Ever wondered if a GPS fleet management system would save you money?

Well now you can easily find out for free and with no obligation. FieldLogix was designed to help you identify where and how you can make fleets operations leaner and greener. FieldLogix offers a free 30 day demo of its fleet tracking system.

The free demo helps fleet managers to see potential cost savings based on actual fleet tracking data. The Trends Feature helps fleet managers to visualize their fleets idle, speeding, and mileage trends, and assists them to make actionable business decisions.

It allows users to drill down and views historical trending graphs of three key metrics.

1.)  Idle Time – The total amount of idling hours for the asset, group, or all, during the specified time range.

2.) Speeding Occurrences – The total number of times the asset, group, or all, traveled in excessive of 65MPH during the specified time range.

3.) Total Mileage – The total miles traveled for the asset, group, or all, during the specified time period.

The FieldLogix GPS fleet tracking device can be shipped to you at no cost and can be installed in one of your vehicles for up to 30 days. You will get to see exactly how the system works and what it is capable of for free. You may be surprised at how much money you could be saving with just a few tweaks in your standard operating procedures.

With FieldLogix+Nav you can send your jobs to a Garmin® GPS navigation device and route your drivers from their current location to each new job. The new Garmin interface also provides you status information on your dispatched jobs and work completed. FieldLogix is the best Garmin integrated fleet tracking system on the market.

FieldLogix+Nav Key Benefits

• Streamline Dispatching by sending new stops and messages directly to an in-vehicle Garmin navigation device.
• Improve Routing by setting up daily routes and sending them directly to the drivers’ navigation units.
• Improve Stop Scheduling by specifying the sequence for the driver’s stops.
• Flexibility for changes allowing you to shuffle, add, or delete stops at anytime during the day.
• Know Driver Status by monitoring driver status as they travel to and from their jobs.
• Two-Way Communications with text messaging.
• Improve Customer Service by ensuring that drivers are arriving to their jobs promptly.
• Use Eco-Route to provide drivers with a tool to monitor their fuel consumption and carbon footprint.
• Increase driver buy-in by making their lives and jobs easier!

Fleet sales are predicted  to be a key part of electric vehicle adoption. According to BusinessWeek, gigantic orders like this could do a lot to push electric vehicle prices down and speed up adoption. “By electrifying our own fleet, we will accelerate the adoption curve, drive scale, and move electric vehicles from anticipation to action,” CEO Jeffrey Immelt said in a company statement.

GM does big business in fleet sales. Corporate fleets make a lot of sense because of their sheer volume. Plus GE fleet sales are quite profitable.

The company has a big incentive to invest in the electric vehicle market.  GE makes the WattStation electric vehicle charger. GE estimates it will reap $500 million in near-term revenues from electric vehicle infrastructure alone. One of the most popular green fleet vehicles is the GE Volt, an electric vehicle that shifts to gas power after going 25 to 50 miles on its battery, so drivers aren’t entirely dependent on the battery.

Despite GE’s participation in the market, electric vehicles still face a long road to adoption. One recent report forecast that electric and hybrid vehicles combined would only account for seven percent of passenger vehicle sales by 2020. There are issues such as serious consumer education barriers, plus lingering issues about battery lifetime and the higher cost of the car.

For fleets that don’t have the money to invest in electric or hybrid vehicles, try FieldLogix – a Green Fleet Tracking & GPS Fleet Management System. FieldLogix reduces operating costs and vehicle emissions which is a win-win for the bottom line and the environment.

Meisel said, “Pacific Gas and Electric Company believes in environmental leadership from an energy, supply chain and green fleet perspective. Greening the fleet makes good business sense – from both an environmental and economic standpoint. Without question, we have a unified front in terms of our commitment to environmental leadership and greening our fleet. Our chairman is actively engaged on issues associated with climate change and we’re supportive of GHG legislation both on the national and international fronts. We’ve also supported California’s Low-Carbon Fuel Standard and state policies that address climate change, petroleum reduction, and emissions reductions.”

When it comes to choosing the right green fleet mix – one size does not fit all. Different fleets require different solutions. Developing a green supply chain program with an embedded green fleet strategy is challenging but “worth it” because of the cost savings and environmental benefits.

