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An Efficient Way for Transportation Companies to Save Money

As the economy continues to flounder, more and more companies that maintain a fleet of vehicles have started looking to GPS tracking to help them reduce expenditures. The cost of fuel, man hours worked, and wear and tear on the vehicle all add up over time, and most managers feel the squeeze as prices continue to fluctuate. When it becomes possible to monitor the use of each vehicle closely (and make adjustments to routes and driver habits as needed), many managers report impressive cost savings.

GPS Reduces Fleet Tracking Costs

A GPS tracking device attached to a vehicle can monitor that vehicle in one of two ways. Active tracking involves sending a signal directly to the Internet, which enables someone to view information in real time. Passive tracking includes stored information that can be downloaded to a computer at a later time.

Either way, managers can use this information to determine where their drivers are at any given time. With GPS technology, it becomes possible to track:

• Routes: is a driver taking the most efficient route?
• Speed: how fast is a driver traveling?
• Stop Time: is a driver making unauthorized stops?
• Idle Time: is the engine running while a driver unloads or eats lunch?

With this information in hand, companies can teach employees how to make better use of a vehicle, and of company time, resulting in reduced fuel costs and a reduction in employee working hours.

GPS Tracking Devices Equal Efficiency

As the economic recession drags on, companies who use GPS  to monitor their fleet vehicles have been able to continue operating efficiently by reducing the amount of fuel they use and the miles they cover. Even after employees understand how to find the most efficient routes and how to conserve fuel while they’re out on the road, the devices can still make a difference by enabling the company as a whole to operate more efficiently.

For instance, if a driver contacts dispatch in need of a repair, a fleet manager can pinpoint a vehicle’s exact location. This allows dispatch to send the nearest service person to a driver’s location, which, in turn, can save a company time and money. The vast majority of fleet managers who have implemented GPS tracking have reported satisfaction with this decision –  as well as saving thousands of dollars.

As businesses large and small continue to recognize the need for efficiency wherever possible, tracking devices prove cost effective. Efficient personnel, vast reductions in company costs, and a decrease in employee overtime are all viable results of GPS tracking technology.

Article Written By Greg Bartlett for Rocky Mountain Tracking

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Article Written by Greg Bartlett

Times are tough in the business world. Companies continually look for ways to save money while at the same time reducing environmental impact. With gas prices swelling and the cost of doing business increasing, environmental efforts are not always as easy as they seem. Fleet managers especially need a way to evaluate how they use resources and how they can save money and incorporate green management practices at the same time. One of the best ways to accomplish both goals is to incorporate GPS Tracking devices for each vehicle in the fleet.

By equipping each vehicle in a fleet with a GPS tracking device, fleet managers can monitor driver habits and vehicle efficiency accurately. They can determine fuel efficiency, idle time, speed and routes taken. With this information in hand, they can map out a plan to reduce costs by taking shorter routes, reducing idle time, maintaining the speed limit, and using each vehicle to its greatest potential. While GPS tracking systems do require an initial expenditure that can seem daunting, most estimates reveal that companies can recoup their expenses in nine months or less. As savings continue to increase over the life of the system, most companies find that incorporating a tracking system for fleet vehicles is well worth the investment.

In addition to the direct savings garnered by monitoring drivers and vehicles with GPS tracking devices, companies can also realize greater productivity and savings by taking advantage of tracking data. If every driver in a fleet can make one extra stop every day by taking shorter routes, both the company as a whole and the drivers individually will enjoy increased earnings. If vehicles can be used more efficiently, managers can forego additional purchases, resulting in thousands saved each year.

All these cost saving measures also result in greener companies. Reducing idle time and driving fewer miles results in fewer emissions, giving fleet managers an even greater reason for incorporating GPS tracking into their vehicles. As responsible care for the environment becomes more urgent every day, companies looking to go green can take huge steps in the right direction simply by equipping themselves with knowledge. Once they have specific information in hand, it’s only a matter of incorporating new habits and practices into their employees’ training in order to create an environmentally friendly business that operates at its full potential while saving money at the same time.

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By Greg Bartlett

Whether your fleet has three vehicles or three hundred, managing them and ensuring that you know where each vehicle is and what each driver is doing can be a huge headache. You try to streamline the process as much as possible, but sometimes you wonder if your drivers are being completely honest with you. Did the trip really take that long, or did the driver take an unauthorized stop along the way? Are the drivers taking the most efficient routes, or just the ones they know best?

GPS fleet tracking can provide you with the answers you need and a solution to make managing your fleet easier. A GPS fleet tracking unit in your vehicle would permit you to monitor its location, speed, stops, and even the vehicle’s condition. You might be surprised at the amount of information that the GPS tracking unit will give you.

