Author: Victoria Gole

Airtel Kenya Improves Road Safety with Vehicle GPS Tracking Devices

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Airtel Kenya Uses Vehicle GPS Tracking Devices to Improve Road Safety

Airtel Kenya is working with police and Frotcom East Africa to implement a road safety initiative by rewarding responsible drivers from 2NK Matatu Saving and Credit Co-operative Society (SACCO) identified by Frotcom’s computerized vehicle GPS tracking devices.

The vehicle GPS tracking devices will help monitor driving behavior minute-by-minute regardless of where they are driving in the country. The same data generated by the system will also be used to identify drivers who need extra training so as to achieve a change of attitude as they handle passengers.

The rewarding program will go a long way to enforcing compliance to traffic rules rather than evasion. Through the initiative, the National Traffic Commandant, Samuel Kimaru, will identify and reward drivers from 2NK SACCO along a number of busy highways in Kenya.

Airtel and Frotcom have already fitted vehicle GPS tracking devices in more than 550 vehicles in the SACCO’s fleet, which relay messages of speed limit violation to the SACCO management.

The vehicle GPS tracking system also tracks fuel consumption and number of trips a vehicle makes and gives alerts when a vehicle diverts from its intended route, which will assist in managing misuse and any possible criminal cases such as incidents of carjacking or vehicle theft.

Estimated financial benefits show that the SACCO members could save up to KSh40 million (US$461,000) annually by sealing revenue leakage loopholes with the use of this product.

The savings will be made with reduced accident claims to the insurers significantly reducing the cost of risk management.

Amtrak Pleases Customers with Real Time GPS Trackers

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Amtrak Offers A Customer Benefit Through Their Real Time GPS Trackers.

If you’ve ever stood, peering over the platform and worrying about when your train will arrive, Amtrak has solved their traveler’s problems—you can now quickly track train routes with a real time GPS tracker incorporating Google Maps. Amtrak introduced the interactive train locator map using the Google Maps Engine on Monday.

The map shows the specific locations of Amtrak’s 300 national trains and the time that train is predicted to arrive at a particular station. Sensors embedded on train tracks send location data via real time GPS trackers installed on each train. Then, the map data is passed to the Google Maps Engine along with station data from Amtrak’s content management system.

Travelers can search for trains by name or train number on a smartphone, tablet, or desktop. Previously, passengers could only see a text list of train statuses and arrival times.

Users can search for trains by name or train number on a smartphone, tablet or desktop computer. Previously, passengers could only see a text list of train statuses and arrival times.

Within a year, Amtrak hopes to add local transit, restaurants and tourist attractions to its maps. Real time GPS Trackers are the future and Amtrak customers will greatly benefit from this new technology.

GoFleet’s Introduction to GPS Fleet Solutions

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GoFleet’s Introduction to GPS Fleet Solutions

It’s not uncommon, as a fleet manager or business owner, to have never heard of telematics. However, that is quickly changing. You may have heard of telematics as a GPS fleet solution. Here is more information:

Telematics, in its simplest form, is defined as machine-to-machine communication. This is marking a new era in fleet management solutions.

Today’s construction equipment is much more sophisticated with a variety of electronic and computer-controlled modules that are gathering information about a machine’s performance and communicating with manufacturers that are using the data for research and development to improve the productivity and efficiency of their machines.

The next step is figuring out what information manufacturers are willing to share with their customers — including rental stores — to help them incorporate better GPS fleet management solutions. Already the Association of Equipment Management Professionals (AEMP) is partnering with the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) to set data standards and come to an agreement on what types of telematics information is needed.

Once that happens — and the AEMP expects this to come to fruition in 2014 — there will be an explosion of data available for rental stores and fleet managers that can help them improve operations and be more competitive.

In many ways, telematics is what those touting global positioning system (GPS) technology said was possible many years ago, taking it beyond just knowing the location of a machine, but tracking run time, fuel usage, oil pressure and more to help diagnose or predict possible problems and cut or eliminate a machine’s downtime.

This is what GoFleet offers—a complete GPS fleet tracking solution. Through the use of GPS technology, a user-friendly dashboard to manage and track reports, and a simplified workflow process—you can reduce costs associated with fleet management like vehicle maintenance, accidents that can increase your insurance, fuel consumption and much more.

To learn more about the GPS fleet solution that can save your business money, please call GoFleet at 1.888.998.1122 or contact our sales team here.