Meisel said “We are actively involved in the development, demonstration and application of natural gas and electric-drive technologies. No one fuel or technology is the single answer to our fuel dependency and greenhouse gas issues. Looking at a blended technology portfolio where each application is matched with the appropriate technology that best meets the application needs – especially with the changing technology landscape.”

For PG & E, in terms of blended technology, they are adding hybrid, plug-in hybrid, electric, high-efficiency technology, fuel cell and E-PTOs to their fleet. The entire PG & E company is on board with the efforts to green the fleet – from top level management, to drivers, to fleet management.

PG & E’s Green Fleet

PG & E operates the largest alternative fueled and high efficiency vehicle utility fleet in the nation, with more than 2,600 vehicles. Here is the breakdown of their green fleet vehicles:

• Natural gas (CNG or LNG)      1,100
• Bio-Diesel (B-20)       900
• Electric (on- and off-road)       112
• Hybrid (HEV and PHEV)      490

In addition to converting alternative fuel vehicles, fleets must utilize the right technology. For example, the FieldLogix Green GPS Fleet Management System reduces fleet fuel costs and excess idling time immediately. The “green” fleet management system tracks vehicles in real-time to optimize routes and reduce the amount of gas burned. Plus it calculates your greenhouse gas emissions and can actually predict where your fleet is losing money – whether it’s due to excess idling, poor driving habits, or some other fleet management issue.

About PG & E
•Gas & electric utility
•20,000 employees
•Service area stretches over 70,000 sq. miles
•15 million customers served
•$42.7B in assets as of December 31, 2009, and revenues of approximately $13.4B

Here are some smart, smooth safe driving techniques from FieldLogix Green GPS Fleet Management System that will reduce fuel costs by around 7 – 20%, depending on how you use the system and the size of your fleet.

When most people think about being a green driver, they think about driving a hybrid, which is a great way to drive green. Hybrids cut fuel costs and produce less greenhouse gas emissions. But what if you can’t afford a new hybrid?  Or what if you already have one and are looking for more ways to reduce your carbon footprint?

There are other ways to be a green driver.  Drivers can be more eco-friendly just by changing their driving patterns.

The following driving tips tend to be both high-impact in terms of fuel economy and are easy for all drivers to control:

1)       Pick the most fuel efficient car for the journey.

2)       Minimize idling. Idling for more than 10 seconds uses more gas and emits more pollution than restarting your car. Turn the car off if you’re not moving.

3)       Avoid aggressive driving behaviors. Obey speed limits, accelerate and stop gradually, and anticipate stops.

4)       Maintain the vehicle properly and regularly check tire pressure.

5)       Remove all items you don’t need from the vehicle.

6)       Get good directions or use a GPS system to navigate the best route.

7)       Don’t drive with the windows down at high speeds.

8)       Don’t run the A/C or heat for long periods of time.

A GPS fleet management system is all about environmentally conscious driving. Fleet tracking systems help small business owners save money by using easy to understand fleet tracking reports to optimize fleet efficiency. GPS fleet tracking systems not only help drivers use less fuel and spend less time on the road, but they also reduce the amount of dirty, harmful pollution produced by vehicles.

Vehicle tracking is one of the fastest growing markets for GPS technology. Companies of all sizes are taking advantage of modern GPS devices. If you have more than one company vehicle, you have a fleet – and GPS fleet tracking saves businesses money!

The ability to track vehicles at all times can significantly reduce your business operating costs. To ensure your company is operating at maximum efficiency, necessary costs such as fuel and employee overtime can be closely monitored and verified by a GPS fleet management system. For example, excessive vehicle idling not only uses excess fuel, but it also causes unnecessary vehicle wear and tear, and produces harmful greenhouse gas emissions. By effectively utilizing the data and reports produced by a real-time vehicle fleet tracking system, fuel costs can be drastically reduced by over 20 percent.

1] HOW OFTEN DO YOU NEED DATA UPDATES?

There are two general categories of systems to choose from in terms of data update frequency: “Real-time” or “Passive”. Both have the capability to provide you with vehicle speed data, vehicle stops data, length of stop data and route taken data.

REAL-TIME GPS VEHICLE TRACKING SYSTEMS

A real-time GPS vehicle tracking system system utilizes a wireless network to allow you to receive your information and view the location of your vehicles in real-time. Real-time GPS tracking is often used by companies or individuals who wish to track fleet vehicles. Some features of real-time systems include real-time driver arrival  alerts, speeding alerts and the ability to locate the nearest vehicle to a particular address.

