Incisive Business Guide to Vehicle Tracking

Transcription

1 Incisive Business Guide to Vehicle Tracking Vehicle Tracking Guide Summary This guide from Incisive Business outlines the features and benefits for your business from managing your company vehicles using vehicle tracking. A vehicle tracking system gives your business the ability to track your vehicles location in real time predominately using GPS tracking. You can use vehicle tracking to help with deliveries, the planning of your sales team, the schedules of your engineers. Vehicle tracking will make your vehicles and their users more efficient, reducing cost and increasing productivity. Why would my business benefits from using Vehicle Tracking? Vehicle Tracking can help reduce vehicle running costs by helping reduce fuel costs and making journeys more efficient You can keep track of and manage your vehicle servicing requirements Insurance companies will often offer reduced fleet insurance when you use vehicle tracking With vehicle tracking you can start to manage driver productivity, keeping an eye on unscheduled stops and long breaks You can keep your customers informed with regards to delivery times because you know where your vehicles are if they have vehicle tracking You no longer have to call your drivers to find out where they are you know You can train new drivers and maximise productivity by using information from your best performing drivers With vehicle tracking all your driver information is available in one place so you are always aware of what s happening to your fleet What is vehicle tracking? Basically a vehicle tracking system is a small electronic device installed in you car, commercial vehicle, HGV or plant equipment, which gives you or a tracking company, the ability to track the vehicle's location. Vehicle tracking systems generally use Global Positioning System (GPS) to locate the vehicle although there s also a Radio Frequency (RF) product available on the market too. Whether you use GPS Vehicle Tracking or RF Vehicle Tracking will depend on what you want from your system. If you re a fleet manager you should opt for the GPS service, also known as Satellite Tracking. GPS tracking products can track multiple vehicles at the same time and transmit the information directly to your computer in real time. It can tell you where the vehicle is, how fast it is travelling as well as Page 1 of 5

2 whether the driver is revving the engine too much or how hard they are breaking etc; giving you the ability to work with the drivers to help modify driving techniques, to save on fuel consumption and wear and tear. With a GPS system it is important to remember that the vehicles are monitored by satellites circling the earth and they rely on line of sight, which means they have to be able to see the vehicle in order to track it. If the vehicle goes into a garage, tunnel or building the vehicle tracking system will not be able to let you know what the vehicle is doing. This is can also apply when vehicles are in a major built up area where the signal may be intermittent. To resolve these issues some vehicle tracking systems have both an active and passive tracking. For companies with one or two vehicles, or where you don t need to know the exact movement of the vehicles, or where you are simply concerned about the vehicles being stolen, an RF vehicle tracking system would be more appropriate. In an RF vehicle tracking systems, often referred to as a Vehicle Locator Unit (VLU), a small radio transceiver is installed in the vehicle. This remains inactive until it is reported that the vehicle is stolen or until the vehicle needs to be located. When this happens a signal is sent out to activate the VLU, this in turn sends out signals to local receivers which, depending on the type of VLU, will estimate from a few miles to a few hundred feet, the location of the vehicle. Vehicle location is shown on a computerised map which means relevant people (the police etc) can be directed to the position. With the aid of a mobile tracking device the exact location can be pinpoint even if the vehicles hidden in a garage. I have heard the expressions active and passive tracking, what s the difference? There are several types of Vehicle Tracking systems but they are usually categorised as either active or passive. Active Tracking Active tracking collects GPS location, vehicle speed, and direction as well as monitor events such as the turning on and off of the engine, the opening and closing of doors etc. This information is transmitted, in real-time, via cellular or satellite networks to a computer or data centre for evaluation. Passive Tracking Passive tracking devices will store the same information as the active tracking system. When the vehicle returns to base the device can either be taken out of the vehicle where you can transfer the data to your computer or some passive tracking systems can wirelessly transfer this data for evaluation. There are vehicle tracking devices which will combine both active and passive tracking capabilities. This is useful because if the cellular network is not available the active tracking system will switch to passive mode and the Page 2 of 5