For instance, if your drivers are taking extra long lunch breaks, using company vehicles during unauthorized times or for unauthorized stops, or are driving outside predetermined boundaries – known as geo-fences – and are thus wasting time and resources, the GPS unit will let you know. Driving habits can also be monitored. If you see that an employee is driving like he’s in a tiny sports car while driving a tractor trailer truck on a mountain road, you can stop his erratic behavior before he damages anyone or any company property. The GPS tracking unit will even alert you if the vehicle’s speed exceeds a preset limit.

GPS fleet tracking can provide you with automatic updates when a stop is made and a delivery or pickup, for instance, is accomplished. Furthermore, the GPS unit will allow you to monitor your vehicles’ mechanical condition and will alert you if a vehicle needs maintenance. You can also use GPS tracking to see if your drivers are taking the most efficient routes. Many companies which have started tracking their fleets have seen increases in customer satisfaction and productivity and decreases in gas expenses, for instance, because they have been able to find the best routes for drivers to take. In addition, GPS units have an extra bonus – if a vehicle is stolen, you can use the GPS tracking information to recover the vehicle.

With GPS fleet tracking, you’ll be able to manage your fleet more effectively than ever, monitoring your vehicles’ locations and activities, and you’ll increase profits by saving time, increasing efficiency, and reducing expenses.

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By Greg Bartlett

Cross-country merchandise transportation can be a risky business. Shipping large quantities of goods from place to place carries with it the inherent risk of theft, accidental loss or delay. Yet shipping by tractor-trailor remains a necessity for many businesses. In order to ensure efficient shipping as well as asset protection, fleet managers are increasingly looking to GPS vehicle tracking.

GPS vehicle tracking allows fleet managers to keep an eye on each vehicle as it travels across town or across the country. A transmitter placed in the vehicle sends signals to a computer or receiving device which allows location to be monitored in real time. Data can also be viewed in the form of reports over time. Not only does this allow monitoring of a driver’s efficiency on the job, but it also allows current information and scheduling updates to be provided to customers.

Many GPS vehicle tracking models provide much more information than simple location. Fleet managers can also save money for the company by monitoring fuel usage, idle times, stops, and speed of travel. If, for instance, a driver leaves his truck idling while he’s making deliveries, a manager could take note and address the problem. Unnecessary stops and personal detours could be eliminated, saving the company money by conserving not only fuel, but also man hours.

Companies who have implemented GPS vehicle tracking as part of their fleet management program have reported annual cost savings in the thousands. In these tough economic times, every penny saved makes a difference in company effectiveness. By encouraging employees to be more efficient with their time and to put better driving habits into practice, companies can realize enormous benefits. They can also promote a healthier environment by conserving fuel. Employees who know their movements are monitored will take fewer detours and will not leave the engine idling during a lunch break or while unloading cargo. Companies can make clear to their employees what actions are desirable to promote responsible driving practices.

Managers who have come to depend on GPS vehicle tracking find it hard to manage a fleet of vehicles efficiently without it. No longer must they rely on guesswork or the reports turned in by employees who may forget to record mileage, neglect to mention a personal sideline, or take longer than necessary on a job. They can have all of this information at their fingertips. They can also help drivers by encouraging them to map out the most direct route to a destination, saving time and money across the board. Each time mileage is reduced, fuel is conserved or a driver’s time is used more efficiently, the company as a whole profits. By the end of the year, it could be the factor that saves the business.

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by James Neely, freelance writer: click | HERE | to inquire about writing services

There are certain things that fleet operations must do in order to be successful and maintain profitability.  These principles must be incorporated in a daily pursuit of excellence as they try to meet and exceed customer expectations.  These methods are all included in the singular action of implementing a GPS Tracking system.

Here are the five ways that fleet management operations will benefit from GPS Tracking.

Monitoring Driver Safety

Good drivers are hard to find.  And, even when they are, it is only human nature to take advantage (even just a little bit) of the rules and laws in order to get the job done quicker.  With GPS Tracking, drivers are held to the standards in a closer manner.  It is no doubt that when people are being watched, they change their behavior.  Fleet drivers are no different.

Monitoring Moving Violations

Speeding, unsafe lane changes, lack of signaling, and other infractions of posted traffic laws gets drivers in trouble, and puts your business at risk.  And, that does not include the fact that they put the public in danger as well.  These types of activities need to be addressed and monitored daily.  Notifying your employees of the existence of GPS Tracking devices is a judgment call, but once they find out that they exist, it will affect how they work and acts of indiscretion will dwindle.

Monitoring Performance

How are your drivers doing in getting to their appointed stops?  Are they consistently late and always blaming traffic?  Do you suspect that they are taking too long at stops or are making unauthorized stops along their routes?  Now you can know, and you can make changes in schedules when there are real problems with getting routes completed in a timely fashion.

