November 1, 2010 – 9:59 am
recently had the pleasure of participating in a panel discussion at Agrion’s Green Fleet Conference in Silicon Valley. The purpose of the conference was to discuss the technologies currently in use to reduce conventional fuel consumption. The key take away from the conference was that each fleet must consider its own unique circumstances before determining the best method to green its fleet. Not all solutions will work for everyone, and each have their own advantages and disadvantages. The fleet should take a long-term perspective when evaluating its options and potential cost savings.
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.
October 20, 2010 – 7:52 am
GPS fleet tracking systems were installed last year in 300 school buses in St. Paul, MN. At first, drivers were not overly enthusiastic about the installation of the GPS fleet tracking devices. Until the drivers realized just how useful they could be. Not only have the GPS tracking devices help resolve heated disputes between parents and drivers, but in some cases, the GPS tracking devices have saved bus drivers from losing their jobs.
On a typical day, the public school system in St. Paul is responsible for transporting an average of 38,000 students. The school’s transportation department often receive dozens of calls a day from parents complaining that the bus never picked up their child. Until recently, before the
GPS systems were installed, it was the school bus driver’s word against the parent’s. That has all changed since the school district installed a GPS fleet tracking system in every one of the school district’s 300 buses.
October 15, 2010 – 11:43 am
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.
October 8, 2010 – 2:58 am
GPS Fleet Tracking System and Green Fleet Management System, FieldLogix, can help fleet managers to reduce fuel consumption and increase operating efficiency right away. Most clients start seeing positive results from using the GPS fleet management system within 30 days. Because of this reason, FieldLogix offers a trial program so fleet managers can try out the fleet management system for for nominal fees and no obligation.
At first Keil Southworth of Albertina Kerr Centers was unsure whether the FieldLogix GPS fleet tracking and management system would really help him to cut costs. So he decided to start with a few trial units to evaluate the product. He quickly realized how valuable and useful the system would be for his fleet. Once the trial period was over, Mr. Southworth purchased 88 FieldLogix GPS fleet management devices for his entire fleet.
According to Keil Southworth of Albertina Kerr Centers, “Our fuel usage dropped by 1,100 gallons the first two weeks after installing the FieldLogix GPS units. The following two weeks our usage went back up 400 gallons but still was 700 gallons under our average.”
September 1, 2010 – 3:28 am
GPS fleet tracking systems can increase the profitability and productivity of any company, especially those with mobile employees or vehicles. How would you like to increase your small business’ bottom line by over 7 percent while improving service and tightening your performance? Whether you have a fleet of one or one thousand, GPS fleet tracking devices are a rock solid investment. GPS fleet tracking requires only a small initial outlay that will increase the productivity of your business in a huge way. Real-time GPS systems using industry leading telematics technology can save businesses thousands of dollars per yer per vehicle. GPS fleet tracking lets you become the master controller, with dynamic updates on where your investment is going at any time.
GPS fleet tracking systems can increase profitability by:
- Reducing Operating Costs – By monitoring activities like speeding or excessive idling you can not only save fuel, but reduce damage done to the engine, brakes and tires.An added bonus is you can also reduce vehicle greenhouse gas emissions.
- Reducing Fuel and Maintenance Costs – The average operating cost per vehicle is about $1.50 per mile. A company can reduce at least 25 miles per week for each vehicle with a GPS fleet tracking system.
August 17, 2010 – 3:20 am
Fleet Cost-Reduction Strategies: Direct Expenses
Sell used vehicles in competitive resale markets. Most fleets value their used vehicles based on market values published from various industry sources like KBB. Fleet managers are usually satisfied with the sale of an individual fleet vehicle if they realize close to the market average or, worse, an amount more than book value. This approach ignores that those published market values are the mean of a distribution of high and low prices. Far too often in a negotiated sale, the purchasing vehicle dealer or driver knows the condition of the vehicle better than the seller, and pricing it at market average gives the upside to the buyer. Only by pricing negotiated sales above the market average or by selling in a competitive bidding market with a larger population of buyers can sellers actually capture above-the-mean value for themselves. This approach can provide an additional 5% in average resale prices, up to $75,000 per year.
