Managing the fleet: Saving Gas and Money with Vehicle Tracking
F
or companies with a fleet of vehicles on the road, knowing where your vehicles are is no longer the sole purpose for investigating in a vehicle tracking system. With the advancements in GPRS technology, vehicle tracking has become a component of a larger fleet management solution that has the capabilities of providing more than just the physical location of vehicles. With over 200 vehicles travelling across Jamaica on a daily basis, the Tank-Weld Group for example, relies on a state -of-the-art GPRS tracking solution from KingAlarm and Digicel Business to manage their fleet. For the construction experts, however, securing their fleet goes beyond tracking vehicles on a map; the solution facilities the management of other important factors, including fuel consumption, geo-fencing and scheduling maintenance for the vehicles. One of the most important benefits of a fleet management solution, however, is the cost-savings, which John P. Azar, Managing Director of KingAlarm Systems Ltd says ‘can practically pay for the solution.” According to Azar, “Managing a fleet of vehicles is not just about sitting and watching the location of your vehicles all day. While this is an important feature of any vehicle tracking system, businesses are realising that they lose a lot of money by not managing other aspects such as petrol usage and ‘moonlighting’ by employees.” Azar added that there are also insurance benefits for customers that install a vehicle tracking solution in their fleet. “Fleet managers will find that insurance companies offer savings of up to 15% when a tracking system is installed in their vehicles. In addition to the savings on petrol, the percentage saved often covers the cost for the solution, showing an almost immediate return on investment for businesses,” Azar said.
Contact Digicel Business today at: 1 (758) 724 6001 or digicelbusinessslu@digicelgroup.com
Tech
Corner
Outside of the ROI, there are a number of other benefits to be gained from implementing a fleet management solution. The system also allows fleet managers to proactively set the parameters for vehicle usage so that they can be alerted of any breach. Head of Managed Services at Digicel Business, Joe McCusker, shares some insight on how the system works: “A fleet management solution enables your company to set rules regarding the usage of its vehicular assets. You can outline the areas that you want the vehicles to travel using geo-fencing; you can set a speed limit for the vehicles and you can decide what times you want the vehicle to be used. Any time your vehicles go outside of the specified area, exceed the speed limit or are being driven outside of work hours, you will immediately receive an alert.” Gary Shurland, Human Resources Manager for the Tank-Weld Group, explains the benefits of the solution to their company. “In an environment where security is paramount, the vehicle tracking system provides a control window for us. We are able to tell our customers exactly where the truck is, and we can track the vehicle if it is stolen,” said Shurland. He continued: “We also have better control in terms of fuel control, knowing that the driver is not going off and wasting the fuel on trips unrelated to the job,” Shurland said. KingAlarm’s Azar pointed out that many companies opt to install vehicle tracking systems not only because of the peace of mind that it provides, but also due to ease of implementation. “Whether it is a large company with several trucks or just a small business with two or three cars, it is very easy to implement this solution that has so many benefits. As the system is web-based and requires minimal set-up, the fleet manager is able to monitor the vehicles remotely and expand the fleet with ease,” Azar explained.
BusinessFocus Jan / Feb
|
5