Vehicle tracking eliminates this issue and does not take the vehicle off the road for long as the installation is a relatively short process where a box is installed in the vehicle, usually behind the dashboard. When the installation is complete, fleet managers can ‘see’ the location of all vehicles on their PC. The vehicle tracking solution is not intrusive to fleet managers performing their other tasks as they can look at it as and when they need to and not watch the system constantly.

Employees who are performing the tasks they are supposed to, when they are supposed to, have nothing to fear from a vehicle tracking system being installed into their vehicle. In cases such as these, which do apply to the majority of people, a vehicle tracking system can show employers how hard their employees are working and it can provide promotional opportunities to the employee.

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This simple technique can save you a fortune on your fuel. The fact is that vehicles which are driven with hard acceleration burn through a great deal more fuel than when they are driven more calmly.

Driving in a less aggressive manner cannot only save money on fuel, but can also be safer. Aggressive driving habits can lead to more accidents which in turn also costs you money in higher insurance premiums and wasted working hours.

If you run a fleet of vehicles you can use vehicle tracking to monitor harsh accelerating, harsh breaking and how often vehicles are speeding. This will enable you to tackle the problem of aggressive driving techniques with the drivers who are guilty of this.

Also if you have vehicle tracking systems installed and you make your drivers aware that it keeps tabs on how the vehicles are driven, they are more likely to drive carefully in the first place.

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There is a way to put a stop to speeding in your fleet of company vehicles. GPS vehicle tracking can help. Many vehicle tracking systems can alert you and give you weekly or monthly reports on drivers which are frequently speeding. If you know which of your drivers are the worst offenders you can approach them regarding this mater and put a stop to it.

Speeding reporting on vehicle tracking is one of the many ways GPS tracking can help you to improve your mobile operations to make them run more efficiently and save time and money.

These days vehicle tracking can be purchased for as little as £12 per month and the savings you can make in lower fuel consumption will be many times this figure. This is not to mention the benefits of improved productivity which many companies enjoy when they use vehicle tracking.

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Vehicle tracking is used a lot by fleet managers, who do not have immediate visibility over their staff like office managers would. They just need to log onto the system if their employee has a vehicle tracking unit in their vehicle, and they will be able to see their drivers location on a map. Vehicle tracking has reports that can be downloaded from the system which will tell fleet managers which of their drivers are using ‘bad driving habits’ such as excessive idling and breaking the speed limit, both of which are behaviours which waste fuel.

The reports can also be used in disciplinary hearings, such as when a driver has not been where they say they have been, and on the other end of the spectrum, in appraisals to show how hard an employee has been working. If employees are doing their job correctly then they have nothing to fear from a vehicle tracking system.

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 As one of Ireland’s largest food companies Glanbia is a supplier of dairy produce including Kilmeaden, Yoplait and Avonmore. Using its Masternaut tracked fleet, Glanbia makes over 2,500 deliveries a week to a wide range of customers, including most supermarkets and convenience stores operating throughout Ireland’s 26 counties. Therefore, the system will help the company with its aim of providing carbon neutral transportation. 

 “We are already benefiting from the accuracy and visibility that the Masternaut system has brought to our fleet management. The system is accurate and easy to use. It allows us to keep precise driving time records, ensuring all drivers are compliant with tachograph regulations. The reporting tools are a huge advantage too; the automatic system has these ready for us each morning so there is no additional administration necessary to get the information we need. It gives us a clear view of what is happening out on the road and will help us to gain more efficient use of each vehicle in the fleet- In addition to the vehicle benefits, the system allows Glanbia to proactively manage the performance of our drivers,” says Denis Conway, Logistics Manager at Glanbia.

 “Glanbia has already reduced its CO2 emissions by approximately 16 per cent over the last two years and Masternaut is the next phase of our continuous improvement and best practice programme. For example, an average delivery truck will burn around four to five litres of diesel an hour when idling. With the high cost of fuel, we want to prevent as much unnecessary idling as possible – which will reduce our operating costs and will help in the reduction of our carbon footprint. This will help us to achieve our aim of providing a carbon neutral transport service,” he adds. 