Reduce accidents and insurance costs. Typically most insurers will reduce your insurance premiums by over 30% if you install a GPS fleet tracking system. Moving beyond depreciation to other operating costs, fleet vehicle accidents require an average of $1,500 to $2,800 in repairs, but total accident costs are perhaps closer to $11,000 per incident when indirect costs such as injuries, liability, property damage, and workers’ compensation are included. Typical fleet annual accident rates range from 15% to 40% of all vehicles, so the savings opportunities by reducing accidents can be substantial. By mandating pre-employment and annual motor vehicle records checks, requiring safe-driver training, and enforcing a safety scoring system, your fleet can reduce its accident rate by over 15% and save up to $375,000 per year.
August 10, 2010 – 6:07 am
GPS fleet tracking systems are successfully being utilized in the largest cities in America for good reasons. According to Helen Rane Carbone, Chief Programmer and Analyst for the Chicago’s Department of Transportation “Before we implemented GPS, our fleet managers and dispatchers had virtually no real-time information on the whereabouts or activity of our fleet vehicles. We relied on very basic communication using two-way radios and hand-written reports. This was never able to provide the type and depth of information we needed for real performance monitoring, improvement, and accountability, which is expected of all city departments.”
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 lead the way in this, and remote fleet management has gone from being a valuable tool to an absolute necessity.”
Garmin’s fleet management interface provides the best way for fleet managers to improve response times, optimize fleet resources, and ultimately achieve lower costs and higher profits for their companies. Garmin’s fleet management interface makes it easy for dispatchers to send multiple destinations and on-the-go instructions directly to drivers. Fleet drivers are able to use the [...]
A recent report from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Office included recommendations that will save NYC taxpayers an estimated $71 million in fleet management cost over the next four years by streamlining government fleet management, centralizing fleet operations, cutting vehicle fuel use, and decreasing the number of fleet vehicles. It’s part of the Mayor’s overall plan to save taxpayers over $500 million over the next four years by significantly increasing government efficiency.
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. 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.
August 5, 2010 – 12:41 am
Fleet GPS tracking data combined with tax software can ensure private fleet operators in the US that you aren’t overpaying on your International Fuel Tax Agreement (IFTA) taxes. For most fleet managers, calculating IFTA taxes is a tedious but necessary administrative task. The good news is that this process can be automated if a fleet manager uses GPS tracking/telematics devices in its trucks, along with fuel cards and IFTA tax reporting software (or a tax service professional that uses this kind of software). Then the mileage driven in each state and fuel expenses for each vehicle can be automatically uploaded into the software and the proper IFTA paperwork can be printed out.
Using a GPS Tracking System combined with proper tax software can make this process much more manageable and less labor intensive. If you have a large fleet of over 50 vehicles, then there is a good chance you have an employee whose only job is to handle this paper-intensive task. If you are paying an administrator say $38,000 year to manage this process, investing in a Fleet GPS Tracking System is a no-brainer. While a fleet operator would probably never buy a telematics solution solely to eliminate an administrative position, it can contribute to the ROI offered by fleet telematics solutions.
Since truckers typically operate across state lines they often need to calculate their usage in various locations. GPS position reports are a good way to do this as not only would it report your GPS location but it would also report the exact time for each position report. Ideally, you could automate this process with reporting transmitted in real-time as you go.
By Mike C.
|
Posted in Fleet GPS, Fleet Management, GPS System
|
Also tagged Fleet GPS, fleet GPS tracking, Fleet Manager, Fleet Vehicles, fuel tax, GPS, GPS Fleet, GPS fleet tracking, gps tracking, GPS tracking devices, gps vehicle tracking, IFTA fuel tax, Telematics, truck fuel tax, truck tracking
|
special news & Promotions