Author: Devin Johnson

Guidelines For Implementing A Fleet Management Program

Posted on | by Devin Johnson

Fleet Management Program Implementation Guidelines

When you are ready to implement an effective fleet management program, it is important that you understand there is no one-size-fits-all solution that will work for every company. Understanding some basic guidelines will help you avoid wasting money and help you make a smooth transition to the new fleet management program.

Know What Your Needs Are

Before you look into GPS fleet tracking systems, you need to know what your needs are. You must also determine your budget and what you would like to accomplish with a fleet management program. Do you want to manage your drivers’ behavior, improve vehicle maintenance, improve routing, etc. In addition, you need to know if you are going to need the system to integrate with other back-office software programs that you are already using.

Communication

The best way to ensure your fleet management program’s success is to communicate with your entire staff about the fleet management program before it is implemented. This does not mean just sending a memorandum to all staff. Have an open discussion about the purpose and goals of the program. Open communication generates a company-wide buy-in that is essential for the program to succeed in the long-term.

Don’t Make Changes Too Quickly

Once you implement your new fleet management program, do not make too many changes too quickly. It is imperative that you collect your fleet data at a pace that is manageable and that your react to the new information in incremental steps, not widespread change. Some companies actually find that not changing anything for the first two months allows the fleet manager time to establish a baseline. After the baseline is established, the fleet manager can address issues with the facility design and the drivers’ behaviors one at a time.

Make Decisions With Data Not Emotions

If the GPS fleet tracking system reveals that a driver is underperforming, it is important you make decisions about your findings with the data not with your emotions. Do not be quick to fire an employee based on the fleet management program data, the underperformance may have a measurable solution. In addition, using the data instead of emotions can help mitigate the feeling of apprehension that many fleet managers feel.

Car Tracking System Data Benefits Companies With Fleets

Posted on | by Devin Johnson

Companies With Fleets Benefit Form GoFleet’s Car Tracking System Data

Companies with fleet operations can benefit greatly from GoFleet’s car tracking system data. In addition to being used to protect the investment in your fleet, the data from the car tracking system can be used to effectively manage your drivers.

GoFleet’s car tracking system provides a large amount of data about your fleet operations. Types of information that you can receive include:

– Real time vehicle location

– Vehicle route history

– Proximity of vehicles to a specific location

– Alerts regarding speeding and other unsafe driving practices

– Alerts regarding inefficient fuel usage driving behaviors such as excessive idling

– Vehicle maintenance reminders, schedule and history

– Vehicle theft recovery tools and protection

– Geo-fencing capabilities

– Efficient routing

– Alternate routing

Ways To Use GoFleet’s Car Tracking System Data

The abundant amount of data may seem overwhelming at first; however, the simplicity of GoFleet’s web based software makes it very easy to understand. It can be used to improve fleet operations in many ways including reducing fleet operating costs, improving efficiency, improving customer service, becoming more fuel efficient, reducing vehicle break downs and improving driver safety. Often times, businesses implement GoFleet’s car tracking system for vehicle location information and find out the data received helps them lower costs and improve fleet visibility.

Whether you use your fleet to make deliveries, provide services, transport customers, respond to emergencies or work in dangerous areas, your GoFleet car tracking system will help you in ways that are often unexpected. The investment in a car tracking system pays for itself in reduced fleet costs usually within a matter of months. As your fleet of vehicles becomes more productive and efficient with the car tracking system data and tools, your business will start to reap all of the benefits.

If you are not yet using a GoFleet car tracking system, you are missing out on many fleet management tools that can improve your business and make you more competitive. Contact Us today for more information.

Best Real Time GPS Tracker Offers Many Fleet Benefits

Posted on | by Devin Johnson

Many Fleet Benefits Offered With Best Real Time GPS Tracker

GoFleet’s best real time GPS tracker provides fleet managers with a better insight into their fleet drivers. Managers are able to become more efficient in the daily operations and start controlling their costs related to fleet operations. When a company implements GoFleet’s best real time GPS tracker, fleet managers are normally blown away by the variety and quality of management tools that are available to them. The best real time GPS tracker is more than a system to locate fleet vehicles. It is a management tool that no fleet manager should be without.

GoFleet’s best real time GPS tracker can be integrated with a variety of back office software vendors that many fleets work with. Integration is crucial for streamlining business operations and keeping a business as uncomplicated as possible. When you are able to integrate your necessary software, you will be able to simplify dispatching. Your dispatchers will not be required to check multiple screens to get dispatching information for one job.

