Category: Fleet GPS System News

352 posts
Three Benefits of Green Fleet Management

green-fleet-fuel-management-pumpAccording the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), there are three compelling reasons to adopt a green fleet management program for your fleet. Operating a cleaner, greener fleet means more than counting the number of hybrids or alternative fuel vehicles you put on the road. Successful management means actively measuring and reducing your fleet’s greenhouse gas emissions over time. There’s no need to wait. You can get started today with relatively minor changes— vehicle selection, maintenance schedules and driver education—that add up to significant improvements in fuel economy, operating costs and emissions.

1) Cut operating costs—By improving efficiency, a greener fleet can significantly reduce lifecycle costs and vulnerability to volatile fuel prices.

2) Reduce greenhouse gas emissions—Because vehicles are a primary source of greenhouse gas pollution, fleet vehicle emissions can represent a large slice of your company’s total emissions. Implementing a green fleet program is an immediate and meaningful way to reduce your company’s carbon footprint.

3) Improve corporate reputation—With public concerns about climate change reaching all-time highs, companies are under increasing pressure to set and achieve environmental goals. Green fleet management can provide measurable results—often within the first 12 months—to report to employees, customers and shareholders.

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Using GPS Systems to Manage Off-Road Equipment Pays Off

GPS fleet tracking systems recover stolen construction equipmentGPS fleet tracking systems are becoming increasingly popular among on-road fleet vehicles. With the ability to increase productivity, reduce fuel costs, and prevent theft, more and more fleet managers are eager and willing to make the investment. However, the idea that a GPS fleet tracking system can have an equally powerful impact on off-road equipment is not as intuitive and well known. Regardless, using telematics equipment and GPS navigation systems with off-road vehicles can yield impressive results for business managers.

Every year, billions of dollars worth of construction equipment is stolen from locations throughout world. In the United States, the National Crime Insurance Bureau estimated that in 2007 more than $1 billion in construction equipment was stolen each year. According to the 10th Annual Construction Equipment Theft Study, a report that provides valuable information on the ongoing issue of equipment theft, 13,452 pieces of equipment were stolen in 2009, 82 percent of which were never recovered. According to the study, construction theft continued to be driven by organized crime rings, with towables (generators, welders and air compressors) being the number one theft target.

In the United Kingdom, according to the 2009 Equipment Theft Report, published by the National Plant & Equipment Register, the most commonly stolen items in that country in 2008 were trailers (911 thefts), excavators(849), site dumpers (244) and telehandlers (202). The biggest increases in thefts were in agricultural tractors (up 149 percent), quad bikes (up 83 percent), forklift trucks (up 67 percent), and portable generators (up 55 percent).

Some fleet managers pay a premium for satellite tracking to ensure their low-cost equipment is not stolen. The cost of the equipment does not justify the premium alone. But the cost of sending a crew to a remote location only to find out they can’t work because necessary equipment like a generator is gone is what justifies the investment.

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Why Small Businesses Should be Using a GPS Fleet Management System

improve-the-bottom-line-with-gps-fleet-management-systemGPS fleet tracking systems should be used by any and every business involved in field services – even small business with only a few fleet vehicles – and here’s why. Whether you operate a fleet of one or one thousand, the impact of today’s fleet management solutions are universal. It seems now is the prime time to be taking advantage of fleet management solutions — no matter what the size of your fleet. Now, more than ever before, GPS tracking and fleet management solutions are a must-have because without it, you’re leaving money on the table.

When most people think of GPS fleet management, they think of large corporations like FedEx or UPS who operate thousands of trucks across the nation. It’s easy to imagine how using a fleet GPS management system would benefit companies like this. But it’s not as intuitive to realize the huge impact that a GPS fleet management system can have on a business with just a few vehicles. When the GPS fleet tracking industry first began, systems were bulky and very expensive to install and operate, but this certainly isn’t the case today. Over the last few years, fleet management systems have evolved and are much more affordable, reliable and useful than even before. Just as the internet and smartphone technologies have exploded, so have the advancements and capabilities of the telematics industry.

In the past, a small business involved in local field services just couldn’t justify the investment in a GPS fleet management solution. But today this is not the case. The largest growth in the GPS fleet management industry is coming from local service fleets because, for the first time, they are able to experience a significant ROI. Now that GPS fleet tracking and management systems are more affordable than ever before, investing in one makes more sense than ever. First and foremost, a GPS fleet management system improves the bottom line. In light of today’s tough economic climate, small businesses need all the help they can get to increase profits. This is what’s driving the growth in the rapid increase in small business implementation. But in addition to cutting costs, fleet management systems enable better decision making and simply make life easier.

