Gas prices are typically low in January, but not this year. Currently the U.S. average price for a gallon of self-serve regular gas is $3.44, 17 cents more than one month ago, and 35 cents more than one year ago, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.

Despite today’s sky-high gas prices, Ron Dunphy, president of Dunphy’s Extermapest in Palm Springs, California has seen a significant reduction in his fuel costs since implementing FieldLogix last year.

Dunphy said, “Before implementing FieldLogix, when gas prices were much lower, I was spending $3,400 a month on fuel for my 10 vehicles. You won’t believe how much I’m spending now. “

“After installing FieldLogix in my vehicles, I now spend $2,700 per month on fuel, even with higher gas prices!”

**These savings total $700 per month (or $8,400 per year!), which is more than double the amount he spends on the FieldLogix GPS tracking system.**

Dunphy further stated, “I no longer have to turn down jobs because my guys tell me they are too busy when, in fact, they are just sitting at home. By knowing where they actually are, I can determine who can take what service call and bring in more revenue for my business”.

FieldLogix is an advanced, yet affordable GPS fleet tracking system that provides real-time location updates for vehicles and construction equipment. It automatically monitors activities such as excessive engine idling, speeding, and personal use of company vehicles.

It has been described as “GPS on auto-pilot”, because users can create operating policies in the system and they will receive e-mail alerts when operators do not comply with these policies. This includes alerts for afterhours use, excessive speeding, and deviations from a specified operating schedule. In addition, it provides real-time location updates for vehicles and equipment and sends maintenance reminder alerts when they are due for service.

Here are some Fleet Tracking System Features that can help you instantly reduce fuel costs:

Closest vehicle
Allows dispatchers to select the closest vehicle to a specific destination and provide turn-by-turn directions for the routes.
Garmin navigation interface
Dispatchers can immediately send new calls to an in-vehicle navigation device to route drivers from current locations to their new jobs.
Idling report
Displays each time a vehicle has idled in excess of 5 minutes. Report displays total time spent idling during a specified time period.
Mileage report
Displays total miles traveled during a specified time period.
Speeding report
Displays each excessive speeding incident during a specified time period.
History replay
Displays entire route traveled on a map. Allows user to determine if vehicles are taking indirect routes to stops.

Fleet GPS Tracking System For School Buses Keeps Students Safe & Makes School Districts More Efficient

For schools, providing safe transportation is always a top priority. School boards are under pressure to not only provide a safe, reliable transportation service to school children and their parents, but also to run as efficiently as possible in light of today’s budget restraints. A fleet GPS tracking system can make a school bus fleet more profitable, plus it helps to keep children safe.

Hundreds of school districts across the U.S. are using a fleet tracking system to monitor their school buses. Sensitive receivers placed inside the buses get readings from a system of 24 satellites in space, then transmit location data by wireless network so that they can be read from a remote computer.

By capturing readings at regular intervals, usually every few minutes, GPS fleet tracking systems illustrate the bus as it progresses on its route. Multiple vehicles can be viewed over a map simultaneously. This is called active tracking.

Active GPS tracking helps school districts be accountable to parents and taxpayers in the event buses encounter mechanical breakdowns, accidents, weather-related incidents or traffic delays. The fleet tracking system can guide drivers who have gotten lost or need to re-route at the last minute.

The fleet tracking system allows the district to track bus locations on a map in real-time, pinpointing each pick-up and drop-off. Tracking buses is beneficial in analyzing fuel-efficient routes, emergency situations or accidents.

The fleet tracking system can also check the travel history of a bus. This feature can be used to help determine if a bus missed its stop. Additionally, they can relay to parents the location of a bus if needed.

Supervisors can also monitor drivers’ speeds and keep the vehicles on a regular maintenance schedule. If the fleet tracking system detects a driver is speeding, it can automatically send an e-mail alert. Previously, the only way to know would be to do radar checks or rely on complaints.

Fleet Tracking System Helps Winnebago County Stay On Top of the Snow

At the end of 2011, Winnebago County installed a GPS fleet tracking system inside every one of the city’s trucks to wage the war against snow.

Highway fleet managers can now locate where their trucks are in the county, how much salt the drivers are applying and what kind of salt they are using. The new tracking system also shares the air and road temperature from the truck’s location.

A fleet tracking system offers a unique combination of tools to help a city manage their response to snow storms.  The mapping solutions help administrators deploy their snow plow fleets to attack the storm as it happens.  The software gives real-time feedback of the location of each truck and plow and helping identify where they’ve been and where they should go.   The information will help cut down on redundant routes, identify overlap and missed routes.

“The fleet tracking system makes us smarter, it makes us a lot more efficient and it saves money in the long run,” said Ernie Winters, the highway commissioner for Winnebago County, reported Fox 11 News.

