The primary technologies discussed included telematics, hybrid and electric vehicles, and alternative fuels.

Telematics
Telematics was discussed as a method to retrofit conventional fuel vehicles with technology in order to monitor driver habits. The primary poor driving habits that emit excessive carbons and waste fuel include speeding, idling, hard braking, and unnecessary acceleration. GPS fleet tracking systems have been monitoring these activities for years, but our opinion was that it is also important to emphasize the costs associated with these activities and provide some level of driver training and feedback. By focusing on the costs and emissions associated with idling and speeding, fleet managers are much more motivated to take action to correct these habits. By providing driver training and feedback, drivers are much more aware of their impact on the environment and their employer’s bottom line. The use of telematics is a relatively inexpensive method to reduce fuel consumption and emissions.

Electric vehicles
Electric vehicles were discussed as an option to eliminate fuel consumption. However, there are several challenges associated with electric vehicles. Most of these vehicles require a charge time of 30 minutes to 12 hours. Vehicles that are charged at home, will take 12 hours to charge on a 120 volt electrical supply and 6 hours to charge on a 210 volt system. They can be charged in as quickly as 30 minutes from a power supply that draws power directly from the electrical grid. Even in the San Francisco bay area, which is one of the most environmentally-conscious regions in the world, public electric charging stations are not readily available. Electric vehicles with the longest range can travel up to 40 miles on a single charge. These type of vehicles do not appear to be very practical for many fleets due to the recharge time and driving range. A conventional fuel vehicle will take approximately 5 minutes to re-fuel and can provide the driver with a range of 200 to 300 miles. An electric vehicle will take approximately 6 to 12 hours to re-fuel and will provide the driver with a range of up to 40 miles. The cost of the time required to continuously recharge these vehicles will significantly eclipse any potential fuel savings.

Hybrid vehicles
Hybrids were in use by a local county government that was represented on the panel. Not only had they experienced significant fuel savings, but their vehicles required significantly less maintenance. The only challenge with hybrid vehicles is the 15% to 25% premium that the buyer must pay for these vehicles. Due to the higher upfront costs for the vehicles, the net savings could take several years to realize.

Alternative Fuels
Bio-fuels were discussed as a method to reduce fuel costs. These fuels are typically made from agricultural products such as corn, sugar, and waste by bi-products. Bio-fuels fuels are occasionally subject to shortages and require costly conversions to vehicle fuel systems, and require on-site fueling stations. While significant ongoing fuel savings can be experienced, the users must consider the high upfront costs.

GPS Fleet Tracking System Buyer’s Guide – Equipment Leasing “Tricks” to Avoid

Leasing has always been used as a viable option to assist companies in purchasing a GPS fleet tracking system with a nominal upfront investment. The upside to the customer is that it reduces your out of pocket expense. The upside to the provider is that it reduces a big obstacle to the sale. However, many providers are now using “creative” finance programs that benefit them, but have the potential to harm the customer.

Here are two finance options that you should be weary of:

1. The “bundled” option:
Some GPS fleet management providers are now bundling GPS fleet tracking hardware and airtime into one lease. In this case, the provider is selling your lease to a 3rd party and is receiving an up-front cash payment for the equipment as well as 3 years worth of the services.

They pitch this to you as a simple “one-rate” or “bundled” lease, but this is problematic for several reasons:
a. Since they are essentially “selling” 3 years worth of unprovided services, their incentive to provide good customer service is diminished. They already have the cash, so if you are unhappy, they aren’t as motivated to keep you as a paying customer

b. If you decide to quit the service mid-term due to product issues, you have no way out. The lease is handled by a large 3rd party financing company with an aggressive legal team. They will not let you off of the hook for the remaining payments without a difficult and costly fight.

c. If they go out of business, you still have to pay the finance company for the remaining months of the services, even if they are no longer being provided.

2. The never-ending lease:
Some providers pitch a “free” equipment option, which is really a never-ending lease in disguise. What they try to do is get you on the hook for $45 per month per vehicle as long as you have the service. Therefore, if you have the service for 7 years, you are paying them a premium of nearly $1,300 per vehicle compared to a traditional lease!

The industry standard is a 3 year lease with a $1 buyout. I would personally go this route, because after the 36 month term, I would pay $1 per device and I would own it free and clear. Other options include fair market value (FMV) and 10% buyout options. Fair Market Value is not very popular because it is difficult to place a market value on this equipment after 3 years. The 10% buyout option has similar challenges.