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GPS Fleet Tracking and Your Employee Policy

Companies now have access to a wide range of tools to monitor employee performance and streamline operations. While these tools have proven to significantly improve operations, they occasionally face resistance by employees. GPS fleet tracking technology is one such tool that has the potential to cause an adverse reaction by some employees if not implemented […]

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FieldLogix Ranked in San Diego’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies List

Industry leading fleet GPS tracking and GPS fleet management company, FieldLogix, has been named by the San Diego Business Journal as one of the Fastest Growing Companies in San Diego – again! The San Diego Business Journal will announce the final ranking of each of the top 100 Fastest Growing Companies during an awards ceremony on on Sept 16th, 2010. FieldLogix is a pioneer in providing a green GPS fleet tracking service for fleets throughout the U.S.

The San Diego Business Journal compiles a list of rapidly growing companies annually and ranks them according to revenue growth over a two year period. In 2009, FieldLogix made the 100 Fastest Growing list due to a 60% increase in revenues from 2007 to 2008. Now in 2010, FieldLogix is being recognized again for its strong revenue growth.

FieldLogix was one of the first to offer the FMI integration between GPS fleet tracking and Garmin driver navigation systems. According to a FieldLogix press release in April, FieldLogix’s Fleet Management Interface (FMI) decision to integrate telematics fleet tracking with Garmin International’s (Nasdaq:GRMN) turn-by-turn in-vehicle navigation has yielded an 830% increase in FieldLogix +NAV YTD Sales from 2009 to 2010. FieldLogix provides GPS fleet tracking systems to companies across the U.S.

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GPS Tracking Used to Green Salt Lake City’s Taxi Cabs

A green fleet of taxi cabs is expected to develop in Salt Lake City.A recently proposed Salt Lake City ordinance will make the city’s Taxi Cab fleets lean, clean and “green.” The taxi cabs will be installed with GPS fleet tracking systems and will follow specific airport and evening schedules. The city has been working to improve its taxi cab fleet management issues for more than five years.

The proposed ordinance will be discussed further in September. The ordinance will place all city taxi vehicles under the authority of the Salt Lake City International Airport. “At any one time, we have 50 taxis that we know of, just sitting at the airport, waiting two, three or four hours for a fare,” says Salt Lake City Council Chair J.T. Martin. “We have enough taxis. We just don’t have them in the right place at the right time.”

Installing a fleet GPS management system is expected to enhance the city’s ability to optimize the city’s taxi cab drivers and vehicles. The city plans to develop green, eco-friendly operating and ADA compliant vehicle standards under the new ordinance. The fleet GPS management system will enable dispatchers to send out the nearest vehicle which will improve customer service, reduce fuel costs and vehicle emissions and ultimately put more money in taxi driver’s pockets.

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Fuel Prices in California Reach Highest Level in 2010

Fuel prices in Southern California reached beyond their 2010 peak levels of early May in most zip codes last week, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California’s Weekend Gas Watch. According to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service, the average price of self-serve regular gasoline in San Diego is $3.16, $2.9 cents higher than the week before’s price, $2.6 cents above last month, and 19 cents higher than last year. In the LA and Long Beach area, the price is $3.15 per gallon, which is 2.4 cents above last week, $3.8 cents more than last month, and $10.3 cents higher than last year. On the Central Coast, the average price is $3.22, up $3.5 cents from last week, $4.2 cents higher than a month ago, and $11 cents above last year. In the Inland Empire, the average per gallon price is $3.13, which is $2.5 cents higher than last week, $3.4 cents higher than last month, and 11 cents more than last year.
The average retail price of gasoline in the United States is $2.75 a gallon. Drivers in big cities saw a range of prices at the pump — from an average $2.54 in Houston to $3.20 in San Francisco. In Chicago it cost $2.88 a gallon to fill up, while New York City motorists topped off the tank for $2.73 a gallon. Seattle gas stations averaged $3.10 for regular. Denver drivers paid $2.67 a gallon.
With gas prices this high, it makes sense for fleets to invest in a GPS fleet tracking system. Tracking fleet vehicles can significantly reduce fuel expenses. Lower fleet fuel bills equal higher net profits. For a fleet of 25 vehicles, idling time reduced by only 15 minutes per day can result in fuel savings of 562.5 gallons at a cost of about $1,783 per year at current gas prices. If you reduce idling time by 60 minutes, it would result in a fuel savings of 2,250 gallons at a cost of over $6,000 per year!

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How to Save $1 Million with Better Fleet Management – Part Two

fleet-tracking-lower-costs-increased-efficiencyFleet Cost-Reduction Strategies: Direct Expenses

Use the right vehicle with the right equipment for the job. Feature and model creep are common causes of excess fleet vehicle depreciation. Drivers love four-wheel drive, extended cabs, plush leather seats, V-8 engines, and all kinds of other features. While providing fleet vehicles with those options may be good for morale and can be a good business decision, it will add to the depreciation cost. Trading in older vehicles for more fuel efficient fleet vehicles is also a good decision and this will be discussed further. Also, choosing fleet vehicles without regard to expected resale value can result in higher depreciation. For example, if you convert fleet vehicles from SUVs to sedans and remove some unnecessary amenities you can save up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in fleet expenses.