PASSIVE GPS VEHICLE TRACKING SYSTEMS

Passive systems are recommended for companies who do not have a need to review the activities of their fleet in real-time. When a passive unit is installed in a vehicle, the GPS location data is stored in the GPS receiver and downloaded from the vehicle usually once or twice a day. Passive systems can be downloaded manually at the end of the day, or automatically where your data is transferred wirelessly to a computer when the vehicle travels within a certain distance of the system.

2) DECIDE WHAT INFORMATION IS MOST IMPORTANT TO YOUR BUSINESS

MONITOR DRIVER BEHAVIOR AND VEHICLE DATA

Most companies want to know how fast their drivers have been driving at any particular time of the day. Their goal is to prevent unnecessary gas consumption, speeding fines, wear and tear on the vehicle and prevent accidents. Odometer reading is another parameter that can now be accessed remotely. Companies can eliminate manual mileage tracking which can be time consuming and error prone.

MONITOR VEHICLE DIAGNOSTICS

Diagnostic information is beneficial as it allows you to get early warning of a vehicle problem enabling you to repair small problems before they become larger more expensive problems. Having a precise description of the problem ahead of time can streamline the repair process for technicians. Diagnostic monitoring also allows you to reduce vehicle downtime because the vehicle is better maintained.

Some companies offer a type of diagnostic device whereby an employee must remove the device from the vehicle at the end of the day to download the data. Other companies, however, send diagnostic information wirelessly and immediately to a website. Some systems also calculate properties from the information monitored directly from the vehicle’s on-board diagnostic system.

GEOFENCING

A geofence is a defined distance away from the vehicle that the vehicle must travel before it activates an alarm. The alarm can be turning on a siren in the vehicle, sending an e-mail alert to the vehicle owner or sending a Short Message Service (SMS) which is a brief text message by cell phone. Fleets use this feature for different reasons. For example, when their drivers travel beyond the boundaries of their usual work area. Wireless coverage is excellent in most areas of the continental United States and Canada. However, slightly different coverage areas do exist between carriers. Some GPS companies provide store and forward capabilities that store location data in the event a vehicle travels outside of a wireless coverage area and transmit the data once the vehicle roams back into an area with wireless coverage.

EXCHANGE INFORMATION WITH A DRIVER

Some GPS fleet tracking systems allow drivers to send and receive data by using an in vehicle display. For example, when a driver has completed a set of deliveries, he could type in a message which would verify the job was done and there were no issues.

REPORTS

Different fleet tracking systems offer different reports. One of the best fleet tracking system reports is FieldLogix. Here are a few examples of the many reports you can set up and use:

* Alerts Report–active and pending diagnostic trouble code and scheduled maintenance alerts.

* After-Hours Report–allows a fleet manager to see if vehicles are being used after business hours.

* Excess Speed Report–speed violations for any or all vehicles in the fleet.

* Stop Detail Report–stop details for any vehicle in your fleet.

* Idle Time Report–shows how long a vehicle spent idling during a certain time frame.

Fleet Tracking System with GPS Offers Quick ROI

In today’s tough economy, many small businesses are trying to survive the recession and are not too keen on spending their cash. So the question arises of the ROI of GPS Fleet Tracking. Is investing in a Fleet Tracking System with GPS worth it?

The purpose of a fleet tracking system is to increase productivity and cut costs. Because most of the cost-savings results of implementing a fleet tracking system are immediate and long-lasting – it ends up costing a lot less than you may think.  With a GPS enabled fleet tracking system, you can see exactly what is happening when your trucks leave your sight. It’s like being a fly on the wall. For example, you can see exactly how much fuel is being wasted from unnecessary idle time.

A typical truck can waste one gallon of fuel during idling. If you trucks idle for three hours per day during their deliveries, then you driver unknowingly can be wasting over $9.00 a day in fuel. This may not sound like much, but over time it really adds up quickly. In this case, at $9/day and 300 days of operation per year – you could easily be wasting over $2700 per year.

One of the biggest eye opening things about fleet tracking is the change in driver behavior – which has a bigger impact on your expenses than you may realize. Fleet productivity almost always increases once the drivers know that they are being watched, especially when fleet managers offer incentives for consistently burning less fuel and arriving safely and on-time at their stops.