If you have the cash, it is best to just purchase the equipment outright. You will avoid 25% to 30% in built in financing charges and can more easily get out of paying service fees for a product that isn’t meeting your needs or if the provider ceases to exist.  If you have to lease, shop around for the best rate and avoid the “bundled” and never ending lease programs.   Be sure to ask your provider detailed questions about how their leasing program works.

GPS fleet tracking technology is one such tool that has the potential to cause an adverse reaction by some employees if not implemented properly. The primary concern voiced by some employees is the feeling that “big brother” will be watching their every move. This broad statement is typically based on a lack of knowledge of the technology and how it will be used by management.

We decided to research how such tools were implemented by best-in-class companies. We wanted to get a sense of which elements were included in their internal policies to minimize a negative reaction by employees.

In 2002, the U.S. General Accounting Office conducted a study of employee monitoring practices by 14 Fortune 1000 companies in the U.S. While this study was oriented toward computer usage monitoring, the results could possibly apply to other employee monitoring tools such as GPS fleet vehicle tracking technology.

We found that the most important first step in implementation was creating a policy regarding the use of the electronic monitoring system.

Many of the items below were included in the policies of the surveyed companies:

• They provided a notice to all employees notifying them of the company’s electronic monitoring practices.

• They provided a general description of how the electronic monitoring system worked and what data is collected.

• The policies always affirmed the company’s right to review employee use of company assets.

• The policies state that employees have no expectation of privacy while utilizing company assets.

• They described the appropriate use of company assets.

• They described detailed penalties for misuse of company assets.

• They describe the goals & objectives for implementation of the system.

• They included restrictions on the disclosure of personal data to others outside of the company without the employee’s consent.

• They explained that data should be collected and used lawfully and fairly.

• They explained that data is collected for the activities of all employees in a similar capacity to avoid the perception of discrimination.

• They described who has access to the data and what safeguards are in place to ensure that non-authorized people cannot access the data.

• They described the frequency of the data review or whether data will only be reviewed as part of an internal investigation.

• They described which managers can access the data to complete internal investigations.

Other practices by some of the surveyed companies:

• Some created employee groups to participate in the formulation and review of the monitoring policies.

• Some gave employees access to any information collected on their electronic transmissions.

• Some precluded the employers’ review of employee electronic transmissions except when they had a reasonable independent indication of inappropriate use.

• Some gave employees the right to dispute and delete inaccurate data.

Our research gave us interesting insight into the proper implementation of a GPS fleet tracking system. The first and most important step taken by these companies was to create a policy regarding the usage of electronic employee monitoring systems. They then included items within the policy based on their desired levels of transparency, accountability and data security. Each organization is unique, so they included or excluded the necessary items based on their judgment of the proper fit within their companies. Finally, they ensured that the policy was properly communicated to all impacted employees.

Click here to download the PDF version of this article

Sources:

U.S. General Accounting Office; “EMPLOYEE PRIVACY Computer-Use Monitoring Practices and Policies of Selected Companies”; 2002; http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02717.pdf

International Labour Office Geneva; “Protection of Workers’ Personal Data”; 1997; http://www.ilo.org/public/english/protection/condtrav/pdf/wc-code-97.pdf

ACLU; “Privacy in America: Electronic Monitoring”; 12/31/2007;  http://www.aclu.org/technology-and-liberty/privacy-america-electronic-monitoring

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.

Every year the NICB produces a list of the top ten vehicles that are most wanted by thieves. This list has the effect of alerting owners to the dangers of having these vehicles and hopefully, motivating them to do something about it. That “something” should include the purchase of a Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking device.  GPS tracking devices that allow an owner to track in real-time, the location of their vehicle helps in recovery efforts should their car become stolen. And, with possible reductions in insurance premiums for having and installing one, the unit pays for itself over time.

There are dozens of other reasons to have a vehicle tracking device such as FieldLogix installed. But suffice it to say that this reason is at the top of the list.  Being proactive about vehicle theft prevention will help keep you from becoming a victim.  And that is peace of mind we all can use.

https://www.nicb.org//

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.

The Energy Departments’ Energy Information Administration’s weekly update calculated gas prices at a national average of about $2.75 a gallon as well. Drivers in California paid the most, at $3.17 a gallon. Special blends to meet environmental requirements boost the price there. Drivers, near the Gulf Coast who are near refineries pay the least for    a gallon of regular gas – $2.61.

“The latest pump price increases have resulted from higher crude prices, which oil industry analysts say were caused by a weakened dollar and some futures speculation that we could see a supply disruption during hurricane season,” said AAA Automobile Club spokesperson, Jeffrey Spring.“However, crude oil prices have dropped this week in response to bad economic news. It remains to be seen whether gas prices will follow suit.”