Negotiate well with vehicle manufacturers. After selecting the right vehicle, acquire it for the best possible price. Vehicle manufacturers compete aggressively for market share and have significantly increased purchase incentives for fleet customers who buy new vehicles. By sourcing with only one manufacturer, your fleet can improve net discounts by approximately 5%, reducing depreciation by up to $225,000 per year.

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10 Reasons Fleets Like GPS Vehicle Tracking Systems

GPS satellite real time fleet truck tracking systemGPS vehicle tracking systems are a worthwhile investment for many fleets. Here’s a few reasons why fleets like using fleet GPS tracking systems:

1. Fleet tracking systems reduce business operating costs and increase fleet safety by targeting poor drivers that speed excessively, resulting in wasted fuel, excessive engine wear, drive up insurance rates and cause accidents.

2. Many fleet managers like using the system’s automatic mileage reminder to reduce downtime and enhances vehicle resale values by encouraging scheduled, preventative maintenance. Vehicle tracking systems can remind you when it’s time to rotate tires, change oil or perform other scheduled maintenance. Conversely, fleet management systems also can tell you if a vehicle is not in need of scheduled service which helps keep maintenance costs under control.

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GPS Vehicle Tracking Popular in Businesses of all Sizes

mobile fleet vehicle driving on the roadGPS vehicle tracking devices are a popular tool for thousands of business owners. Fleets with only one vehicle all the way to original equipment manufacturers like Ford, GM or John Deere are including GPS tracking devices in their vehicles. GPS tracking software is most frequently used by businesses in the service, transportation and manufacturing industries. Companies with fleets of one to to fleets of 10,000, such as FedEx, rely upon their tracking systems to improve their profitability.

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Vehicle Tracking – Fleet Management Tips Every Company Should Know

Vehicle tracking systems should be considered if your company has more than two vehicles. If your company has more than two vehicles, then you have a fleet. The goal of fleet management is to extract maximum value and minimize the cost of maintaining of vehicles. Fleet management is a complex and comprehensive challenge. It involves much more than just knowing where drivers and vehicles are located or routinely checking oil levels in your fleet vehicles. Fleet management includes vehicle procurement, vehicle maintenance, vehicle disposal, vehicle tracking and the management of logistical, operational, functional, regulatory and compliance requirements.

With the assistance of modern technology such as fleet GPS devices or vehicle tracking systems, fleet management has now become much easier and cost effective. Fleet management is an important and often overlooked part of many private organizations. Due to the economy, private fleet operators today are under more pressure than ever to control expenses. Optimizing your fleet’s operations can improve your company’s productivity, reduce costs and have a positive impact on the bottom line.

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GPS Fleet Tracking Improves Fleet Management in Chicago

GPS fleet tracking systems are successfully being utilized in the largest cities in America for good reasons. According to Helen Rane Carbone, Chief Programmer and Analyst for the Chicago’s Department of Transportation “Before we implemented GPS, our fleet managers and dispatchers had virtually no real-time information on the whereabouts or activity of our fleet vehicles. We relied on very basic communication using two-way radios and hand-written reports. This was never able to provide the type and depth of information we needed for real performance monitoring, improvement, and accountability, which is expected of all city departments.”

According to Carbone, “before implementing a vehicle tracking system, simply keeping track of mobile resources from a dispatcher’s perspective – vehicle and driver scheduling, routing, call response, location in the case of emergencies – was a very difficult daily task. Truly measuring fleet and mobile employees’ productivity was practically impossible.”

Cities like Chicago are also using GPS fleet management systems to enhance their efforts to go green. Fleet managers are using real-time vehicle location data to optimize routes and reduce excessive idling in an effort to reduce gas consumption, CO2 pollution and other hazardous greenhouse gas emissions. According to Ms. Carbone, telematics plays a big part in many of Chicago’s environmental initiatives in becoming a true green fleet. “Fleet GPS management systems help with everything from the number and type of vehicles we’re using for a particular task, how they’re being used, and the amount of CO2 emissions they’re producing. Everyone is looking to big cities like Chicago to lead the way in this, and remote fleet management has gone from being a valuable tool to an absolute necessity.”

