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GPS Tracker
WHAT IS GPS TRACKING?
Let'sbeginwiththename,GPS,whichstandsforGlobalPositioningSystem.The systeminvolvesanetworkofsatellitesorbitingtheEarthanddevicesthatcanhelp determineanobjectoraperson'slocation.Initiallydevelopedinthe1960sformilitary application,GPStechnologyeventuallybecameavailableforpublicusein1983,and advancesandusecaseshaveincreasedoverthedecades.Thesedays,GPShasa rangeofuses,frommilitaryexercisesacrosstheglobe,todirectionsthathelpdrivers findtheirway
WHAT DOES A GPS TRACKER DO?
GPStrackingrequiresatrackingdevicetobeinstalledinavehicle,onanasset,orto bewornbyaperson Thedevicethenprovidesinformationaboutitsexactlocation andsubsequentmovements,enablingtrackinginreal-time.AGPStrackingdevice canbeusedbyfleetmanagerstolocatewhereatruckorassetisonitsroute,report ontrafficconditions,andmonitorhowlongeachvehiclespendsatajobsite
GPS TRACKING SYSTEM BASICS
AGPStrackingsystemdoesthisbyusingtheGlobalNavigationSatelliteSystem (GNSS)network ThisnetworkconsistsofsatellitesthatcommunicatewithGPS devicestoprovideinformationonthecurrentlocation,direction,time,a dspeedof thevehiclebeingtracked.
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HOW DOES A VEHICLE TRACKING DEVICE WORK?
GPStrackingdevicessendspecialsatellitesignalsthatareprocessedbyareceiver. TheseGPSreceiverstracktheexactlocationoftheGPSdeviceaswellascompute theirtimeandthevelocitytheyaretraveling Thesepositionscanalsobecomputed andrepresentedinthree-dimensionalviewsusingfourtypesofGPSsatellitesignals. GPSsystemsconsistofthreesegments:space,control,anduser.
THE SPACE SEGMENT
TheGlobalPositioningSystemismadeupof27satellitesthatorbittheEarth Ofthese 27satellites,24areoperational,andthreearebackupsatellitesifoneoftheother24 fails.ThesesatellitesorbittheEarthevery12hoursandsendsignalsthatarereceived byGPSreceivers.
THE CONTROL SEGMENT
ThePositioningSystemiscontrolledbydifferenttrackingstationslocatedaroundthe globe.Thesestationspickupmicrowavecarriersignalstransmittedbythesatellites, andtheGPSreceiversconvertthesesignalsintodatasuchasvelocity,time,and position.
THE USER SEGMENT
GPSreceiversreceivethesignalssentbyGPSsatellitesandusethemtodetermine theuser'spositioninspaceandtime.
TWO TYPES OF GPS SYSTEMS
ThereareafewwaysaGPStrackingsystemcanwork.CommercialGPSdevicesare oftenusedtorecordthelocationofvehiclesduringtheirjourneys Somesystemswill storeinformationwithintheGPSsystemitself,andthisiscalledpassivetracking. Othersystemsregularlysenddatatoacentralizeddatabasethroughamodem,and thatiscalledactivetrackingor2-wayGPS.
PassiveGPStrackingmonitorslocationandstoresdataontripsbasedonspecific events.Thistypeofsystemcanlogdataonwherethedeviceshavebeeninthepast 12hours.Itstoresthedatainternallyoronamemorycard,whichisthendownloaded toacomputertobeanalyzedlater Insomesystems,theinformationisdownloaded automaticallyatasettimeorcanberequestedperiodicallyduringthejourney.
PassiveGPSentailsreal-timetrackingsystemsthatautomaticallysendinformation toacentraltrackingportalasithappens.Thistypeofsystemisusedonmost commercialapplications,suchasmonitoringandtrackingchildrenortheelderly, sinceitletscaregiversknowwheretheirchargesareatalltimes Thistypeofsystem isalsousedtomonitoremployees'drivingbehaviorastheyworkandstreamlinea fleets'operations.
WHAT IS GPS TRACKING USED FOR?
MostpeoplearefamiliarwiththemostcommonusesofGPStechnology,suchas mappingandsurveying,gettingdirections,andkeepingtrackofchildren.Butthere aremanyotherusesyoumayneverhadrealizedwereoutthere GPSplaysan importantroleinalltypesofapplicationsusedbythemilitaryandfirstresponders, aswellasothercommercialandpersonaluses.HerearesomeofthewaysGPS systemsareused.