3 system will store the relevant data, then automatically download the information when the network is available again. Why should I use vehicle tracking? For Fleet Management: If you are a fleet manager, vehicle tracking systems are invaluable in assisting you with planning your routes, working out dispatch and delivery timings. However it s not all about fleet management and there are may other uses for vehicle tracking. For sales teams: If you run a team of field salespeople you may receive a call from a new prospect requesting a visit. You can check who is on the road and near to the prospect. If the salesperson is not familiar with the area you can provide them with directions. This improves productivity, reducing the amount of time spent driving and increasing the time spent with customers. For secure deliveries: If you transport valuable items it can be important to closely monitor the progress of the journey so you re sure they re not being diverted or subjected to unauthorized stops. This is important from a safety point of view and for insurance purposes as you can show all relevant precautions have been taken. For haulage companies: You may run haulage or logistics company that has a large number of trailers. Using vehicle tracking will allow you to know when vehicles reach their relevant destination and at what time. Where you receive a late request for delivery or pick-up, knowing vehicle location would allow you to divert a driver to get the job done. Field Service Engineers: If you run a field service management company, perhaps a fleet of repair or maintenance engineers, you could use the vehicle tracking service to plan schedules and customer visits. Where your company receives a late request from a customer who requires assistance you can check the system to see which or your engineers is the closest. Monitoring and protecting your driver Vehicle tracking can study driver behaviour showing how efficiently the vehicle is being driven and this information can then be used in driver training to improve driver activity. Additionally tracking systems can have driver safety features. Some vehicle tracking systems have driver security features in place such as a panic button; once it s pressed the system will trigger a phone call or text message to let you know there s a problem. The system will also notify you if the vehicle is moved without authorisation and it could notify the emergency services and tell them the location of the vehicle. Page 3 of 5

4 Even if you are not a fleet manager and simply have one or two vehicles then vehicle tracking can still be beneficial, as an addition to the standard car alarm. Insurance companies will offer you reduced premiums because of the added protection. What other benefits are there? You have a much greater control over the use of the vehicles. With some systems you can set up what s called a Geo-fence, which is a designated area for a vehicle. Should the driver go outside of the selected area the system will red flag the infringement. Then you can contact the driver to ascertain why they are out of area. Vehicle tracking can help with overtime claims. With vehicle tracking you are clear as to who has done what, where and when, which means less claims being made from drivers who may inadvertently include non-working time on their timesheets. Of course you may permit your employees to use their company vehicle for personal use. A vehicle tracking system in the vehicle will ensure that the employee doesn t abuse your personal use policy. This will help with the general condition and maintenance costs of the vehicle. Where one of your vehicles is involved in an accident, a vehicle tracking system can show how your vehicle was being driven at the time of the accident including speed, direction, and position; potentially protecting you and your company from any prosecution under the Duty of Care Act. Finally if one of your vehicles gets a parking ticket you can prove exactly who was driving, where the vehicle was parked and for how long which can help save on inappropriate parking fines. Overall the correct use of a vehicle tracking system can greatly improve your business across all areas. Your customers will be happier because of the more efficient and reliable service. You will be able to keep them informed with estimated times of arrival. Your sales team will benefit from the navigational help as well as the greater security for both themselves and the contents of their vehicle. Sales managers can use geo-fencing to allocate boundaries for individual salespeople. Your commercial director can review the reports produced by the vehicle tracking system and your human resources director will benefit because they can monitor the risk element to the drivers of tiredness and identify poor driving habits which are important for the duty of care procedures they must follow. Your fleet manager will see an increased productivity. They ll have instant access to fleet information and consequently a more efficient fleet with fast response times. Page 4 of 5

5 Owners and finance directors will see savings from the production of data about vehicle usage, fuel consumption, timekeeping, overtime costs and insurance premiums. What information do I need from a vehicle tracking company to make a decision? Before buying a Vehicle Tracking system you should consider exactly what you want it for and whether or not you need real time information. Once you understand your needs you need to find a supplier who provides a relevant solution. Some questions to ask your prospective vehicle tracking company: What is the coverage of their vehicle tracking system? Does it cover the whole country? Are there any particular black spots and if so where? If there are black spots will the tracking system retain any data and if so for how long? If your vehicles are likely to go abroad, would the system still track and if so what would be there be additional costs? Who would be responsible for the technical support? What type of service level agreement do they offer, should something happen to the company you obtain the service from? These questions are important because most providers rent or lease their products and may be resellers. What are the terms of the contract? They can range from one to five years and as technology moves on at a rapid rate check to see if the product you are interested in has some kind of future proof. Can be updated with any new changes during the term? Are there any additional costs that may not be apparent in the monthly fees, such as installation costs, software licence renewal or update fees? Are there additional fees for GPRS data transfer? Are there any potential callout fees for repairs or when you want to switch the hardware from one vehicle to another? What customer testimonials can they provide? Can you talk to any of their customers? Make sure that the vehicle tracking representative covers all eventualities and to provides answers in writing when they give you your quotation. Once you have all the relevant information and costs, you should be in a position to make an informed decision based on all the facts. Page 5 of 5