With gas prices this high,  it makes sense for fleets to invest in a fleet GPS 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!

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 be a leader in this arena, and fleet GPS tracking has gone from being a valuable tool to an absolute necessity.”

Chicago’s biggest single fleet is managed by the Department of Streets and Sanitation and is responsible for garbage and refuse collection. The Dept. operates one of the city’s largest vehicle fleets with over 1,600 vehicles of all types, and the city’s largest fleet of heavy-duty vehicles. A fleet of 600 city owned and operated waste disposal trucks and 355 recycling trucks work 24/7 to keep each of the city’s neighborhoods clean. Most of the fleet vehicles are responsible for servicing complex daily routes and are operated by several different drivers working round-the-clock in shifts.

The Department of Sanitation began installing refuse trucks with GPS tracking equipment in 2006. The goal was not only to improve dispatcher’s ability to track, monitor and communicate with truck drivers, but to also provide fleet managers with information to:

• determine if vehicles and employees were well suited and sufficient for a certain location
• know how efficient crews were at collecting waste from particular areas
• start establishing productivity benchmarks
• identify and improve areas were collection problems regularly occurred

The fleet management system transmits real-time location data to dispatchers via cell phone mobile networks. The vehicle locator transmits data every minute and whenever the vehicle makes a turn. This gives fleet managers a very accurate picture of how much time a vehicle spends in an area. By comparing this information against historical data for the same routes and/or established benchmarks, fleet managers can track mobile asset productivity and deal with concerns in specific areas. A supervisor can then be notified to investigate and remedy the situation. The fleet tracking system notification alerts and reports quickly point out when and where something isn’t right. Without a GPS fleet tracking system, there would be no way to do this as they only had driver reports to go on. This didn’t work in the past because crews really didn’t have any way of comparing themselves against other crews. Naturally workers are focused on quickly completing their routes and don’t have the time for paperwork.

The city of Chicago is third largest city in America at close to 2.8 million residents. Chicago’s location on the shores of Lake Michigan has historically positioned it as the gateway to the Midwest. The city is one of the most important business and transportation hubs United States.

http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dfm.html

According to the NYC Mayor’s Office report “the city spends approximately $667 million annually on fleet operations — this includes $283 million on maintenance, $120 million for fuel, $14 million for fuel tank compliance, maintenance, and spill remediation, and approximately $250 million for vehicle and equipment procurement. Maintenance expenditures consist of salary, which includes overtime, differential and fringe benefits; overhead – including building maintenance and rent; and vendor expenditures,  including parts and maintenance services. Salary alone represents 70% of the NYC’s expenditures for maintenance.”

Bloomberg’s administration wants to centralize the city’s fleet operations. One of the best ways that the NYC Mayor plans to reduce fleet costs and improve fleet efficiency is by implementing a GPS Fleet Tracking System and Management Software. Implementing a GPS tracking and management system will help the city to cut costs and improve fleet operations simultaneously. The report showed  high quantity of decentralization across the city’s fleet operations which is not very efficient. The city employs more than 1,500 fleet management people that repair vehicles at 126 shops, each with their own set of equipment, staff, and parts inventory. Based on these numbers alone, it is clear that there is room for improvement in the fleet operations department.

The report outlined the following challenges in fleet administration:

• There’s limited attention to customer service and streamlined processing
• Fleet Management utilizes inconsistent performance metrics to track operations
• There is limited transparency and accountability for the fleet operational costs
• Redundant and decentralized resources exist across all 9 fleet management agencies (e.g. fueling, maintenance, and technology)
• Fleet vehicles are not optimally right-sized
• Citywide standard operating procedures for maintenance parts management and fueling are either unclear or non-existent
• NYC  maintains outdated systems for vehicle tracking

In order to improve the fleet management operations and cut costs by $71 million, the following changes were recommended:

• Agency maintenance shops will be consolidated; outsourcing of fleet parts management will be considered
• Outside maintenance service contracts with commercial repair shops will be considered may be required to ensure success of the maintenance consolidation process
• Standard performance metrics for fleet maintenance and fueling operations will be created. The city will manage a city wide database to improve accountability and transparency of fleet operations. This will help agency managers easily identify trends in their agency’s vehicle use, reduce downtime, decrease the number of fleet vehicles, reduce fuel use, and avoid expensive breakdowns by providing preventative maintenance on a regular and consistent basis.
• Fueling operations will be consolidated and some fueling stations will be totally eliminated
• The use of more car-share programs will be considered
• A Committee for Fleet Management will be responsible for creating and implementing the city’s fleet policies and standard operating procedures
• The city will consider privatizing the auto auction process and online purchasing services from reputable auto retailers in order to leverage nationwide buying power

One topic that has emerged over the past few years is being “green”.  I have personally seen many products advertised as “green”, which is a stretch for some of these products.  However, they put “green” sticker on the package anyway as an incentive for us to buy it because of our altruistic nature.  Ironically, even British Petroleum was promoting itself as a “green” oil producer prior to the Golf oil spill.  As with most fads, it will become overused and the public will eventually become bored with it.

