This year Maryland’s Court of Special Appeals, ruled that law enforcement cannot use a tracking device on a cell phone without a warrant. The court reasoned that the fourth amendment is the protection of an individual’s privacy and therefore, should not be subject to law enforcement tracking cell phones without a warrant. Nathan Freed Wessler, […]
A mom knew where and what was happening to her 15-year-old daughter when she was kidnapped. Her daughter was walking in their neighborhood and was suddenly threatened by a stranger to get in the car or face injury, a GPS tracking device saved her life. Right away the mom received an alert via email and SMS […]
At approximately 1 AM on June 25, 2012, Corpus Christi, Texas, police received a call. Someone stole an iPhone. The theft occurred when the victim was unloading groceries from his Jeep Liberty. When he returned to his vehicle, he saw the perpetrator speeding off on the victim’s $1,200 mountain bike. The pursuit started. During the […]
A 20-year-old college student in California recently found a GPS vehicle tracking device belonging to the FBI that had been secretly attached to his car. The FBI even showed up to his apartment a few days later and took the GPS tracking device back!
The student, Yasir Afifi, had taken his car in for a routine oil change when he and the oil change technician noticed wires hanging from a black box underneath his car. Neither one of the men knew what the device exactly was, so they immediately removed it from the vehicle.
Shortly after, not knowing exactly what the black box was or who had put it there, a friend of Afifi’s posted images of the GPS tracking device online. Next thing you know, about 48 hours later, 6 FBI agents showed up at Afifi’s apartment in Santa Clara, California, demanding that he immediately returned the GPS vehicle tracking device. The GPS tracking device was identified as a police-issue-only Cobham Orion Guardian ST82 vehicle tracking system.
When Interwest Construction Inc. wanted to catch the thieves that had stolen one of their trucks before they stripped it, they activated the fleet vehicle’s GPS tracking system and the chase was on. FieldLogix, an industry leading GPS vehicle tracking device and green fleet management system, was successfully utilized to recover the missing fleet vehicle in just a few hours.
According to Kristal Wagner of Interwest Construction, Inc., “We had a truck stolen on Monday during the night. Tuesday morning, when the foreman was panicking & calling the sheriff, I used the the real-time GPS tracking device to pull up the vehicle’s exact location and gave the Sheriff the information. We recovered the truck within a couple of hours. Some small items that weren’t valuable were stolen from the truck, but the vehicle was not harmed at all!”
GPS fleet tracking systems are recommended to all drivers by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) to prevent motor vehicle theft. According to NICB, a car is stolen every 26 seconds in America. Nearly half of these are never recovered, and are commonly scrapped for parts or smuggled to another country. NICB’s vehicle protection approach recommends four layers of security based on the risk factors pertaining to a specific vehicle. Vehicle Tracking Systems are one such layer, and are described by the NICB as “very effective” in helping police recover stolen vehicles. Vehicle GPS tracking systems are an important and integrated part of the “layered approach” to protecting fleet vehicles.
Real-time fleet tracking helps HVAC, plumbing and electrical service companies manage overall mobile worker performance, reduce expenses and increase customer satisfaction. Whether you manage a fleet of 5 vans or hundreds of fleet vehicles, GPS fleet tracking solutions can improve your bottom line. If your residential or commercial HVAC company doesn’t have a GPS tracking device, then you may be missing a valuable opportunity.
HVAC Challenges & Controlling Operating Expenses with GPS Tracking:
Lack of accountability for drivers – Having a widespread fleet makes tracking worker location and activity. GPS fleet tracking can make your mobile employees and contractors more accountable. Improving employee performance will not only make your customers more happy but it will make your drivers safe and at less risk of an accident.
High Cost of Fleet Vehicle Maintenance and Insurance – Managing a large group of fleet vehicles has high operational costs for most HVAC and building service contractors. Many HVAC managers have trouble keeping up with vehicle maintenance logs because they have to wait for drivers to manually submit their mileage records. But with a vehicle tracking system, electronic driving records are available 24/7 with just a click of the mouse. A modern GPS fleet management system can also help you to get better resale values when it’s time to sell or trade-in vehicles. Also, installing a fleet tracking device can instantly reduce your company’s insurance premiums and will help to immediately improve your ROI.
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.
Fleet 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.
