuel efficient routing to get trucks to where they are needed for loading and then to their destinations. Many companies are finding, through tracking of their vehicles, it is always more fuel efficient to send the closest available truck. A variety of reasons can cause this to be the case, but the tracking devices do save a great deal of money on fuel.

Tracking of trucks also allows companies to track the number of hours per day that drivers are actually moving. This makes it more difficult for drivers to falsify their logs and drive more hours than they are physically able to maintain, thus reducing liability insurance costs for shipping companies. If drivers know that they are being monitored, they are far more likely to take their prescribed breaks and get adequate rest to be able to avoid accidents.

With fuel costs spiraling out of control, most shipping companies have had to find ways to reduce costs in an effort to keep their rates at a level that allowed customers to continue to use their services. Many different cost cutting ideas have been put forth, but among the most reliable and longest term money saving ideas is utilizing GPS tracking devices in all trucks. With GPS, dispatchers are able to plan and route trucks in the most fuel efficient manner possible for pick up and delivery of loads, even if it means that a truck further away from the pickup point would be more efficient than one very nearby. GPS monitoring of trucks also permits dispatchers to monitor how long trucks are in motion and contact drivers who are too tired to continue and make them take breaks. This allows for lower insurance premiums because it a proactive method of reducing the risk of truck accidents.

It’s a Win-Win Situation
By Jackie Gately

There are many benefits to equipping your mobile workforce with a fleet management tracking system. As an employer, you stand to gain productivity and financial benefits. But few realize the benefits a GPS tracking system also provides to employees and customers. Whether you have just a few service vans, or a fleet of salesmen on the road, with a fleet management GPS tracking system, everybody wins.

Companies that institute fleet tracking most often realize significant productivity and cost benefits, including:

• The ability to dispatch or reroute the closest fleet vehicle to an emergency appointment
• Lowered fuel bills due to reduced trip mileage and more fuel-efficient speeds
• Reduced over-time and billing errors through automated payroll and billing
• Reduced time and effort spent on paperwork and reporting
• Retention of more responsible and efficient employees
• Elimination of excess employee stops and idling time
• Decrease in unauthorized and off-hour travel
• Elimination of employee fraud, excessive speeding, or out of boundaries driving
• Availability of tangible metrics for employee incentive plans and performance reviews
• Easier dismissal of problem employees with evidence supported by concrete data
• Reduced insurance costs if your insurance company offers savings for fleet management plans
• Potential tax savings

Less obvious employee benefits that result from a vehicle tracking system include:

• Increased safety when driver is lost, broken down or suffers a medical emergency
• Expedited recovery of a stolen vehicle
• Alerts of excessive engine temperature and exceeded weight limits through sensors
• Protection from false driving accusations and customer claims
• Cost savings passed on to employee in the form of salary incentives and bonuses
• Impartial metrics to discern and reward highly skilled and loyal employees
• Discovery of more efficient future travel routes based on route history
• Reduced paperwork and manual reporting

Customers receive the ultimate benefits of a vehicle tracking system, such as:

• Higher response to emergency or urgent appointments
• Better predictability about when to expect fleet member
• Realization of product and service savings passed on to customer
• Safer fleet driving within the community.
• Higher likelihood of fleet member on site who is responsible and has integrity

So, while it’s been argued that installing a fleet management GPS fleet tracking system is a little too reminiscent of “Big Brother” watching, consider that it’s not only the corporation with something to gain.

Jackie Gately is a freelance writer. She can be reached at jackiegately.wordpress.com