In my opinion, being “green” is a fad.  However, fads are often sudden “high impact” events or topics that bring a certain issue to the forefront of the national conversation.   The fad itself may not live on, but it will generate a trend that will continue to persist for many years.  The term “green” may go away, but environmentally friendly products and services are here to stay.

The benefits of being “green” include reducing our carbon footprint and saving money.  Being “green” will thrive in the future due to the need to repair the damage that we have caused to the environment and its financial benefits.

Fleet vehicles are among the top contributors of carbon emissions.  Statistics from the EPA and other sources say that they contribute up to 30% of the carbon dioxide sent into Earth’s atmosphere every day.  They also state that an idling fleet vehicle emits 12 pounds of carbon dioxide for each hour that it idles.  Smart fleet operators will take steps to control excessive idling and speeding.   These two activities are the most frequent wasteful activities found within fleets and consume the most fuel and emit unnecessary carbon emissions into earth’s atmosphere.

Various technologies exist to help fleets curb excessive idling and speeding.  We provide a GPS fleet management solution that monitors these activities through reports and alerts.    A wise fleet manager would evaluate all of his or her options in order to control fleet idling and speeding in order to reduce carbon emissions and fuel costs.

Being “green” is today’s fad that is forcing us to think about how we are impacting our environment.  It will become a long-term trend that will change the way we treat the environment and operate our businesses.

The first was a Presidential Memorandum signed by President Obama in May that directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to create fuel efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks while decreasing their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The second piece of legislation, the American Public Power Act, was introduced in May by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) to combat climate change. The Public Power Act covered several important issues that will directly affect fleet managers.

One way fleet managers can keep abreast of legislative changes and their impact is to join the NAFA Fleet Management Association.  NAFA encourages fleet managers to communicate regularly with lawmakers and regulators to assure that fleet concerns are considered when laws and regulations are being considered.

According to their website, NAFA is the world’s premier non-profit association for the diverse vehicle fleet management profession – regardless of organizational type, geographic location or fleet composition. NAFA’s legislative team keeps fleet managers informed about issues that directly affect their fleets. This is one of the most valuable and most important benefits of NAFA membership.

During the first two quarters of 2010, NAFA’s legislative team provided informative updates via newsletters, spoke directly to the members at NAFA’s Expo Conference 2010, and began offering insightful webinars. Coverage of legal issues will be further be enhanced in 3^rd quarter of 2010 with the debut of two new newsletters that will include in-depth analysis of laws and pending regulations affecting fleet operations. One will be for corporate fleet managers and one will be for public service fleet managers.

About NAFA

NAFA is the world’s premier non-profit association for professionals who manage fleets of sedans, public safety vehicles, trucks, and buses of all types and sizes, and a wide range of military and off-road equipment for organizations across the globe. NAFA’s Full and Associate Members are responsible for the specification, acquisition, maintenance and repair, fueling, risk management, and remarketing of more than 3.5 million vehicles including in excess of 1.1 million trucks of which350 thousand are medium- and heavy-duty trucks.

For more information visit http://www.nafa.org

Despite the sluggish economy, fleet managers are still interested in reducing the environmental impact of their fleet vehicles.  Seventy-five percent of survey participants claimed they had discussed the environmental impact of their fleets in the last year,  compared to seventy-four percent last year. Many fleets are focusing on improving driving behavior as a crucial way to reduce emissions. Seventy-four percent of fleet managers said they are including their drivers in the decision to set and reach environmental goals in an effort to increase driver awareness and buy-in.

Costs remain a significant concern for fleet managers, although twenty-nine percent of respondents reported finding cost savings as they reduced emissions. This is a slight increase from twenty-five percent in 2009.  Forty-two percent of fleet managers reported that cost was a barrier to greening their fleet, down from forty-six percent in 2008.  Both public and private sector fleet managers took part in the survey, conducted by PHH Arval in 2010.