GPS tracking software is being implemented into a variety of industries to improve upon their organization’s current fleet management practices and help increase their fleet’s operational efficiency. A fleet tracking software’s monitoring capabilities provide you with multiple tracking reports on data collected from a fleet vehicle’s GPS tracking device. These reports allow you to check on the condition of every tagged vehicle and help grade the performance of your fleet drivers — giving you the opportunity to set parameters on employees who may be abusing their fleet vehicles by practicing unsafe driving habits or using them for personal errands.
With GPS tracking software, you are given total flexibility on how often you’d like to receive the tracking reports, what specific times you want them, and are able to view reports going back several weeks or even months! Besides tracking the performance of your fleet vehicles, you can also check:
- How many miles were traveled in a week,
- Where the fleet vehicles were mostly located,
- How long each fleet vehicle remained in a specific place, and
- How many updates were received from their GPS device.
Let’s take a look at some of the other tracking features provided by GPS tracking software and the types of fleet tracking reports you can access!
Location Tracking
When you have to manage multiple fleet vehicles and assets at once, you want to know that everything is where it’s supposed to be. Drivers taking unexpected detours to complete personal errands or inventory traveling in the wrong direction can hinder your fleet’s operational efficiency. This becomes worse if any of your vehicles or valuable assets are stolen — which can cost your business thousands (even hundreds of thousands) of dollars in lost product and equipment.
With Rastrac’s GPS tracking software, you have a list of every tagged vehicle in your fleet and can find their exact location by clicking on their information. This feature is especially helpful for law enforcement dispatchers. If a crime or accident has occurred, dispatchers can locate which first responders are near the area and alert those units to respond immediately. You can also measure the distance between two vehicles to see who could provide backup.
These features are beneficial for more than just law enforcement, however — they help improve fleet management for all kinds of industries! For example, municipalities can monitor service vehicles to ensure workers are completing their responsibilities within their assigned locations, whether this involves street cleaning, snow removal, or trash collection services. Construction and heavy equipment rental fleets can use fleet tracking software to track their fleet vehicles and make sure all equipment is returned to its proper location. Location tracking reports are also helpful to know when and where any of your fleets assets were stolen, and if it was a stolen fleet vehicle, you can turn off the engine from your GPS tracking software using the starter disabler function.
Geofencing Reports
To add to the benefits provided by location tracking, Rastrac’s GPS tracking software also offers a geofencing tool. Geofencing allows you to set up customized perimeters and routes that your drivers are required to travel along. So, if a fleet vehicle leaves the specified location, you are immediately alerted via text or email. You can also print, email, or message the mapped routes directly to your driver’s phone for easy access.
Geofencing is especially helpful for road optimization so you can see which are the best available routes for fleet vehicles that make frequent stops, like delivery and garbage trucks. To improve your fleet management even further, you can also set an entire route as a corridor geofence by hitting the “convert to geofence” button from your fleet tracking software’s dashboard.
There are three types of geofencing parameters you can use:
- Polygon: Form any polygon shape (triangular, quadrilateral, pentagonal,) by clicking any space on the map to designate the areas where your fleet vehicles and assets are not allowed to travel outside of.
- Corridor: By clicking along the roads on the map, you can set a predetermined path outlining which routes should be driven along— making it perfect for fleets that follow specific routes consistently. You can also set a limit on the number of miles a driver is allowed to travel outside of these specified paths before you are notified by your fleet tracking software. For example, you don’t want to be alerted every time a driver travels a mile off the route to eat their lunch or stretch their legs. So, you can set your GPS tracking software to alert you when a driver is three, five, or even ten miles off their coordinated route.
- Circle: A more basic option, the software will create a circle based on where you click on the map and will alert you when a tagged fleet vehicle or other assets leave the circle.
Weather Monitoring
Want to know the weather conditions of the areas that your fleets are traveling to? Rastrac’s GPS tracking software has you covered! From the fleet tracking software’s dashboard, you can view the map with an overlay of the current weather conditions and use the color-coded key that lists the different types of weather events occurring around the country. You can also click on the weather event icons to view statements and reports made about the weather warnings and watches to see which areas they are affecting and for how long. Think of it like the weather maps you see on the news.
You can receive tracking reports and be alerted to all kinds of weather issues, including:
- Freeze warnings,
- Flood warnings,
- High winds, and
- Flash floods.
Driver Behavior
One of the most important things to monitor is the driving behavior of your fleet drivers. Unsafe driving practices can ruin the credibility of your business if a driver gets into an accident in one of your fleet vehicles. In addition to the increase in costs for vehicle maintenance and repairs, there could also be significant damage to the cargo or assets the fleet driver was transporting. When you connect a GPS tracking device to your fleet vehicle’s onboard diagnostic system, you can receive tracking reports on the driving behavior of your employees to check for the top speeders and engine idlers in your fleet over a period of hours, weeks, or even months. You can also monitor:
- Driver’s turning habits,
- Acceleration and deceleration times,
- RPM levels,
- Hard braking habits.
GPS tracking software allows you to set alerts to notify you when a driver is going over the speed limit by a certain number of miles per hour (mph). You can also monitor inactive vehicles when a fleet vehicle hasn’t reported its position for a certain length of time. This helps you know if there is something wrong with the vehicle and when the ignition was last turned on or received an update from the GPS tracking device.
Fleet Vehicle Maintenance Tracking
Maintaining the operational efficiency of your fleet is an important part of proper fleet management. Poor maintenance strategies leave your fleet vehicles vulnerable to potential breakdowns and part failures that can hinder your operations — including seeing an increase in fleet costs due to unscheduled repairs and part replacements. So, it’s vital that fleet managers keep accurate records of all past service records to know which fleet vehicles require or have received the proper maintenance services.
With GPS tracking software, this job is made easier because you’re provided with updated fleet vehicle maintenance tracking reports that notify you which vehicles need servicing. You can track maintenance plans and next inspection dates as well as set reminders for renewals on vehicle registrations, drivers licenses, and insurance premiums. Plus, fleet tracking software allows you to integrate all past service records for better tracking of a fleet vehicle’s maintenance history.
Rastrac’s GPS tracking software can help manage your fleet’s performance and aid in the responsibilities expected of an organization’s fleet management. The goal of fleet tracking solutions is to reduce overhead costs, increase profitability, and provide better customer service. Interested in learning more about how a fleet tracking software’s tracking reports can improve your fleet’s operations? Contact a Rastrac representative today to schedule a free demo!
Like what you're reading? Subscribe to our blog.
Get our latest posts straight to your inbox.
Subscribe to Our Blog
