Managing any fleet of vehicles is a complex and stressful job. The larger the fleet, the more valuable the cargo, or the more critical the fleet to business operations, the more stressful the management task will be. If you manage a fleet of vehicles of any size you need to know that GPS fleet management makes your life easier.
You might know that GPS fleet management equipment allows you to see (on your laptop) exactly where every vehicle is at a particular point in time. But do you know that this same equipment also maintains a complete history for each vehicle of where, when and how that vehicle has traveled over any time-frame? If you notice an anomaly at any time, you can download a report of the history of each appropriate vehicle and analyze the cause for the anomaly and determine what corrective action is appropriate.
Fleet managers also usually know that GPS fleet management equipment gives you the ability to monitor the exact location of any or all vehicles at any time. The same equipment gives you the ability to set up conditions that will alert you instantly or populate report for such activities as idling, moving outside a defined area, speeding, stopped vehicles, and even unsafe driving. Your GPS fleet management system can also track driving behaviors that reduce fuel efficiencies.
If you want to receive alerts for emerging mechanical problems, you can choose a GPS fleet management system that includes maintenance scheduling systems. You can simplify the task of monitoring the maintenance schedules of all those vehicles manually and prevent costly breakdowns by fixing problems before they cripple the vehicle.
GPS fleet management will also help you save a bundle of money and run your fleet in ways that are environmentally friendly. You can monitor fuel mileage reports and compare the data to maintenance schedules and engine tuning details. You can compare fuel mileage with actual routes traveled by individual vehicles and/or drivers.
Because your GPS fleet management equipment allows you to instantly locate a stolen vehicle, some systems also allow you to take steps to disable vehicles while they are parked overnight. These features qualify all GPS equipped vehicles for discounts of about 15% from most major insurance companies.
A GPS fleet management system will save you time that you can spend working with your drivers to find the routes that are optimal for time and fuel saved. You can even coach your drivers on fuel-efficient and safe driving habits.
Here’s an example of how GPS fleet management can help you excel at your job. You are the fleet manager for a county in a mountainous region. The area receives frequent heavy snow during the winter months. The nearest hospital is 60 miles away and there are 3 rescue units in the county. You have adopted a strategy of positioning three of your plows and salt trucks beside each of the rescue units before the storms hit. This allows you to clear a way for the rescue units to get out to the main highway. Your fourth truck is positioned in a parking lot in the center of the county which can function as a helipad. From these and three other locations, your plows and salt trucks can move out to clear major roads. With a GPS fleet management system, you can also monitor police, fire and rescue calls. This gives you the information you need to call specific drivers and tell them they need to plow a route to a specific location so police, fire and rescue units can get in and out without incident.
You can work smarter with GPS fleet management. These are just some of the things it can help you accomplish:
- track all movements of every vehicle and maintain a full history on the movements of every vehicle
- monitor driving habits for use in coaching drivers in achieving greater efficiencies and saving fuel, time and costs
- automate routine maintenance and identify problems before they become more expensive
- prevent robberies and help police locate a vehicle if one is stolen
- help the company by increasing productivity of employees
- manage vehicles for greater efficiency and longer life.
By installing GPS fleet management devices in all of the vehicles in your fleet you can begin to see cost reductions immediately. On average, companies that install GPS fleet management systems report that they pay for the system and a whole year of monitoring with the savings they achieve in the first 90 days or less. So, what’s stopping you when you can save money for the company and work smarter?
For more information about GPS fleet management, get the white paper “7 Ways Your Company Can Save Thousands of Dollars With GPS Fleet Tracking.” Many companies have boosted their revenue and decreased their costs by implementingGPS vehicle tracking for their fleet. To calculate the ROI for your company in under 30 seconds, see the Fleet GPS ROI calculator.