City fleet managers aren’t certain about how much money the fleet tracking system will save the city, but managers have already noted marked improvements in their ability to clear snow more efficiently and effectively with far fewer complaints from those in residential areas.

Using a fleet tracking system could reduce overall salt use by up to nine percent, according to a recent study from the UW-Madison Traffic Operations and Safety lab projects.

Winnebago’s highway department leaders say the new software will be a useful tool to analyze their use of salt. However, they say the most important parts of their operation remain the drivers on the road.

“You can’t sit in here and try to run a snowstorm from a computer, you have to rely on that driver outside,” said Demler.

The Department of Transportation says two-thirds of Wisconsin’s county highway departments are installing the new flee tracking system.

For Winnebago County, the art of plowing snow and applying salt hasn’t changed.

“As soon as it starts snowing on the freeway system, we get out there,” said Bill Demler, a superintendent for the Winnebago County Highway Department.

But the way the county monitors its crews and it’s approximate 1,864 miles of road has evolved.

1. Garmin GPS Navigation Interface

Dispatchers can immediately send new calls to an in-vehicle navigation device to route drivers from current locations to their new jobs.

2. Select the Closest Vehicle

Allows dispatchers to select the closest vehicle to a specific destination and provide turn-by-turn directions for the routes.

3. Mileage Report

Displays total miles traveled during a specified time period.

4. Excessive Speeding & Idling: Receive alerts when vehicles exceed a maximum speed limit or idle longer than a pre-determined time. You can use these alerts to ensure that your fuel is not being wasted due to poor driving habits.

5. Non-Working Hours Activity: Receive alerts when units operate during non-work hours. This allows you to monitor personal use of vehicles and provides you with a theft recovery tool.

6. Maintenance Reminder Alerts: Stay on top of your vehicle maintenance needs by receiving alerts when your units are due for service.

FieldLogix is proud to announce that it has been selected by San Diego Metro as One of “The Most Admired Companies in San Diego in 2011.”

FieldLogix,  an industry leader in Green GPS fleet tracking technology, was built with no outside financing and has grown to support thousands of vehicles throughout the US.

Companies using FieldLogix’s GPS-based fleet tracking system experience lower fuel consumption, equating to reduced fuel costs, lower maintenance costs, improved customer response time, lower fleet emissions and reduced insurance costs, plus increased employee productivity and efficiency.

FieldLogix’s fleet tracking system helps companies throughout the US reduce costs and management headaches. It shows companies what their field employees are doing and holds them accountable.

A wireless fleet tracking system can put a spotlight on a driver’s habits that consume excessive fuel and emit unnecessary pollution. The most frequent of these activities include excessive speeding, idling and sudden acceleration and stops. Tracking these types of activities is essential to achieving a fuel-efficient green fleet.

A fleet tracking system can provide an ROI in less than six months and immediately reduce fuel consumption, plus produce ecological benefits.

FieldLogix’s original business plan is part of the coursework for the SDSU graduate business program and is highlighted in graduate level business courses throughout the world (Finland, Hong Kong, etc.).

“This is going to provide a great opportunity for people to see where buses are at any point in time in our system, literally down to the second as they move,” said Sam Veraldi, director of Parking and Transportation Services. “The system offers us a tremendous amount of efficiency by letting us and our passengers know where vehicles are and where they’ll soon be.”

The tracking system gives riders access to real-time bus location information from a computer or mobile device, and apps are available for the iPhone, Android and BlackBerry. Users can also use text messages to locate buses. The tracking system map will also have the capability to post messages, so if an accident slows or alters a bus route, riders will be alerted as the change happens.

GPS tracking systems were installed on all 28 Duke buses, which includes eight new buses that joined the fleet this week. In addition to a tracking capability, buses are being outfitted with automated passenger counters, allowing Parking and Transportation to collect accurate counts of riders coming on and getting off a bus.

Brian Williams, Duke’s transportation demand management coordinator, said the addition of real-time tracking system is valuable for Duke commuters because it makes taking a bus the easiest way to get around campus.

The new tracking system won’t only benefit riders. Parking and Transportation services become more efficient in day-to-day operations, allowing review of arrivals and departures and better gauge the need for potential future route adjustments.

“This takes any uncertainty out of riding a bus,” Williams said. “Being able to track our buses will put time back in the day of students and employees because they won’t have to worry about showing up early or late for a ride when they know exactly where our vehicles are at all times.”

Carlos Contreras, Owner of Sunshine Landscape in Palm Desert, CA, manages 15 employees who had been using paper time-sheets for years, but Carlos had always suspected that the time-sheets weren’t completely accurate.

Carlos said, at that time, managing his mobile workers and equipment was difficult and he “needed a better way to manage it all” so he decided to purchase FieldLogix’s fleet tracking system.

Upon installing FieldLogix’s fleet tracking system, Carlos’ suspicions were immediately confirmed. By using the system’s activity reports, he found that his “honor system” was being abused by his employees.

