GPS Fleet Management – The Right Choice for Your Business!
The ALCA Influence, March/April 2005
Question: If you rode with your company vehicles 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, do your think your employees would be more productive and your vehicles managed better? Of course, the answer is yes. In today’s competitive marketplace, businesses must operate at peak efficiency, provide timely customer service and still have room to make a profit. Given these realities, it’s often a surprise to business owners to discover areas where cost effectiveness can be greatly improved. Technology is usually the driving force behind such discoveries. The accessibility of the Global Positioning System network (GPS) has given rise to many new applications using this powerful tracking technology. GPS Fleet Management, LLC (an ALCA Associate Member) is one of the leading providers of GPS vehicle tracking and fleet management solutions in the Valley. The landscaping industry particularly benefits from our solutions. Your fleet usually represents between 50% and 70% of your total fixed assets. These vehicles serve as a billboard for your business, usually carry around expensive equipment and provide transportation for employees to and from the job site. Yet, they leave the yard in the morning and return at the end of the day and the owner or manager finds it difficult to confirm that the vehicles did what they were suppose to do and represented their business well throughout the day.
Think about it: If your vehicle has four employees in it and they spend 15 to 20 minutes at a Circle K twice a day that costs your company two hours in payroll and lost productivity!
You cannot manage what you do not measure! GPS fleet management provides a solution that allows you measure EXACTLY what your vehicles and employees did throughout the day.
What is the GPS, or the Global Positioning System? The GPS network was developed in the 1970's by the US military and was declassified in 1982 for commercial use. It includes multiple satellites orbiting the earth at a distance of approximately 20,000 miles. The satellites provide detailed time and positioning information. GPS vehicle tracking and fleet management systems uses a GPS transmitter/receiver and a small antenna on each vehicle that links it to the GPS network which can then monitor each vehicle's activity 24 X 7 X 365. The vehicle data is then downloaded into the user's master database, providing a permanent history of the entire fleet operation.
GPS-based fleet management systems combine GPS-based tracking data and proprietary software to deliver an informative, cost-effective way to monitor drivers' efficiency and productivity. The systems provide managers with key vehicle data such as start and stop times, number of stops by address per day, time spent at each stop, mileage, speed, idle times, routes traveled and more. The primary goal of GPS-based fleet management systems is to save your business time, money and provide a tool to verify accountability for the employees using your company vehicles. With access to this data, you can better manage drivers' efficiency and productivity, identify "lost time" in vehicle routes and the costs related to engine service, vehicle maintenance, fuel, tires, insurance, customer service, payroll/overtime, etc. There are many ways to customize the data collected to fit any fleet service operation. Special features are easily added that can measure "events." An event feature would track a user-specific activity, such as when a door was opened or closed, or when an onboard compressor was turned on, how long it ran and when it turned off. These readings would capture "real-time" measurements anytime, day or night. Now, you can validate what your vehicle and equipment did, plus when and where it was done
GPS-based fleet management systems can either be "active," providing a real-time link between a monitoring station and each vehicle, or "passive," automatically downloading accumulated information into a base station whenever the vehicle is at it’s “home” base. The difference comes down to needs and cost. To provide real-time data, an “active” system uses a data link, such as a cellular connection, from each vehicle back to the base station. This involves a monthly monitoring fee through a cellular provider. Passive systems require no interaction from a dispatcher or vehicle operator. Information is downloaded automatically whenever the vehicle returns to its home base.
Therefore passive systems do not require a monthly monitoring fee. Fleet tracking systems collect information in a database format and then use software to present the information in an easy-to-read report format. The software allows companies to analyze productivity of individual drivers, or the entire fleet, against established benchmarks. Nearly all companies immediately see direct cost benefits. In short, this application of the GPS technology is all about accountability and verification. The value of a GPS fleet tracking system goes beyond managing the vehicles. By having records that can demonstrate the fleet stays within speed limits and determined geographic areas, many users find that their overall cost of fleet insurance is reduced. In summary, the benefits to a company are obvious--including detailed records of vehicle usage, better route management, payroll verification and decreased fuel consumption.
An example of how GPS can help you manage your business: McKeown Landscaping, Inc. uses one of our passive solutions in all of their crew trucks. Marc McKeown, VP of Technical Operations, shared with me some of results they have achieved using our technology:
- Reduced unnecessary payroll expenses by eliminating side trips and unnecessary stops.
- Reduced unnecessary idle time from approximately to 2 to 4 hours per day per truck to just minutes per day. (Each hour of unnecessary idle time represents, on an average, of 2 gallons of gas consumption.) Therefore, this has resulted in lower operating expenses by less fuel consumption and less unnecessary wear and tear on the trucks engines.
- Reduced speeding and thus liability across the entire fleet!
- Identified, using landmark reports, exactly how much time the crews spent at each customer site.
Summary: Learning about the GPS technology and applications available for fleet management is an important first step. Armed with the basics of GPS technology, you can take into consideration the ability to monitor, locate and track your vehicles and evaluate how this can improve your bottom line.
Remember: You cannot manage what you do not measure!