 Glanbia is currently using the system as a standalone fuel and emission management tool. However, the intention is to integrate Masternaut with its back office systems in the future. This will involve integration with its SAP business software and its Paragon routing and scheduling optimisation system primarily for the bulk haulage of dairy products. Denis Conway also reports that the vehicle tracking system will also provide a useful addition to payroll as it accurately records all driver activity, for example assigned driver hours and actual hours worked. 

 “The system offers a lot of flexibility for further development. Once we have achieved our initial goals of making savings on fuel and further reductions in our carbon footprint, we shall consider the next steps we can take with the system,” he concludes.

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Fleet Tracking

Fleet tracking solutions, also referred to as vehicle tracking or GPS vehicle tracking, are an essential business tool that provides companies with the insight they need to be able to operate their fleet more effectively and efficiently. Businesses that have installed a fleet tracking system have been able to achieve enormous savings, especially on costs such as fuel whilst at the same time increasing the productivity of their employees whether they are driving the vehicles or in the office. The key benefits of fleet tracking include:

• Real Time visibility over vehicles.
• Reduced fuel costs.
• Improved driver efficiency and productivity.
• Route Optimisation & Journey Planning.
• Vehicle insurance premium discounts.
• Prevention of employee mileage and timesheet inaccuracies and abuse.
• Reduced time and expenditure on phone calls.
• Improved Customer Service.
• Reduced administration tasks for drivers and office staff.
• Improved fleet optimisation. Increased vehicle security & driver safety.
• Improved ability to monitor employee compliance with road related Health & Safety, Duty of Care and Working Time Directive legislation.
• Improved response time to customer requests leading to a competitive advantage.

Stolen Vehicle Tracking

Stolen vehicle tracking is at the forefront of combating vehicle theft and the inconveniences and financial loss that it can bring. These advanced but affordable systems ensure that when a vehicle is stolen it is quickly detected (if not already reported), recovered and reunited with its rightful owner. The effectiveness of stolen vehicle tracking in protecting vehicles against theft is attributed by insurance providers now insisting on these systems being installed for certain vehicles. The benefits include:

• Increased vehicle security.
• Stolen vehicles are quickly reunited with their owner.
• Vehicle insurance premium discounts.
• Prevents financial loss brought about by damage or policy excess charges as a result of theft.

Plant Tracking

Plant vehicles and machinery is a major theft target here in the UK and unfortunately many businesses have had to find this out the hard way. The introduction of plant tracking systems has substantially increased the number of stolen plant machinery that has been successfully recovered and returned to its rightful owner. Plant tracking systems are also being used by hire companies to monitor usage of their vehicles and ensure that customers are keeping to their hire agreements, being able to remotely immobilise the vehicle ensures that customers cannot use the vehicle if they break the terms of the agreement. The key benefits of plant tracking include:

• Real Time visibility over Plant.
• Increased Security.
• Monitor usage/Proof of use.
• Plant insurance premium discounts.

Lone Worker Tracking

Lone worker tracking has revolutionised the safety of employees working outside of a companies premises especially for those working in potentially high risk environments such as home visitors, environmental or construction site workers. Many modern lone worker systems allow companies to monitor their mobile workers location and status in real time but also, and  importantly, provide the lone worker with a means to raise a discreet alarm to a 24/7 manned control centre or the office if they are in distress and in need of urgent assistance. Lone worker devices themselves come in many different shapes and sizes from wrist worn devices, identity badges, ruggedized mobile phones, small tags that can be comfortably carried in a pocket or a software solution that when downloaded to an existing GPS enabled mobile phone will act as a lone worker tracking device. The benefits include:

• Provides total visibility of workforce.
• Increases lone worker safety and peace of mind.
• Helps companies to fulfil their duty of care and Health & Safety obligations.
• Discreet and light weight devices that can be comfortably carried of form part of a uniform.

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Some companies, however, find that the majority of the money that they save by the introduction of a vehicle tracking system is on employee expenses claims. Timesheets and mileage claims can be submitted via some tracking systems and so the tendency for inaccuracies, whether mistakenly or on purpose, is eliminated. Companies can save a lot of money on reduced overtime claims, which will help cash flow and push company development. There have been claims that you could save upto15% on your monthly overheads by installing a vehicle tracking system.