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New Jersey DOT Employs GPS Fleet Tracking To Track Abuse

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GPS Fleet Tracking Used to Track Use & Abuse of Vehicles

Reports of cars screaming up and down the highway at more than 100 mph. Others of employees doing private jobs while on the government dime. Then, there are those who steal time by parking their state Department of Transportation trucks in mall lots, on side streets, even near bowling alleys, and take leisurely breaks when they’re supposed to be filling potholes, fixing signs, or picking up dead deer on the highway.

Such practices have gotten more difficult since the DOT wrapped up a $22 million dollar contract to install radios with GPS fleet tracking systems in 3,000 vehicles that allow supervisors to monitor workers’ speeds, locations, and the length of time spent in any one place.

Officials are saying it is the most aggressive attempt the DOT has ever made to manage productivity among its workforce in the field, and it comes at a time when two New Jersey lawmakers—Assemblywoman Amy Handlin, and Sen. Jeff Van Drew have proposed extending it to thousands of state-owned vehicles. Under their program, the state would get a report on vehicle use by state workers, abuses and the feasibility of making the GPS fleet tracking permanent.

The use of GPS fleet tracking to track employees is a fledgling practice in both the public and private sectors, but it is gaining traction as organizations look for ways to prevent abuses and manage costs. UPS uses it, as does one Atlanta school district that outfitted its bus fleet with a GPS fleet tracking system after noticing overages in overtime.

Just last month, the state DOT employees were issued a “Use of State Vehicles” notice that warns that “all department vehicles are equipped with a GPS system to monitor the location of the vehicle,” and that “the GPS system also records the speed of the vehicle and registers alerts when the vehicle is driven at high speeds.”

Violating the rules of the road or tampering with the GPS system could result in disciplinary action, including being fired, the notice says.

A GPS fleet tracking system will save the state of New Jersey money—can it help save your business costs associated with owning a fleet? Are you seeing overages in overtime, fuel consumption, or billable labor hours? Contact GoFleet to talk about our options for GPS fleet tracking at 1.888.998.1122 or message our sales team here.

The Many Uses of GPS Tracking Software

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GPS tracking software has multitudes of uses!

 

GPS tracking software doesn’t just help streamline fleet management on the roads. At traffic hubs such as O’Hare International, planes can spend a ridiculous amount of time waiting for their turn to land. And at airports like Rio de Janeiro- Galeao International, pilots must contend with tight flight paths to avoid crowded areas, centers and hills on their final approach. However, a new hyper-accurate GPS tracking software system can change all of this—no longer will airliners have to contend with land-locked navigation beacons and overworked control towers.

This new technology is known as Required Navigation Performance (RNP). Rather than the Eisenhower-era traffic management systems and land-based radio navigation beacons we’ve been using. RNP uses GPS satellite navigation to track planes with an accuracy of 32 feet and within 10 seconds of their arrival. It also demands that the planes fly along specific three-dimensional flight paths. This results in a more efficient flight path for the plane, shorter flight times for travelers, reduced fuel costs for the airlines, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.

RNP is more of a comprehensive GPS fleet tracking software system than any one specific piece of technology. It combines software, hardware, and procedure very similar to what’s known as area navigation (RNAV, which differs in that it doesn’t require on-board performance monitoring and alerting should the pilot make a mistake and fly outside the lines) to ensure that all aircraft operating within a specific airspace are doing so within bounds of at least 95% of the time. This allows air traffic controllers to develop specific landing approaches that avoid noise-sensitive areas and geographical obstacles.

The level of tolerance an RNP allows can vary, depending on the specific topological conditions. If an area has an RNP of 10—such as over oceans, all aircraft operating within that space must be able to calculate their positions within a 10 nautical mile radius.

This technology has slowly been gaining traction at airports around the world in recent years, but the pace of adoption is quickening…especially with the very real cost savings the GPS tracking software and system provides. Brazil has installed the system at nearly a dozen airports in the country and has seen amazing results. Planes travel 22 miles less and spend 7.5 fewer minutes per landing than before, translating into an estimated 1.620 fewer lbs of emissions and $24 million in operational savings over the next 5 years. In New Zealand’s Queenstown airports, the system reduced monthly cumulative delays from 2,400 minutes to 200 minutes. Temuco, Chile and Cajamarca, Peru have both seen drastically simplified approach patterns in these very mountainous regions by utilizing RNP GPS tracking software technology. In Cusco, Peru, on the slopes of Machu Picchu—the system has reduced weather-based flight cancellations by 60 %.

Point being, these systems are being employed all over the world in a variety of different ways. GoFleet specializes in GPS tracking software for the fleet-based business.  Let us show you the differences that our GPS fleet management solution can provide your business. Contact GoFleet about our GPS tracking software by calling us at 1.888.998.1122, or messaging our sales staff here.

