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Network Fleet, a leading GPS fleet tracking system, recently published a paper titled, “Don’t Sit Idle While Fuel Costs Rise,” that shows how fleets can use GPS fleet tracking and engine diagnostics to lower fuel costs by as much as 20%.
The Network Fleet paper offers specific actions managers can take to analyze fleet operations and reduce costs. Fleets that begin using a GPS fleet tracking system report a quick, positive ROI primarily due to significant savings in fuel and other operating costs.
The paper uses several different fleets as an example, such as the Eastern Municipal Water District of Riverside, CA. Using the Network Fleet GPS fleet tracking system, the water district managed to reduce fuel costs by $79,000 in the first six months.
One of the UK’s largest providers of port-a-potties, Toilets+, recently installed a GPS-based fleet tracking system in all 32 of the company’s vehicles. The real-time fleet tracking system is saving Toilets+ as much as £400 ($650 USD) per month in fuel costs, cutting engine-idling times throughout its entire fleet.
According to Toilets+ managing director, Mick Bowman, “Through the fleet tracking system, we discovered some staff were reaching a site and leaving their vehicle’s engine running, often for very long periods. Now drivers are required to switch off and remove the ignition key on arrival….We also use the fleet tracking service to check drivers’ start and finish times to aid the monthly payroll.”
Fleet tracking system sales appear to be increasing this year, mostly due to this year’s recent surges in gas prices. When gas prices top $4 per gallon, companies start looking for ways to save money. Managers start paying attention to how their employees are driving, and for ways to increase operating efficiencies.
Small changes can have a big impact on a large scale, and the cost savings can really start add up. Many are surprised to find out that a fleet tracking system can help them to see immediate results and cut costs across the board. In today’s challenging economic climate, profit margins are slim and companies must implement as many cost-saving initiatives as possible.
In order to remain competitive, companies have to look very closely at every penny spent. Because a fleet tracking system can provide an ROI in less than six months and immediately reduce fuel consumption, plus produce ecological benefits, companies both large and small are utilizing them to create profitable, sustainable fleets.
For many businesses, this year’s increases in gas prices are taking its toll on profitability. Corporate giants such as Walmart all the way down to family owned flower shops are dealing with the consequences of $4 a gallon gasoline.
Today’s high gas prices are also especially hard for those who rely on commercial vehicles as a large part of their business. For these companies, even a small increase in gas costs can be detrimental. Many are absorbing the costs and carrying on business as usual, hoping that the reports saying gas prices will drop again this summer are true. Other companies have been forced to raise prices.
Companies that rely on house calls or deliveries have been affected more than most. Pizza delivery, flower delivery, plumbers, HVAC – anything you can think of that has to be there in person to complete a transaction.
Recent increases in gas prices over the past 6 – 12 months are taking its toll on the fleet management industry. According to a recent survey conducted by GE Capital Fleet Services, 29% of respondents said the recent surge in fuel prices is their number one concern, up 12 percent from one year ago. The other two major concerns for fleet management was driver safety and cost savings.
Concern for driver safety increased in 2011 to 28 percent from 21 percent in 2010, while cost savings fell as a priority but remained important at 23 percent, down from 36 percent in 2010. cost savings are now a bigger focus for executive management according to fleet managers. Sixty-four percent of those surveyed indicated that executive management’s main focus for fleets is cost savings, up from 48 percent in 2010.
Teletrac, an industry leading fleet tracking system, recently announced that it has been selected by Isuzu Commercial Truck of America, Inc., distributor of America’s best-selling low-cab-forward trucks, for its 2011 and 2012 model year N-Series customers.
“Safety is no longer just a cost center and compliance issue,” said Teletrac executive vice president, Drew Hamilton. “For many fleets, it’s now a strategic business priority to help trim costs and boost efficiency. For this reason, Teletrac captures the industry’s widest range of safety-related vehicle and driver data, making this information more useful and actionable in real time — to help fleet managers increase bottom-line safety performance, and improve fleet operations overall, ” said Hamilton.
Teletrack’s fleet tracking system is called Fleet Director. Fleet Director locates, tracks and monitors the position and operation of fleet vehicles. This gives fleet management greater visibility into operations to deliver cost saving efficiencies such as lower fuel consumption, real-time tracking of vehicles from the desktop, automatic route guidance, and detailed reporting for advanced decision support and efficient regulatory compliance.
