Fleet Tracking For Trucking Companies
With all of the modern digital capabilities that are available it was inevitable that digital fleet tracking will make it into your vehicles and help your company tremendously. Knowing exactly where your vehicles are at all times, and how they’ve been driven, gives a company the ability to make financial and tactical decisions on the spot.
If you have a vehicle that breaks down, you have the exact location of the vehicle so that a local repair or towing facility can be contacted right away. You have all of the particulars as to how far away an assets is to a customer our even how long they’ve been at a customer’s location.
With GPS fleet tracking technology you will also be able to track the speeds your vehicles are driving, which can have a major effect on fuel efficiency and safety. The safety of the driver is paramount and it’s proven that reduced speeds save lives and fuel.
The trucking company that embraces tracking will be able to measure the exact miles driven on any route, which can be important for several reasons. First of all many drivers are paid per mile driven, and with an electronic measurement of that statistic, you will know that you are paying exactly what is due the driver. You will also know if the driver deviates off of the main driving route and why. With Driver Watch Systems’ route geofences, a dispatcher can be emailed or sent a text message when a truck deviates from a predetermined route.
The relationship of driver behavior and vehicle safety, efficiency and other factors is another primary reason that trucking companies employ fleet tracking as a business tool. The data received back from a truck traveling over a distance can include engine and maintenance metrics, fuel usage, time spent not moving, the number of stops a driver makes, start and end times, total miles driven, idle time, time spent loading and unloading, time at breaks (meals) and maintenance.
The driving habits of drivers are recorded as well, for example we can measure aggressive driving habits such as harsh braking, fast acceleration and even aggressive or high-G turns. With these statistics you can help drivers by re-educating them so they understand that their driving habits can help save fuel and excessive wear and tear. It also means eliminating a big fuel waster for the company.
When these stats are measured you can easily see a savings in the neighborhood of 15 to 20% of your fleet costs. Customer satisfaction will go up as well, customers are better informed on when deliveries and services will arrive or be made.
There is the fact to that when people know that they are being watched they are much more careful than if no one is watching them at all. Imagine how your drivers would drive if you were able to ride along with them.
In short all kinds of data can be obtained by a moving truck, and this data can be sifted and collated so that meaningful information can be retrieved and compiled to determine how the overall fleet is doing in regard to efficiency. It’s a huge savings!
Click here to learn how Driver Watch Systems can help your company.