Carlos was shocked to see how bad his fraudulent overtime was.

By having an accurate way to measure daily work hours, his overtime costs dropped immediately. In fact, his overtime costs dropped by more than 2 hours per man per day with no change in the workload.

Based on Carlos’ calculations, he paid for the entire first year of the system within the first 18 days.

Carlos stated: “Nothing is more troubling than finding out that you have been losing money for years and didn’t even know it. It dropped my labor costs by 35-45 percent. I wish I would have bought a GPS system years ago.”

In fact, a recent study by the Aberdeen Group found that companies who implemented a GPS tracking system see a 13.4 percent average reduction in overtime costs, and small fleets experienced a 23% increase in the total number of service calls completed per day per technician once GPS vehicle tracking was installed in their fleets.

With GPS installed, drivers will get to each job site quickly (which makes customers happy) and complete more jobs per day (which makes you happy). You can even use the information gathered by GPS as a concrete measure of performance to reward exceptional employees.

How Much Time and Money Can a Fleet Tracking Save Your Company?

Exactly how much does wasted time cost you? If you could ride with each of your trucks everyday, how much more productive would your employees become?

Workers that arrive late, leave early, or waste time idling cost you money – and the costs add up quickly.

Carlos said he selected FieldLogix due to its user-friendly interface, affordable hardware, and extensive e-mail alert features that helps him to keep track of his workers throughout the day.

A Garmin fleet tracking system can make your mobile employees and contractors more accountable, productive and efficient.  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.

A Garmin GPS fleet tracking system can reduce your employee labor & overtime costs, improve customer service, and reduce your fuel expenses and vehicle wear and tear.

With a Garmin fleet tracking system, dispatchers can locate and assign the best vehicle and driver nearest to the customer. This improved efficiency often leads to 1-2 additional service calls per day, per technician. $100 to $200 more per day, $500 to $1,000 per week, $2,000 to $4,000 monthly or an incredible $24,000 to $48,000 per year!.

FieldLogix Fleet Tracking System can:

• Dispatch jobs directly to a driver’s Garmin device for quick and easy routing
• Provide real-time (ETA) estimated time of arrival and departure
• Conveniently create and assign tasks from anywhere with its mobile interface
• Provide an automated method to monitor your fleet’s activities with real-time fleet GPS alerts
• Deliver a feature-rich set of fleet reports to review details
• Easily determine which jobs are pending, in progress or completed.

“FieldLogix is the main tool we use for Employee Time Sheet Verification. FieldLogix gives me the exact time when an employee started a vehicle, when he arrived or left a job site, and when the vehicle was shut off. l know exactly how long the employee took at each site and how long they worked during the entire day,” Mrs. Braud said.

Danyelle’s favorite features include:

* Closest Vehicle Feature – She can easily identify and re-route the closest vehicle to a location. “Dispatching drivers is so simple now, and efficient. I have saved thousands of dollars in fuel costs with this feature alone,” said Danyelle.

* Archived Routing Information – FieldLogix offers present-time and archival routing information so she knows where drivers have traveled and where they are heading. By combining location- and time-based information, she can easily track the exact number of hours to charge customers and verify employee hours worked. This helps with accurate billing, payroll, and fewer overtime hours.

* Route Planning – By watching vehicles en route, dispatchers can make sure drivers take the most direct route to any job site. She can re-arrange, add, or delete stops at anytime during the day.

* Two-Way Text Messaging – Danyelle said, “Dispatchers and drivers don’t waste time on phone calls anymore. They simply text routing updates directly to the Garmin navigation unit.”

One afternoon in Southern California a driver for Harbor Pointe HVAC was supposed to be completing his daily sales and service route. Instead, thanks to a GPS tracking system, the driver was caught taking his brand new work truck across the border into Mexico to watch the Baja 1000 off-road races.

The next day when the driver showed up to work, the company-owned vehicle was covered in mud. The driver blamed the mud on construction in his neighborhood.

But Harbor Pointe service manager, Erin Ramsey, “knew better” and “started monitoring the driver’s actions much more closely….What happened next was unbelievable.”

Mrs. Ramsey said: “A few weeks later, while monitoring this same driver’s location, I realized he was stopped at a competing HVAC company’s office while he was still on the clock. I notified my supervisor immediately and we went straight to this location to retrieve the vehicle and find out what was going on. It turns out that the driver was there interviewing for a job with one of our biggest competitors.’

“We were so disappointed with his inappropriate behavior that we took the truck he was using and left him there. Not only did he not get the job he was interviewing for, but he was immediately fired from Harbor Pointe,” Ramsey said.

Harbor Pointe AC, one of the largest HVAC companies in Southern California, has been using FieldLogix since 2003. Erin Ramsey, service manager, said “There is a good reason we have been using FieldLogix for so long. We love their product, their service, and how the system is always being upgraded with new features.”