FieldLogix, an industry leading GPS fleet tracking system, recently launched an online Fuel Efficiency Driver Training Program. Training that targets fuel efficiency can help drivers recognize and change driving habits that waste fuel. Even highly experienced truck drivers can boost their skills and enhance driving performance through fuel efficiency driver training programs.
A few simple changes in driving techniques can produce sizable fuel savings of 5 percent or more, according to the EPA. Fleets that improve fuel economy by at least 5 percent through driver training and monitoring programs can save more than $1,200 per truck each year in fuel costs and eliminate 8 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per truck each year.
The Fleet Management Department in Santa Ana, CA recently announced plans to create and operate an environmentally responsible fleet, focusing primarily on alternative fuel and fuel efficiency. The City’s Green Fleet will be powered by 75 to 80 percent renewable and sustainable energy within the next five years. There are also plans to reduce the size of the fleet 10-15% over the next 1-2 years.
Santa Ana Fleet Management operates more than 900 vehicles, from fire trucks and police cruisers to riding lawn mowers. Over the past few years, Fleet Managers have added several natural-gas, hybrid and electric vehicles to its fleet, and brought in five hydrogen vehicles and fueling stations. Currently, five percent of the City’s 900 vehicles operate on alternative fuels.
Many people are aware that a GPS fleet tracking system can help companies save money on fuel, increase productivity and improve the bottom line. Some fleet tracking systems even help companies go green by reducing vehicle emissions. But a recent story proves that fleet GPS systems can also provide a myriad of other benefits – including saving a father’s life.
A woman in Louisiana, Joyce Rawls, was concerned about her father because his mental facilities were deteriorating due to Alzheimer’s disease. Anyone who has seen someone they love suffer from Alzheimer’s knows how painful and difficult this must be. The woman decided to purchase a GPS fleet tracking system and had it installed in her father’s vehicle in 2008. Turns out this decision may have saved her father’s life.
The fleet tracking device was installed in her father’s truck for two years before they needed to use it to find him. Then, in April of 2010, her father left the house and either forgot where he was going or forgot how to get back home.
According to a recent press release from TrackNet, the woman said, “My mom called and said that he had not made it back home,” Ms. Rawls reports. “I immediately knew something was wrong and pulled him up on the computer, with our tracking system.” She found her father’s truck in Shreveport, LA, over 30 miles south of his home in Plain Dealing, La. Ms. Rawls immediately called the police in Shreveport, La. and they were curious as to how she knew her father was there. “When I told the police about the tracking unit in my father’s truck and that he has Alzheimer’s, they were very impressed and said it was a smart idea.”
Well known soccer star Jaba Mahlangu aka “Pule” was busted this weekend in a stolen car. After the vehicle was reported stolen,vehicle tracking company Netstar was immediately notified. The NetStar vehicle tracking system was able to help police find and recover the stolen vehicle. The suspects apparently had no idea the car was equipped with a GPS tracking system.
The stolen vehicle was not easy for police to recover. The driver of the vehicle was trying to lose the police and drove at very high speeds in an attempt to get away. Using the GPS signal from the vehicle tracking system along with the help of an overhead flight squad, law enforcement finally was able to catch the driver and recover the stolen car.
LightSquared, the hybrid cellular/satellite wireless option that some believe could be a fourth generation mobile outlet for the cable industry, is running tests that may effect GPS system signals in the Las Vegas area. The tests are being conducted in cooperation with the GPS industry and multiple federal agencies this week throughout June in Las Vegas suburb Boulder City.
LightSquared is testing to see whether its service network interferes with GPS system signals. The Las Vegas Sun reports that a test will run after midnight for several hours for 10 days, and it appears to be the first lengthy real-world test to determine whether the operator’s network interferes with GPS systems.
Government agencies have warned law enforcement, pilots, and several other groups that LightSquared’s tests could possibly knock out GPS systems in the Las Vegas area. Late last week, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an alert to pilots that “the GPS signal may be unreliable or unavailable” within a nearly 300-mile radius of Boulder City, where the test transmitter will be located.
For the thousands of drivers getting ready to hit the road for the upcoming Memorial weekend holiday, there is finally good news about gas prices. The current average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gas in the US is currently $3.85, eleven cents less than one week ago. Prices are only one cent higher than they were averaging a month ago, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.
Diesel fuel prices are also on the decline. Diesel fuel is currently averaging $4.06 a gallon, seven cents less than one month ago. The decrease in diesel fuel prices effects the whole economy because prices of items people consume everyday from food to toilet paper are affected by gas prices.