Whether for personal reasons or business strategy, using vehicle GPS tracking technology can put your mind at ease and make your workplace more efficient. The Global Positioning Satellite System has revolutionized the way we drive and how we get from the point here to there. Most everyone has some experience with these amazing electronic maps that can route travel and give verbal directions. With only a small twist in function, vehicle GPS trackers can let you know not only where you are in your vehicle, but they can allow you to locate your vehicle when you’re not in it.
These are a just a few industries that realize financial savings and better customer service by using vehicle GPS tracking:
- Courier services and delivery businesses
- Emergency responders
- Municipal Utilities, Communications Companies
- Maintenance (field technicians)
- Landscape and Lawn crews
- Pest control
- Electrical and Plumbing Contractors
- All Trucking operations and dispatchers
- Sales organizations
- Government fleet managers
By taking the GPS system that you’re familiar with, adding cell phone technology, then tying it all to the Internet, it’s possible to track your vehicle if it is stolen – or more likely when another family member is using it (think: your teenager!) Probably a more popular use for these systems would be to track work vehicles, truck fleets, and construction equipment. Virtually any large asset can be outfitted with one of these units if there is a risk of theft or a need to monitor its location.
The two types of tracking GPS devices to use on vehicles are live web trackers and loggers.
Spark Nano Real-Time GPS Tracking DeviceThe live tracker is a GPS unit that will relay location information (in real time) to the web for you to monitor on the internet from anywhere in the world. They can be small and portable – easy to hide and quick to transfer from one vehicle to the next. This unit even has a “panic” button which can send an immediate text or email alert to an intended recipient. The provided software also allows user to set up alerts if the tracker exceeds a certain speed limit or travels outside a user specified area. This is how it works. A permanently mounted live tracker can be wired permanently to a vehicle’s electric system, a great way to keep a constant watch on vehicles in your fleet. These can also be programmed with various “alert” parameters to notify you if certain routes or speed limits have been ignored. The live vehicle trackers require a monthly service plan, (much like a cell phone) and usually some form of activation fee. These plans vary in cost and are often based on length of plan, frequency of use, and number of vehicle gps trackers that you are contracting for. The good news is that the cost can often be completely recovered in fuel savings, employee productivity, and more efficient customer service.
Smallest GPS Tracker can be hidden or mounted in a vehicle and will record the geographic location that it travels to at specified intervals on internal memory. The memory chips can usually be removed or the unit can be hooked up to a PC with a USB cable. The resulting data can be analyzed to determine where the logger has been, for how long, what speeds were traveled, etc. This tiny unit is battery operated, easily concealed, and comes with software to read the recorded data. A tremendous advantage of this type of tracker is that there is no ongoing monthly operating fee.
Tiny GPS Tracker works indoorsImagine being able to instantly check up on your teen or loved one if they are late for an appointment. Perhaps a vehicle tracker is all that you need to check up on a suspected cheating spouse or boyfriend/girlfriend. The marriage of GPS and cell phone technology allows these devices to work without a line of site to satellites (they can be magnetically snapped to the underside of a car!). They’ll even function indoors! Track an employee to make sure they are on the road and not taking unauthorized routes or unscheduled breaks. Monitor large pieces of construction equipment or materials that are at risk for theft. If you or your staff are responsible for transporting expensive assets, (think jewelry, proprietary electronics, company documents, computer hard drives), you can monitor these sensitive shipments and help protect your employees and assets.
With your GPS that you use now, it’s easy to find out where you are and where want to go; with the new vehicle GPS tracking systems you can find out where your stuff is and where it’s been.