Most businesses with fleet operations will say that fuel is their largest cost. With GoFleet’s best real time GPS tracker, you will be able to control how the fuel is being used since you cannot control fuel costs. The best real time GPS tracker allows you to reduce fuel costs significantly in many ways. Automatic alerts can be send when drivers are practicing inefficient fuel use practices such as speeding, driving aggressively or excessive idling. In addition, efficient routing cuts fuel consumption because your drivers are not using unnecessary mileage. Drivers will know not to drive off of the authorized route because they know their fleet manager will be notified immediately. This will prevent drivers from driving miles out of the way for their favorite cup of coffee or home for a quick break.

GPS Fleet Tracking Systems: Moving Industry

Posted on | by Devin Johnson

The Moving Industry Finds Many Benefits in GPS Fleet Tracking Systems

GPS fleet tracking systems are going to great use in the moving industry. Moving companies are using these systems to provide the best service to their customers. Customers are truly appreciative of knowing exactly where their belongings are after the moving company picks up their stuff. Gone are the days a customer has so call a moving company frantically because the moving company lost communication with the truck. Also, customers do not have to worry about their belongings being sent to another state or location because routing is automatic.

When you are in the moving industry, the efficient routes you drive go straight to your bottom line. GoFleet’s GPS fleet tracking systems can help you gain control of your fleet of moving trucks and make your drivers more productive. If your drivers make unauthorized stops or drive out of the authorized area, it can take money out of your pocket because money could be made at another job. With GoFleet’s GPS fleet tracking systems, you can eliminate driver behaviors that affect productivity. GoFleet can send your fleet managers automatic alerts when your drivers speed, go off of the authorized route, idle excessively or make unauthorized stops.

Implementing one of GoFleet’s fleet tracking systems gives you the right tools to dramatically reduce fuel costs, labor and vehicle maintenance costs. Knowing where your fleet is positioned at all times can also help you make business decisions that can save your company time and money. With GoFleet, if a new customer calls with an emergency local moving job, you can send your closed driver to the job location to make sure your secure the customer.

When your moving company uses one of GoFleet’s GPS fleet tracking systems, you will be promoting quality and confidence in your company. Using the fleet management tools you can eliminate inefficiencies in order to gain more customers and ultimately grow your business. For more information about how GoFleet can help your moving company, Contact Us

Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems: Increase Safety and Save Money

Posted on | by Devin Johnson

Increase Safety and Save Money With Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems

Business owners are using tire pressure monitoring systems to increase vehicle safety and save money. Tire pressure monitoring systems measure both the tires’ temperature and tire pressure. They are used to increase fuel economy and prolong the life of the tires, while increasing vehicle safety with fewer tire failures on the road.

How Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems Work

Tire pressure monitoring systems from GoFleet are used to alert the driver and fleet manager when the tire pressure drops under the set threshold. The tire monitoring system communicates the changes in air pressure and temperature to the fleet manager through the GoFleet GPS fleet tracking system. Robust tire pressure sensors are mounted internally to constantly measure tire temperature and tire pressure every 4 seconds.

Fleet managers can proactively manage their fleet’s tires with automatic alerts for low or high tire pressure, leakage and high temperatures. Alerts can be automatically sent to the fleet manager via email, SMS text message or displayed on the fleet management software.

GoFleet’s tire pressure monitoring systems are fully integrated with GoFleet’s GPS fleet management systems, MyGeotab and Geotab G06.

GoFleet’s tire pressure monitoring systems ensure a fleet’s tires are properly inflated at all times. This extends the life of the tires, reduces maintenance costs, increases fuel efficiency and increases vehicle safety.

Increase Fuel Efficiency

Making sure your tires are properly inflates results in the use of less fuel because there is less rolling resistance. When businesses increase fuel efficiency, they will immediately start saving money on costly fuel. With fuel costs constantly on the rise, increasing fuel efficiency in businesses with fleet operations is essential.

Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems Increase Vehicle Safety

When your tires are inflated properly, they do not generate as much heat which reducing the risk of catastrophic tire failure. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Statistical Investigation On Tire Pressure Maintenance, tires that are only a few psi off from recommendations from the manufactures can affect the vehicle’s stopping and handling distance. Businesses no longer have to rely on their drivers to perform manual tire pressure inspections “whenever they have time”. GoFleet’s real-time tire pressure monitoring systems provides immediate warnings of tire pressure and temperature issues. Taking care of the issue immediately can prevent dangerous tire issues when your drivers are on the road.

asset tracking system

See Your Fleet Like Never Before: Upgrade to an AI-Powered Asset Tracking System

Posted on | by Devin Johnson

Improve Fleet Visibility With GoFleet’s Asset Tracking System

Small businesses face many challenges but with the help of GoFleet’s asset tracking system, small businesses are able to improve fleet visibility and manage their fleet while increasing productivity and improving efficiency.