Monitoring Schedules

Making sure that schedules are realistic will help you insure that your customers are happy with their service level.  Watching for pick-ups and deliveries as they come in and making instant changes in schedules based on what vehicle is closest helps you cement your commitment to service in the eyes of your customers.

Monitoring Legal Support

When you need to verify driver actions which can mean the difference between a happy client, and having a judgment filed against your company is an important business activity.  A GPS Tracking system will provide you with court-admissible evidence that can show compliance with laws and contracts.

Making GPS Tracking a part of your fleet business is like having a silent partner that keeps you in line and on the road to profitability.  Get one today and watch it go to work for you.

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By Greg Bartlett

Because of the current economy, most individuals and companies are searching for ways to save money and reduce spending. That may mean trying to cut back on fuel costs, taking fewer trips if possible, or reducing travel time. For companies who use fleets, however, these options may not always seem sensible. After all, you have to send your vehicles out in order to keep the company in business, and you already have the vehicles being as efficient as possible, right?

Fleet of Delivery Trucks Utilize GPS

Maybe, but maybe not. Companies who have started using GPS fleet tracking have discovered that they can often save money by cutting fuel costs, finding more efficient routes, eliminating unauthorized use of company vehicles, reducing extra stops or long stops, and keeping up on vehicle maintenance. Even if the company thought it was being efficient before, GPS fleet tracking helped save the company money and more than paid for the expense of purchasing the GPS units.

For instance, GPS tracking devices can help your drivers determine the most efficient routes. While cutting off a couple miles on one driver’s trip may not seem like much, when you multiply it by the entire fleet, you have saved quite a bit of money in fuel costs and time. Furthermore, with GPS fleet tracking, you can determine where each of your vehicles is, and if someone calls in and needs your company to pick up something, you can find the best vehicle to send and can find the fastest routes to and from the additional stop.

Since GPS tracking can tell you where each of your vehicles is, what stops it made, how long the stops were, and how fast the vehicle was going, you can determine if drivers are taking much too long on lunch breaks or are making unauthorized stops. You can also determine if your vehicles are being driven responsibly and can even correct things like sudden acceleration and breaking, which wear out brakes and reduce fuel efficiency. Many GPS tracking devices will even monitor the vehicle’s mechanical condition, letting you keep track of its maintenance needs and fixing things before they become a problem.

Saving your company money and making your fleet more efficient is possible, no matter how efficient your company is right now. GPS fleet tracking will help you to monitor you fleet and to find ways to make your company more profitable. Even if it’s many small things, they can add up to save your company thousands of dollars a year.

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By Greg Bartlett

No matter whether your fleet consists of cars, tractor trailer trucks, taxis, emergency vehicles, buses, or construction vehicles, keeping track of your fleet is important. You have to know where your vehicles are in order to be effective, efficient, and, of course, profitable. It won’t help your delivery company if your trucks are taking longer routes than necessary, and not knowing where your emergency vehicles are could risk people’s lives.

Fleet Management

One of the best ways to keep track of your fleet is with GPS fleet tracking, which will give you the precise location of each vehicle of your fleet. You can use the GPS data to find the most efficient routes, cut fuel costs, eliminate unnecessary stops and unauthorized use of company vehicles, and even to prevent theft.

A delivery company is using GPS fleet tracking to discover each vehicle’s movements, finding and correcting inefficiencies. GPS tracking can also help the company keep customers happy, updating them if the delivery will be late or early and providing customers with a much more accurate delivery time. Furthermore, the GPS tracking permits the company to find the best routes, adding stops if necessary by locating the nearest vehicle to the stop and making necessary adjustments.

Some emergency vehicles, such as patrol cars and ambulances, are being equipped with GPS fleet tracking so that dispatchers can find the nearest vehicle to send to an emergency site. The quicker the vehicle arrives, the more likely any victims will be saved, so the dispatchers need to know where each vehicle is and be able to send it to the site immediately.

A construction company has recently put GPS tracking in its vehicles and equipment, allowing it not only to cut fuel costs and monitor its equipment, but also to track items if they are stolen. The GPS system will even notify the company if the tracked item leaves certain boundaries, which permits the company to alert police almost immediately if a vehicle or piece of equipment is stolen.

The advantages of GPS vehicle tracking for your fleet could go on and on. Panic buttons for the drivers in case of emergency, for instance, are another popular and helpful option. Your priority is to manage your fleet effectively while finding the most efficient routes, locating the nearest vehicles, and reducing fuel costs and extra stops. GPS fleet tracking will help you monitor and manage your fleet, reduce theft, and increase profits.

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