Measure Productivity with GPS Tracking

Asset Control With Employee GPS Tracking Solutions!

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GoFleet offers employee GPS tracking solutions!

As the owner of a fleet oriented business, you know that you need to maintain control over your biggest asset- your vehicle fleet. With GoFleet’s employee GPS tracking intelligence, you no longer need to worry about keeping tabs on refueling costs, you’ll be able to lower labor billing and free up time for customer service to prioritize what is important to your business- the customer or client. In order to make an employee GPS tracking system effective, an awareness of the key needs of your business is necessary.

 

Are you increasing vehicular awareness in your fleet?

 

Knowing that your drivers remain on course, while viewing data that distinguishes fuel used vs. fuel efficiency is highly necessary in commercial trucking industries. Employee GPS tracking can make a real difference to your business. Constantly controlling costs allows any savings to be passed down to your customers, therefore widening your customer base.  You should really be asking your managerial team if your current employee GPS tracking methods are up to par with what’s required to track vehicles as wholly as possible.

 

Does your current fleet technology use the highest standards of driver safety tracking?

 

Driver safety is perhaps number one on the priorities and concerns of the fleet owner/manager. Especially if numerous fleets are operating for your large commercial trucking service. American transportation departments now mandate that drivers perform safety checks, yet nobody can predict where—or when, for that matter, tragedy will strike. The right employee GPS tracker technology used with your fleet, designed with both driver safety and company loss prevention in mind, can assure everyone remains safely atop their intended course while pro-actively monitoring vehicular location.

 

How can you better monitor expenditures?

 

For the commercial driving industry, great fleet employee GPS trackers can track the behaviors of the drivers effortlessly. If the driver is idling, it can measure that so you can correct the problem. Also, higher levels of employee GPS tracking can see the routes the trucks are taking for any out of route mileage. Finally, you could also break down mileage by state that will get your IFTA reports done seamlessly. It will reduce brake pads, and unnecessary switching of tires when you reduce excess stoppage.

Without monitoring expenditures, drivers and fuel, you’ll probably go nowhere. No matter what your business is, you want to expand your profit margin as much as possible, of course, while offering safety, customer service, and an exceptional workplace ethic. Business owners attempt to increase their bottom lines in all sorts of ways—some work, some do not.

The only thing that fleet owners can count on is choosing the right fleet employee GPS tracking technology to contain fueling costs, increase overall productivity, and hold those problem drivers accountable. To take your fleet employee GPS tracker system to the next level, identify areas which lack and contact GoFleet to talk about their employee GPS tracker solutions by calling 1.888.998.1122 or messaging our sales staff here.

How Fleet GPS Vehicle Tracking Can Increase Savings

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If you run a fleet business, it is in your best interest to do everything you can in order to maximize efficiency and optimize performance on all fronts. We provide a cutting-edge fleet GPS vehicle tracking technology that will help you accomplish this. GoFleet’s GPS vehicle tracking technology will help you keep track of all your vehicles at all times, empower you to monitor driving behaviors of your employees and ensure that risky behaviour that can jeopardize your company’s reputation is rectified.

How vehicle tracking can increase your savings

There are many different ways in which fleet GPS vehicle tracking can increase your savings and cut costs. One of these ways is by limiting insurance payouts. Obviously, all of your vehicles need to be insured and you will have to file claims from time to time. However, the premiums that you pay on a monthly basis can go down with the help of fleet GPS vehicle tracking. It has been shown over and over again that having such a system installed will increase the safety rating of your business. For starters, your drivers will drive more carefully now that they know that everything they do is monitored and uploaded to a database.

This alone is enough to decrease the number of accidents and traffic violations that you end up paying for. In time, having a better safety record will result in lower premiums on your insurance policies. However, just the addition of the fleet GPS Vehicle Tracking System is enough to decrease the costs on insurance since it can be considered to be a safety feature. If you let your insurer know that you installed such a system, you might be able to negotiate a better rate for you right there on the spot.

Another major boost for savings obtained from fleet GPS vehicle tracking comes in the form of fuel efficiency. Each minute your employees are driving around needlessly, they are wasting fuel and, therefore, costing you money. Again, the simple fact that they know that their routes are being monitored will prevent them from taking that little detour to take care of non-business matters on the company’s watch. GoFleet GPS vehicle tracking will give you the confidence that you will need as a decision maker in your organization. You will see both short-term and long-term benefits when you integrate us into your platform.

