Overcome These Top 4 Fleet Productivity Killers with GPS Tracking Rastrac Team | May 5, 2016 3:40:12 PM

Whether your vehicle fleet consists of 1 vehicle or 1,000 vehicles, you want to make sure that it is as efficient and productive as possible. A fast, productive fleet gets more done in less time, helping your organization meet critical mission objectives.

In any vehicle fleet, there are many barriers to productivity. These productivity killers keep your fleet from being as effective as it could be, wasting time and money.

What are these fleet productivity killers, and how can you overcome them?

Here’s a list of some of the biggest productivity killers for vehicle fleets, and how GPS tracking can help you reduce their impact:

Productivity Killer #1: Drivers not Staying On-Task Behind the Wheel

Drivers in the field have a lot of autonomy compared to workers in an office or other location where management is ever-present. When you hand over the keys to a company vehicle, you’re trusting that the driver will do their best to stay on-task at all times when on the clock.

Unfortunately, it’s all too easy for a driver in the field to get distracted or go off-task once they’re away from any kind of direct supervision.

Whether the driver’s making side trips off their assigned route to take care of personal chores, or doing other work off the books, the time they spend on these detours is costing you fuel, time, and money.

GPS tracking devices help keep drivers on-task by giving you a tool that can spot when a driver goes off-route or loiters in one area too long. With this information, you can reach out to drivers and put them back on task.

Productivity Killer #2: Traffic

Sometimes, a driver isn’t being inefficient on their own account; they’re simply stuck in traffic.

Organizations that operate in major metropolitan areas are all too familiar with how traffic jams can obstruct productivity.

GPS tracking systems can help you navigate your fleet vehicles around traffic blockages. With GPS, finding an alternate route to a destination is simple, helping you keep your vehicles moving forward and staying productive.

Productivity Killer #3: Drivers Getting Lost

This issue is more common with long-distance shipping companies, but has been known to affect all kinds of organizations. Drivers on new or unfamiliar routes can easily lose track of their current position or miss a turn, requiring them to spend time trying to find their way back to their intended route.

New road construction and traffic pattern alterations can also confuse a driver, turning once-familiar roads into unknown paths that they have to relearn before they can comfortably travel them once again.

GPS is immensely helpful for getting drivers that are lost back on their intended route. Millions of Americans use GPS every day to navigate new and unfamiliar roads.

Productivity Killer #4: On the Road Breakdowns

Vehicle maintenance is one of the cornerstones of a safe, efficient, and productive vehicle fleet. A lack of maintenance can cause vehicle breakdowns on the road, which not only strand personnel and materials on the road, but are costly to fix.

GPS tracking devices with performance monitoring capabilities can help prevent costly on the road breakdowns by alerting you to abnormal performance conditions. With this kind of remote monitoring, you can identify which fleet vehicles are in need of preventative maintenance, and avoid costly vehicle breakdowns.

This keeps your vehicles on the road producing results rather than on the shoulder gathering dust and tickets.

These are just some of the biggest obstacles to productivity that GPS tracking can help you overcome. For more information about GPS vehicle tracking, check out some of our other resources today!