MILITARY USE OF GPS
Initiallydevelopedbythemilitary,GPSisstillusedtotracktroopmovements,aircraft, navigationatsea,andmore.Thisisveryimportantformilitaryunitsstationedin unfamiliarterritoryoronthemoveatnight.
SEARCH AND RESCUE
GPStrackingisalsousedinsearchandrescueoperations.Ithelpsrescueteams keeptrackofwherethey'vesearchedorevengetinformationfromalostperson's smartphoneorGPSdevice
GPS VEHICLE TRACKING
GPS VEHICLE TRACKING
CommercialfleetsoftenuseGPStrackingtomonitortheirfleetvehicles.Byinstalling GPSdevicesonfleetvehicles,fleetmanagerscantracktheirdrivers'locationsand statuses,aswellasgetimportantinsightsabouttheirfleet'sefficiency.
GPStrackingsystemsareacrucialpartof tomonitorfleetvehiclelocationsand activity,andtohelpimproveefficiencyandsafety.Inaddition,GPStrackingmakes routinganddispatchingmoreaccurateandmucheasier
GPS RECREATIONAL USES
Mostwearabletechsuchaswatchesusedforrunning,biking,andhiking,useGPS tracking,givingusersinputondistancetraveled,theirspeed,orwheretheyareinthe wilderness Withtheincreaseinsmartphoneuse,almostallofuscarryGPStracking deviceseverywherewego.Thistechnologycanbeusedinnewways,including augmentedreality(AR)applicationstolocation-basedgames.Thesetypesofuses willonlyincreaseinthecomingyears
LEGALITY OF GPS TRACKERS
PrivacyconcernssurroundingGPStrackinghaveresultedinlegislationonhowthese trackingdevicescanbeused It'scompletelylegaltoinstallaGPSdeviceona vehicleorassetyouown.ButusingaGPStrackingdeviceonapersonorinsomeone else'svehicle,requiresyoutocheckthecurrentfederal,state,andlocallaws.These lawschangecontinuallyasnewcasescomeup,soit'scrucialtokeepyourselfupto-dateonamendments.Here'swhatyouneedtoknow.
ItislegaltouseaGPStrackingdeviceifyouoryourbusinessowntheassetor vehicle.
Employeesmustunderstandthattheyarebeingmonitoredwhileonthejob Employersmustensuretheirvehicletrackingsolutionsareonlyusedfor business-relatedpurposes.
BeclearandtransparentaboutwhenandhowyouuseGPStrackingdata.Ifyour employeesdon'ttrustorunderstandhowyouareusingthedatafromGPStrackers,it canresultinlowemployeemorale.
TELEMATICS AND GPS TRACKING
TelematicsandGPStracking
worktogethertoprovideactionableinsightsintotheoperationsofyourfleet.They arenotcompetingsystemsbutpartsofacomplementarysystem.Atthecenterof a isatrackingdevicethatgathersreal-timedataaboutthevehicle'slocationand status AtelematicssolutionreceivesGPSdataandsendsittoacentralserver The dataisthenprocessedandturnedintoupdatesaccessedthroughfleet managementsoftware.
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS OF GPS TRACKING AND TELEMATICS
GPStrackingisapracticaltoolforfleetmanagersformanyreasons.GPSdevices giveyouvisibilityintoyourfleetvehicle'slocations,butthat'snotall.Herearesome otherkeybenefitsofGPStracking
OPTIMIZE ROUTES
AGPStrackingsystemletsyouoptimizeyourfleet'sroutes.Youcaneasilylocateyour driversanddeterminewhichisclosesttoaparticularjob.Youcansendtheclosest driverandreroutetherestofyourvehiclesifneeded Thissavesyoutimeandmoney, whilekeepingyourcustomershappy.
REDUCE OPERATING COSTS
Nomatterifyouarereducingfuelcostsbysendingyourdriversonmoreefficient routesormakingbetterdispatchingdecisions,GPStrackingdevicescanhelpyou makecost-savingdecisionsbasedondatainreal-time.Bygivingyouincreased insightandvisibilityintoyourfleet'soperations,GPStrackingprovidesmoredata aboutyourfleetvehicles,soyourdecisionscanbemorestrategicandimpactfulto yourbusinessanditsbottomline.