Then there are also instances where drivers are being inefficient through no fault of their own. Let’s say that a job gets cancelled while a truck is already on its way or maybe a storm hits and a tree blocks access to a road. With the help of fleet GPS vehicle tracking, you will be able to monitor the situation closely and make adjustments accordingly. The GPS vehicle tracking system will find the best alternative route for the vehicles so that they reach their new destinations as quickly as possible.

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Relationship Between Fleet GPS Vehicle Tracking and Drivers

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Fleet GPS vehicle tracking devices have already carved their reputation as an indispensable and necessary tool in improving your business performance in all areas of fleet management. Our solutions hold your drivers accountable and ensure that they are performing in a safe and acceptable manner when they are on-field and your business will see immediate returns because you will maximize fuel efficiency, utilize route optimization and lower insurance premiums.

That is all great news for the fleet managers, but fleet GPS tracking devices have not endeared themselves to many drivers. They will often not feel comfortable being constantly monitored and some owners might even be reticent to install fleet tracking because it would be bad for morale. They do not want to look like they are intrusive or untrusting but the truth is that fleet GPS vehicle tracking devices can also be beneficial to drivers.

The only ones who truly have a reason not to be happy with fleet management/GPS tracking devices are the drivers who are not performing at peak levels and are hurting the company’s prospects at work. In our studies, some of the most common shortcuts that undermine a company’s prospects are:

(1) taking the long way home in order to get paid overtime
(2) engage in risky behaviour on the road that will tarnish the reputation of the company
(3) take detours to take care of personal matters during business hours

They indeed have a valid reason to fear fleet GPS tracking devices because this system will alert their employers of all their misdoings. Such a system is capable of monitoring speeds, measuring parking times and revealing the entire route taken to a certain destination. Once it is implemented, your drivers will no longer be able to take advantage of your business and will have to do their jobs up to your standards.

Keeping track of your vehicles is the most logical step to take for you to stay ahead of the curve and your competitors. Some company’s worry about the morale of their employees and believe they will create a disgruntled workforce; and demonstrate an uneasiness and inhibition when it comes to incorporating a fleet management solution. But a fleet management/GPS tracking device solution is a customer-centric solution that will ensure your employees are meeting their benchmarks and fulfilling the expectations of your customers in a timely and efficient manner. Meeting these deliverables and ensuring customer satisfaction will result in a high-morale and united workforce.

The simple truth is that drivers who do not do anything wrong have nothing to fear. If anything, they should welcome a fleet tracking system since it will show precisely that they are doing their jobs properly. Up until now, their efforts went unnoticed by and large since the employers do not have the best information at hand to see who is excelling and who is not. However, now you can keep close track of how all of your drivers behave and, if you are really worried about what fleet tracking will do for morale, you can set up a system where the most careful and efficient drivers are rewarded for their hard work.

fleet insurance

Strength In Numbers: Investing In Fleet Insurance

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If you have a business that requires certain vehicles to be in certain locations at certain times and care for the large customer base you’ve spent multiple years building, then you need a fleet management solution to aid your business expansion. Legally, anyone who operates a business with vehicles for delivery or used for service calls carry a multicar insurance policy, called fleet insurance. However, notwithstanding the legalities, investing in this comprehensive company car insurance policy has advantages for your business, and can provide solace to your drivers who hit the pavement each day for your service calls.

Upon the successful launch of your mobile-based business, no matter if you’re offering maid services, tech support or delivering pizzas, fleet insurance immediately needs to be sought after before a sales call is even made. Company car insurance comes in many formats while offering many different coverage options that will require you to probe before purchasing and weigh each option carefully. During your research into various fleet insurance carriers, businesses have a different set of needs and, therefore, have entirely different fleet needs to address, mainly:

• Much like individual auto insurance policies, multicar insurance comes with safe driver discounts that are based both off the main policyholder’s and each driver’s personal driving records. Don’t leave the insurance office without these discounts.

• Each individual driver does not have to be named on the policy; however, those who you hire to drive must meet certain local DOT requirements if driving passengers, hauling certain types of goods, and need bonding included with your fleet insurance if transporting currency.

• Commercial fleet insurance can be obtained with moderate liability limits for those whom are self-employed yet need the multicar insurance coverage.

• Exercise due diligence in finding the best company car insurance ratings, use the information found in A.M. Best, S&P and Moody’s Investor Services as these historically will be the most up-to-date on each company’s credit grade and total assets.

Your business cannot afford to lack in coverage areas or carry astronomically high deductibles. Take the extra time to do homework on the companies that pique your interest and gather data from the above research firms. When you’ve narrowed down your search to one or two companies then proceed to make an office visit to get all of your questions answered and to receive your free quotation for fleet insurance.