Often times, businesses initially choose to implement an vehicle asset management so they can monitor their vehicles while they are on the road. Most business owners want to be able to track their assets and safeguard them from theft. Once a GoFleet asset tracking system is implemented, many business owners and fleet managers are thrilled to discover the possibilities and benefits are endless with increased visibility for management.

Fleet Visibility

Vehicle location data is just the very start of what a GoFleet vehicle asset management can do for a small business. Real time monitoring helps fleet managers and dispatchers with day-to-day operations in addition to providing many valuable management tools that allow fleet managers to manage a small fleet using the same tools huge corporate fleets use.

GoFleet’s asset tracking system can greatly improve the visibility of your fleet. Gone are the days when your drivers took their vehicle out for day and the only way to find out the status of their job or location was to call them over the radio or cell phone. If the driver was with a customer, it was possible you could not get a status until the driver was available to talk.

With vehicle asset management, your fleet is completely visible 24 hours-a-day. Fleet managers can track all of their fleet vehicles in real time using GoFleet’s web-based software. Dispatchers are able to use the find “closest vehicle” function to located vehicles closest to a job site.

An asset tracking system also improves visibility of your drivers’ behaviors and actions. Fleet managers can get notifications when drivers speed, deviate from the authorized route, use a vehicle during non-working hours, idle excessively or drive aggressively. Increased fleet visibility allows businesses to gain control of their mobile assets, increase productivity and improve efficiency. Utilizing GoFleet’s asset tracking system is the key to success for businesses with fleet operations.

For more information about GoFleet’s asset tracking system, Contact Us.

Top Fleet Management Trends of 2014

Posted on | by Devin Johnson

Top Fleet Management Trends

Fleet managers are faced with many challenges every day. The pressure is growing in to reduce costs while improving driver productivity. There is also pressure to make fleet practices more “green”. According to a panel of truck experts, the top fleet management trends in 2014 include:

Managing Fleets With Telematics

Advanced technology has opened so many doors in the fleet management industry. Businesses are finally able to properly manage their mobile assets from the comfort of their office computer and/or mobile device. Fleet managers can instantly monitor vehicle locations, driver behaviors, routing, arrival times and so much more using a GPS device installed in each vehicle, a GPS receiver and web-based software. As reliable GPS fleet management solutions become more affordable and fleet managers are becoming more aware of the limitless benefits, managing fleets with telematics is becoming a norm in most businesses with fleet operations. .

Predictive Vehicle Maintenance Instead of Just Preventative Maintenance

The newest vehicle maintenance trend emerging is practicing predictive maintenance instead of the traditional preventative approach. Forward-thinking fleet managers are leveraging vehicle maintenance reports to fully understand what exactly is failing in their vehicles and when it will fail in their other vehicles. Then they use the data that was uncovered to create and establish a policy to replace the vehicles’ critical components before they fail, ultimately reducing vehicle downtime.

Rightsize Fleets

Many businesses are “rightsizing” their fleets, when possible. For example, instead of using a 1-ton pickup, businesses are using a ¾ ton pickup. In addition to reducing the initial costs of a purchasing a new fleet vehicle, it also improves fuel efficiency over the vehicle’s life. Rightsizing means choosing the best vehicle for the specific job. Business owners should carefully compare the vehicle specs to the intended vehicle use to find the fleet vehicles that are best designed for their business.

Increasing Fleet Vehicle Replacement Cycle Times

Fleet managers are constantly faced with making the dollar stretch as far as possible. Experts say there is a current fleet management trend of businesses keeping their work trucks in services longer than the traditional replacement cycle. In general, experts do not recommend increasing the replacement cycle times too much because increasing the service time, increases the vehicles’ mileage, maintenance costs and the risk the vehicle will fail catastrophically. Business owners must carefully weigh the pros and cons before deciding to increase the cycle times. If they do decide to keep vehicles in service longer, it is extremely important to keep up with preventative maintenance.

Anti-Idling Policies

Many businesses are implementing anti-idling policies for their fleet drivers. As more and more states and municipalities are adopting anti-idling laws, businesses want to ensure that they are in compliance. Reducing excessive idling will also improve productivity, reduce fuel costs and reduce greenhouse emissions.

Real Time GPS Tracking Systems Benefit Distribution Companies

Posted on | by Devin Johnson

Distribution Companies Benefit From Real Time GPS Tracking Systems

Efficiency is the name of the game for distribution companies. That is where GoFleet comes in. GoFleet offers real time GPS tracking systems especially designed for distribution companies. At any time, your distribution fleet manager can locate one of your trucks and accurately predict the delivery times for your clients.