Not only is there an increase in productivity, but overtime costs are quickly eliminated or at least significantly reduced.  A Fleet tracking system with GPS enables fleet operators to keep electronic driver and employee- hours-worked records.  The next time you schedule a driver for a pick-up or delivery, the fleet tracking system can instantly locate the best vehicle and driver for the particular job.

The Best Value in Fleet GPS Systems is Fieldlogix, the ultimate in GPS fleet tracking systems. The FieldLogix GPS fleet management system is easy to use and can immediately cut fleet fuel costs. FieldLogix fleet GPS system has one of the most comprehensive reporting systems available to help you analyze and optimize your fleet and it is a great value. No one else in the market has such a powerful, yet cost-effective solution for tracking fleet vehicles and equipment.

The FieldLogix GPS fleet management system was built to be so user-friendly that users with limited computer skills could master it and produce results quickly. You can stay on top of your fleet’s status by viewing real-time asset location information, along with your driver’s speed, location, and ignition status.  FieldLogix fleet GPS system frees you from digging through fleet tracking reports to determine when employees are violating your policies. You can simply create rules and it e-mails you when they are broken.

Modern fleet management tools and technology are changing the way fleet managers look at vehicle fuel consumption.  Economic conditions, legal regulations, reduced margins and heavy competition have created a high level of urgency for all fleets to consume fuel in the most effective way possible. Regardless of size, every fleet must pay for fuel, and every penny counts.

All fleet owners and fleet managers seek cost-effective ways to optimize fleet fuel consumption. GPS fleet tracking technology can be one of the most cost effective means to optimize fuel consumption. You can immediately reduce fuel consumption  by up to 20% by investing in and utilizing a fleet management system. The best fleet tracking systems, such as FieldLogix, can IMMEDIATELY REDUCE fleet operating costs and provide a positive return on investment (ROI) in less than 6 months.

Bad driving  habits cost money. Fleet GPS tracking systems tell fleet managers  in real-time when their drivers are driving poorly, giving fleets the opportunity to correct the driving behavior and measure the results.  For example, fleet managers can be notified in real-time when drivers are:

• speeding
• late for arrivals and deliveries
• idling for too long
• sitting in traffic
• taking long lunch breaks

Not only that, but a GPS fleet management system can also do more. Imagine customer deliveries are on time, vehicle maintenance records maintained electronically, no more employee overtime, etc. Fleet GPS management systems can bring a lot of value to the table.

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.

1)  If you are going to be tracking a person or a small piece of property, ensure that you look for a small, inconspicuous, easy-to-install tracker.

2) For tracking a personal vehicle, you will want something that will track your vehicle both indoors and outdoors, and one that will run on the car’s battery so you don’t have to worry about replacing a dead battery.

3) If you are concerned with tracking a fleet of vehicles, you will need a tracker that will allow you to customize settings for different vehicles, that provides you with convenient text message and email alerts. Trackers like the FieldLogix GPS Fleet Management boast each of these features plus provides in-depth performance metrics,  identifies problems such as excessive speeding and idling, inaccurate time-sheets, unauthorized vehicle stops and personal vehicle use. Fleet GPS tracking systems should always be integrated with Garmin navigation and Google Maps.

The Best Value in Fleet GPS Vehicle Tracking Systems:

FieldLogix – No one else in the market has such a powerful, yet cost-effective solution for tracking fleet vehicles and equipment.

When managing a fleet of vehicles, knowing the real-time location of all drivers allows management to meet customer needs more efficiently. Whether it is delivery, service or other multi-vehicle enterprises, drivers now only need a mobile phone with an Internet connection to be inexpensively tracked by and dispatched efficiently. Company cars, vans, trucks, buses, and other types of vehicles or equipment can now be installed with GPS tracking systems that capture location data every few seconds and then send it back in a real-time map display. Fleet management systems also provide in-depth performance metrics,  identifies problems such as excessive speeding and idling, inaccurate time-sheets, unauthorized vehicle stops and personal vehicle use.

Real-time GPS vehicle tracking is an essential component of any fleet tracking system. Fleet managers often need up-to-the-minute information to troubleshoot, communicate with people in the field or simply ensure that operations are running smoothly. Vehicle tracking systems involves tracking the location of all fleet vehicles for mapping and reporting purposes. Fleet management systems are commonly used by fleet operators for fleet management functions such as routing, dispatch, on-board information and security.