How More Multicar Insurance Means Less Cost

If you’ve ever had a conversation with a cabbie about driving for their cab company and their overall insurance costs and limits, you’d find out some rather strange even unsettling information that may deter you from even seeking company car insurance. However, do not gauge the needs of your company with the needs of a company which transports human passengers around thousands of times a day. Fleet insurance comes in multiple forms, is priced in multiple ways, and will almost never apply to the same company across the board. So, how can something meant for multiple automobiles actually save money in the long run? Logically, you’d presume that more vehicles to cover would mean higher multicar insurance costs per annum. That’s not necessarily the case, as you’ll see, because there is colossal strength in numbers for companies seeking fleet insurance.

Case in point: Imagine if you operated a business that dispatched tech support workers to other businesses or homes to fix network issues, clean up viruses, or assist with data backup. On a daily basis, you send each worker to various locations using their personal vehicles, paying them a per diem for gas. One day, a worker wraps himself around a telephone pole and receives paralyzing injuries which results in a huge lawsuit on your hands. The driver, you find out, was mildly insured. Now, instead of growing your business, you are digging into your personal pockets, the pockets of investors, and cleaning out your business bank account to settle out of court. This scenario can break the back of your business.

Had you simply taken the time to investigate your fleet insurance options, this situation would have remedied itself and not been a problem in the first place if you had a corresponding insurance plan in place that would have covered medical care. Sure, your premiums would probably go up; that could be offset by hiking the COGS (cost of goods sold) by perhaps a buck or two. Now, imagine if the rare (but known to happen) occurrence transpired with two tech workers in the same day. Instead of closing just the business, you’re may face the real possibility of taking out the mortgage on your house to pay for this.

This scenario showcases and exemplifies why the proper fleet insurance plan is the difference between keeping you in or out of business. Nine times out of ten, you’ll see drastic savings by purchasing your own fleet of cars and insuring them as opposed to sending your workers off in their own cars. Multicar insurance will save your business, safeguard your employees while in transit, and give you peace of mind that anything accidental can be covered should the unfortunate even take place.

Summary

Fleet insurance is your business solution tailored to work for any business that transports goods, makes house calls, or hauls passengers around town. While specific amounts will never be the same across the board, you simply cannot operate a mobile business without protection for your employees. When you dispatch them to work in their personal cars, you increase the chance that you’ll put your business in position to defend against lawsuit litigation should an employee injure themselves while on your clock.

Finally, when you are shopping for company car insurance, you’ll find there is great strength in numbers in terms of long-term savings ability as paying for a multicar insurance policy and six vehicles will surely be less expensive than liability suits. Make the logical choice and take out a comprehensive company car insurance policy to keep your business moving forward while promoting safety from within.

Fleet GPS Tracking Benefits

Inherited Benefits Fleet GPS Tracking Technology Bring Us

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Technology-savvy people who believe that cellular technology is a major asset to have and may even save their lives during pivotal junctures are somewhat right in their assumptions. Or they’re not truly thinking outside the box. While conventional cell phone ownership means having access to Google, E911 and other major location specifics, owning personal GPS tracking devices will provide more security than mobile devices, and for obvious reasons. Straight out the box, fleet GPS tracking technology indemnifies the driver, equips the fleet owner with powerful resources and improves overall safety.

Protects Fleet Drivers

Wearing fleet GPS tracking technology in obtrusive places will not only deter vehicular thievery, it will provide some measure of traceability when you’ve been badly beaten or your truck has been compromised. Since newer models could react to distress signals simply by pushing a button, sticking your GPS tracking device somewhere clandestine will ensure that the vehicle’s movement is being tracked in real-time.

Provides Quicker Communication

Nobody can get to payphones when stuck 50 miles outside of town. When your cellphone is dead and grandparents had some epileptic seizure or myocardial infarction, getting immediate attention can prove difficult if your whereabouts are unknown. Global position systems can provide you with instant rescue as it utilizes satellite-technology that can pinpoint your area for ambulatory care. There are many technological and security loopholes in cellular technology and our systems fills these gaps and rectifies the security deficiencies of yesterday’s technology. We pride ourselves on the fact that we are ahead of the technology curve.

In Closing

Remember, fleet GPS tracking technology doesn’t cost any more or less than long-term communication issues may. Instead of risking your equipment, your peace of mind and having your equipment stolen, it’s pretty smart for trucking companies to invest wisely in fleet global positioning. The time spent investigating, installing and protecting your present and future workforce is well worth it.