Fleet Maintenance

Fleet Maintenance

The best tracking resources

By Jaspreet Bhatti

Any business with two or more company vehicles ideally should use fleet tracking - monitoring where each vehicle is at any given moment.

What are the benefits of fleet tracking?

A fleet tracking solution can help a business save on considerable business costs through:

  • Location monitoring. Ensures that unnecessary, and sometimes unauthorized, journeys are cut out. When vehicles become visible, productivity of the fleet increases as any breaks or private jobs are also visible.
  • Effective speed management. By monitoring the speed of drivers, companies will save on fuel and servicing costs, as well as ensure the safety of drivers by eliminating excessive speed.
  • Vehicle utilization. By analyzing departure and arrival times, any late starts or finishes are detected. This helps monitor accurate overtime payment.
  • Reduced communication costs. Since vehicles are monitored, the need for constant communication with drivers is eliminated.

How does it work?

Vehicle tracking is normally a simple process. Each of the vehicles in the fleet is fitted with a GPS unit. Every few seconds, the unit relays the vehicle’s location and other details back to the servers in the fleet tracking solution provider’s main office servers. These, in return, communicate the details to the company in real time, normally through the web in the form of maps and reports.

Where can I find fleet tracking providers?

As a business owner, you need to decide what your requirements are. There are many providers available on the Internet offering a variety of products and prices. These are dependent on the size of the fleet and the requirements of the company in terms of the features offered by the products. For example, there are extra options that can be considered such as two-way messaging. Most online providers have demos that allow interested customers to get a feel for the products.

What are the types of products available?

Standard units such as Navman Wireless OnlineAVL, TomTom Webfleet and Livetrak offer simple to use, cost effective solutions that are easy to install and scalable to any size of business. Some additional units you might encounter include:

  • Trailer tracking. These are special devices for trailers and other machines that are without their own power source.
  • Mobile worker devices. These are devices for field workers, where critical job information is required instantly.
  • Cold chain monitoring devices. These allow a business to monitor precise temperatures of refrigerated cargo, giving full control over chilled goods during their delivery cycles.

With the harsh fierceness of competition in any business today, live vehicle tracking enables a company to benefit from increased productivity and profits through saved costs and time. Investing in a fleet tracking service that suits your business’ needs is definitely worth considering.