This means that vehicle tracking can pay for itself within months of being installed into your company vehicles. This is why the reputation that some people hold of vehicle tracking as an expensive solution is so incorrect. Not only will it pay for itself but you will still be gaining the other benefits that come with a vehicle tracking system such as enhanced journey planning abilities and insurance premium reductions.

Money can also be saved on fuel by utilising the tracking systems analysis of driver behaviour. Tracking systems can report on how often ‘bad’ driving behaviours occurred during a journey. Bad driving behaviours include breaking the speed limit, leaving the engine running when stationary and braking excessively. These all cause the vehicle to use more fuel because the car is not being run efficiently. Drivers need to be educated as to the environmental, financial and safety implications of driving in this way. Get your drivers involved in their training; ask for their opinions, devise a league table, chose someone engaging to run the training. Drivers are far more likely to co-operate with the practises advised in the training if they have been given the information in an informative, non preaching, way that they can relate to.

The most common complaint that is made about vehicle tracking is that employees feel they are being ‘spied on’, and this creates resentment. These situations can usually be diffused by discussing the benefits of vehicle tracking for the driver, rather than the company. An example of a driver benefit is that their employers will be able to see how hard they are working and will be able to reward them financially with the data from the vehicle.

Another issue with vehicle tracking is obtaining finance. When the economic recession hit, it became more difficult to get a lease deal and Directors were being asked to make personal guarantees, which they were not always comfortable with. However, ‘pay as you go’ solutions are becoming a lot more popular, as they counteract this issue. This was made possible because vehicle tracking suppliers reacted well and were flexible when the market changed.

Fleet Managers have become concerned that, because of the driver analysis tools on the tracking system, they will have a legal responsibility if their driver doesn’t stick to the speed limit, as they will be aware whenever this occurs. However, if you are embarking on a continuous cycle of training and development, including pulling drivers up if they are shown to be speeding, then you are still covering your companies ‘duty of care’ towards the employee. Of course, speeding instances will naturally reduce because of the driver’s awareness that they are being monitored.

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It seems that some businesses have still not fully understood the financial savings achievable by investing in their drivers so they do drive with a different attitude.

Driver training however must always be followed up as bad habits are easy to slip back into and incident rates can rise again meaning staff are often away from their jobs for long periods of time.

Communication between drivers and employees is extremely important and involvement from both parties is required in order for driver training to be successful for all.

It would be good for businesses to show their drivers the true benefits that driver training has had to the fleet and using a vehicle tracking system can help provide data and reports that can follow driver behaviour. Healthy completion in thee rankings of drivers by using vehicle tracking is a good way in getting drivers involved and interacting about the subject.

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Delivery companies that offer delivery of goods between an unreasonable window of 9-5pm are seemingly coming under pressure as other companies such as Ocado can offer their customers a one hour delivery slot to deliver in. This seems a pressing issue with delivery companies and it looks as though the completion is on as to who can deliver within the narrowest time slot.

For customers who work, taking at least a half day off to stay in for a delivery is just no longer feasible and research has shown in the past that customers spend an average of 15 days a year waiting for deliveries or tradesman to visit. This clearly shows that there is a need for companies to minimise their delivery time slots to within one or two hours.

Vehicle Tracking can help delivery companies or businesses who run a fleet of engineers achieve these delivery time slot windows whilst reducing their costs and miles travelled.

By forward route planning and the ability to direct the nearest engineer for instance to a job, all times are reduced and customer service increased.

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Vehicle Tracking is well known for doing as it says on the tin as such. Track vehicles in real time to give fleet managers an eye in the sky as to what they are up to, where they are and what jobs to go to next. However vehicle tracking software has continually advanced and technology now means that vehicle tracking is much more than a basic tracking tool and can be used as the main management tool within any business running a fleet.

The likes of Tesco have commented on the brilliance of having a tracking system installed and I think it would be hard to find any company that haven’t benefited from having a tracking system installed whether large or small.

The in house software can produce daily reports historical reports, timesheets, vehicle statistics and so much more.

Gone are the days where drivers might declare a sneaky extra hour by saying they started earlier than they did or later. Tracking systems can tell when an ignition is switched on, off or the vehicle has stopped and importantly can monitor speed travelled and erratic driver behaviour.

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