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Garmin Is The Best Fleet GPS Tracking Interface for Fleet Vehicles

Garmin’s (NYSE:GRMN) fleet management interface provides the best way for fleet managers to improve response times, optimize fleet resources, and ultimately achieve lower costs and higher profits for their companies. Garmin’s fleet management interface makes it easy for dispatchers to send multiple destinations and on-the-go instructions directly to drivers. Fleet drivers are able to use […]

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Fleet GPS Tracking Systems Help Automate IFTA Fuel Tax Calculations

Fleet GPS tracking data combined with tax software can ensure private fleet operators in the US that you aren’t overpaying on your International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) taxes. For most fleet managers, calculating IFTA taxes is a tedious but necessary administrative task. The good news is that this process can be automated if a fleet manager uses GPS tracking/telematics devices in its trucks, along with fuel cards and IFTA tax reporting software (or a tax service professional that uses this kind of software). Then the mileage driven in each state and fuel expenses for each vehicle can be automatically uploaded into the software and the proper IFTA paperwork can be printed out.

Using a GPS Tracking System combined with proper tax software can make this process much more manageable and less labor intensive. If you have a large fleet of over 50 vehicles, then there is a good chance you have an employee whose only job is to handle this paper-intensive task. If you are paying an administrator say $38,000 year to manage this process, investing in a Fleet GPS Tracking System is a no-brainer. While a fleet operator would probably never buy a telematics solution solely to eliminate an administrative position, it can contribute to the ROI offered by fleet telematics solutions.

Since truckers typically operate across state lines they often need to calculate their usage in various locations. GPS position reports are a good way to do this as not only would it report your GPS location but it would also report the exact time for each position report. Ideally, you could automate this process with reporting transmitted in real-time as you go.

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Is Being “Green” a Fad?

We view a lot of new products as fads because they become part of the national conversation today and disappear tomorrow.  Products and services like Facebook, Twitter, and the iPhone will certainly go the way of the Rubik’s cube within 10 years. One topic that has emerged over the past few years is being “green”.  […]

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Top 10 Reasons Fleet Managers should use a GPS Tracking System

GPS fleet management systems are designed with one primary goal: to save business managers time and money. There many benefits to using a fleet GPS management system. Here is a list of the top 10 reasons.

1. Increased Profits and Performance

Access to vehicle efficiency and driver productivity data helps a company manage the costs related to fleet operations. There can be a significant reduction in employee overtime costs and driver down-time; reduced maintenance costs directly affect the bottom line. Plus improved route efficiency and fleet metrics allow for expanding customer base. GPS truck tracking saves approximately $5,484 per employee annually.

2. Improved Fleet Operations

GPS tracking systems enable real-time decision making plus enhanced accountability of drivers and assets. Fleet managers will no longer have to rely on driver log sheets, service forms and truck maintenance records to keep track of fleet vehicle operations. Instant access to vehicle efficiency and driver productivity data can help a company better manage the costs related to fleet operations. GPS vehicle tracking allows companies to add more jobs to each work day. Companies typically see a 25% increase in work orders completed after implementing a GPS tracking device.

3. Reduced Fuel Costs and CO2 Emissions

Poor driving behavior such as speeding and unnecessary idling wastes fuel and can be identified with a GPS fleet tracking system. Fleet vehicles can use up to 800 gallons of fuel per year due to unnecessary idling alone, which costs approximately $2400 per vehicle per year. Every unnecessary mile you eliminate will reduce your carbon footprint and can make your entire fleet more productive and environmentally responsible.

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GPS Fleet Tracking Helps Companies Thrive in Down Economies

gps-fleet-tracking-management-system-lowers-costs-increases-efficiencyFleet managers are constantly trying to figure out ways to increase productivity while cutting costs. The global economic recession combined with rising fuel costs has made fleet management more challenging than ever. With fuel topping $3 a gallon or more in some regions, fleet operators are searching for ways to make their drivers more efficient, while also abiding by strict legal requirements that restrict vehicle idling and hours of service. Considering the current economic times, even a small decrease in costs can mean the difference between a profit or a loss for many fleet operators.
The challenges facing fleet managers are becoming increasingly difficult. A fleet tracking system that lowers operating costs can help many companies to not only survive but thrive in today’s tough economic climate. A fleet tracking system can provide a return on investment in approximately four to nine months, depending on your industry. Modern fleet tracking and management systems are making it possible for managers to reduce fuel consumption and vehicle emissions, while simultaneously improving safety and legal compliance, and optimizing vehicle and driver operations. A GPS tracking system helps dispatchers to route the nearest vehicle to a specific location, navigate the best route, and minimize maintenance costs. Fleet managers can also reduce truck driver overtime and administrative costs by automating fuel costs and tax reporting with electronic truck driver reports.

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UPS Truck Tracking to be used for 22,000 Vehicles

Fleet GPS tracking and telematics devices have been installed in over 11,000 UPS delivery vehicles. The company recently announced plans to install GPS navigation and telematics equipment in another 10,000 trucks. UPS, one of the most recognized brands in the world, is a $49.7 billion global corporation known for its efficiency and speed.

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