REDUCE FUEL USE AND COSTS
PriortoadvancesinGPStelematics,fleetmanagershadnowayofknowingwhat theiremployeesdideachday,wheretheywereatanygiventime,andwherethey wereheadedtonext.Theyhadnowaytoknowwhotodispatchforjobs,whenthe
jobswerecompleted,oriftheywereevengettingdone
WithGPStrackingandbetterdispatching,youcaneconomizeonfueluse,savetime andreduceemissions Forexample,youcanuseGPStechnologytomonitorover speedingorexcessiveidling,fuel-wastingbehaviors.Youcancoachyourdriversto encouragebetterdriving,savingfuel.
IMPROVE SECURITY
InstallingaGPSvehicletrackeronyourfleetvehiclesandassetshelpsincreasefleet security.Ifavehicleorassetisstolenorlost,aGPStrackercanhelpyoufindand recoveryourstolenorlostvehicleorassetfaster.Youcanevensetageofence aroundvehiclesandassetsthatalertyouwhentheyleavethepre-designatedarea orareusedoff-hours.
REDUCE OVERTIME AND TIMESHEET FRAUD
Withbetterjourneymanagementandelectronictimelogs,youcanreduceovertime throughoutyourfleet You'llbeabletobetterallocateresourcesbasedonreal-time updates,sothatyourtruckswon'ttakelongertripsandyourdriverswon'tspend moretimeontheroadthantheyneedto.Thishelpskeepyourpayrollhoursunder control.
Timesheetfraudtakesplacewhendriversgetpaidforworktheydidn'tdoorfortime spentonnon-workactivities.Sometimesdriversrecordmorehoursthanthey worked,retroactivelyedittheirdrivinghours,orlogregularhoursasovertime.Not onlydoesthiscostyoumoney,butitalsocanresultinincorrectbilling ByusingGPS andelectroniclogs,yourpayrollandbillingaremoreaccurate.
IMPROVE ASSET UTILIZATION
AGPStrackingtelematicssolutioncangiveyouinsightintorealarrivaland departuretimes,stopdurations,traveltimefromonejobtoanother,andwhenyour driversareinactive.Theseupdatescantellyouifjobsarebeingcompletedinthe allottedtime,iftherearedelays-andwhy,ifdetoursaretakenforpersonalerrands, andwhendelaysoccurduetoadriverbecominglost You'llknowifdriversarenot beingutilizedeveniftheyhavehoursavailable,andyoucanmakedecisionsbased onreal-timeinsightstoimproveoverallfleetutilization.
VALIDATION OF COMPLETED WORK
Onoccasion,yourcustomersmayquestionwhatyou'vebilledthemfor,suchasifa driverattendedtotheirjobandhowmanyhourswerespentonit.GPStracking providesrecordsofwhereyourdriverswere,anddemonstratetoyourcustomers
thattheyworkedthehoursontheirinvoices Showingyourcustomerselectronic proofcanbuildtrust,loyaltyandimproveyourcustomerservice.
ASSET TRACKING
GPSfleettrackingsoftwareworksforallassets,notjustvehicles.Ifyouhave expensivemobileequipment,suchasgeneratorsandtrailers,youcanmonitortheir movements.Thisempowersyoutoknowiftheyareonthejobsiteswheretheyare needed,andnotsittingidlyandunused.You'llknowtheyaresecureandaccounted for.Youcanalsosetageofencearoundworksites,soyou'llknowwhentheycome andgofromeachspecificsite.
IMPROVE FLEET SAFETY
Improvingfleetsafetysavesyoumoneyandimprovesyourcompany'simage.Now, GPSfleettrackingsolutionscanalertyouwhenyourdriversarespeeding,making unscheduledstops,harshbraking,orsuddenlyaccelerating.Theseactionsnotonly wastegasandincreaseyourfuelcosts,buttheycanalsobedangerous.By monitoringtheseevents,youcanhelpyourdriversdevelopbetter,saferdriving habits.
HAPPIER CUSTOMERS
Nomatterifyourfleetisdeliveringproductstohomesorispartofacomplexsupply chain,yourcustomersexpectacertaintypeofserviceandconvenience.SinceGPS trackingtelematicsgivesyoutheexactlocationofyourfleet'svehiclesandyoucan dispatchyourvehiclesfarmoreefficiently,yourcustomerswillbehappier.Youcan providethemwithincreasinglyaccurateestimatedarrivaltimes(ETAs),sotheywill knowwhentoexpectadeliveryorotherservice.