GoFleet’s real time GPS tracking systems also can help distribution companies save money. Users report that money can be saved directly just from having the ability to audit lengthy delivery stops, idle times, shortening unauthorized breaks, and efficient routing. One fleet manger used the real time GPS tracking systems software to decrease the amount of time the drivers spent refueling their vehicles. The amount of time decreased from 36 minutes to 22 minutes per vehicle each day. Simply changing that one factor saved the company approximately $23,000 a year in drivers’ hourly pay.

Improve Customer Service

When your distribution company uses one of GoFleet’s real time GPS tracking systems, you can improve customer service by responding faster and providing more accountability. It is critical in your industry that you keep your customers happy in order to remain competitive. Using real-time GPS tracking systems, you can ensure your customers are satisfied with quick response times, accurate times of delivery and proof of delivery times.

Increase Productivity

Real-Time GPS tracking systems allow you to eliminate inefficiencies and save your employees’ time. They will be able to drive additional routes and make more deliveries each day which adds to your bottom line. Response times will be shortened with improved routing and being able to deploy the nearest vehicle. Your drivers will no longer have to receive constant calls to confirm the status of their delivery and their location. In addition, unnecessary paperwork for your drivers can be eliminated. They will no longer have to fill out mileage logs, arrival times, departure times or timesheets. All of that information will automatically be available to the fleet manager.

For more information about how GoFleet can help your distribution company, Contact Us.

Guide To Increasing Driver Productivity

Posted on | by Devin Johnson

Increasing Driver Productivity Guide

A fleet manager’s job requires them to watch the bottom line, ensure vehicles are efficiently operating and manage drivers. As you can see, the drivers play a major role in this equation. The drivers can either help the manager succeed or drive productivity into the ground. Luckily, there are some great strategies managers can use to help boost driver productivity.

Maintain Vehicles

When vehicles are not properly maintained, it results in downtime for the vehicle and the driver. The key to an efficient fleet is to understand that preventative maintenance has many long-term benefits that greatly outweigh any short-term inconveniences. Many GPS fleet management companies offer valuable vehicle maintenance reminders that can help fleet managers stay on top of vehicle maintenance. This new technology is making it much easier for a fleet manager to take care of a large fleet of vehicles. Some fleet management systems even have tools that allow users to make appointments at the nearest service location or order vehicle parts.

Fleet Management Technology

Enhancing fleet efficiency and increasing driver productivity are easier than ever with new advanced fleet management technology options. Not only is it easier to manage fleets with GPS fleet tracking systems, using this solution also reduces a business’ costs. Fleet managers are able to monitor many non-productive behaviors such as excessive stop times, idling, downtime and route deviations. They are also able to see average delivery times, actual work hours and job times.

Some fleet managers are using GPS fleet management solutions to eliminate unnecessary paperwork for the drivers. The time spent on extra paperwork can be used to provide better service to your customers. Drivers no longer have to fill out mileage sheets, time cards, customer locations, times of stops, etc.

The best way to improve productivity is to incorporate fleet management technology in to your business’s fleet policies. Make sure your drivers know that your business has a culture of efficiency and high productivity.

Fleet Tracking Device: Reduce Labor Costs

Posted on | by Devin Johnson

Reduce Labor Costs With GoFleet’s Fleet Tracking Device

When you run a business, you need to focus on your core business activities. You do not have time to waste validating your employees’ time sheets or figuring out messy payroll issues. When you use GoFleet’s fleet tracking device, you can eliminate employees’ fraudulent work time claims, reduce pricey overtime and cut the amount of time you are doing payroll paperwork.

GoFleet’s fleet tracking device provides managers with custom reports for all aspects of fleet management including the hours worked by each driver. You will now have instant access to the actual vehicle operation hours, the actual times your driver started and finished work, average weekly and daily hours, and exact hours and days worked.

Many of GoFleet’s customers’ report that they instantly start saving on overtime costs as soon as they implement a GoFleet fleet tracking device system in their fleet. The GoFleet hours worked report can be used as an electronic time sheet that you can feel confident is accurate.

Benefits of GoFleet’s Fleet Tracking Device

Eliminate fraudulent time claims with actual start and finish times: You will no longer have to rely on your driver to let you know when they started and finished work. A GoFleet fleet tracking device acts like an automatic time sheet with the true start and finish times.

Reduce Overtime: Since your drivers will be working more efficiently and productively, they will not have to work overtime to get the job done.

Monitor vehicle use for personal use: It is not uncommon for drivers to run personal errands between jobs. This not only increases your labor costs, it also increases your fuel costs.

Eliminate drivers stopping for prolonged times: When drivers are not being monitored, they are more likely to stop between jobs for prolonged breaks. Without a fleet tracking device, they can claim they were at the job site longer than they actually were or claim they were stuck in traffic.