Successful establishment and operating of a trucking company is a great accomplishment, with competition extremely high. Management of trucks and drivers to ensure fleet optimization, cargo coordination, and fuel cost minimization can be terrible if not properly planned. The right fleet management tool is needed for this.
GPS truck tracking system is a good fleet management tool, which helps to monitor trucks and drivers on a virtual map. This allows for route optimization, fuel cost reduction, as well as assessing and addressing driver behavior.
As of December 18th, 2017, the FMCSA- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued a mandate for Electronic Logging Devices (ELD) mandate.. This states the basic requirements for electronic vehicle tracking.
- Paper logbooks will no longer be used, as electronic tracking devices will be connected to the vehicle’s engine. This will help record hours of service.
- Date, time, location information, engine hours, vehicle miles and ID information of the driver must be automatically recorded by the device.
MAJOR ADVANTAGES OF GPS VEHICLE TRACKING SYSTEMS
Claims from fleet managers have established the fact that GPS truck tracking systems are highly beneficial. Some important benefits of adopting this technology are discussed below.
Reducing costs of operations
Although setting up GPS truck tracking systems require significant investment, it hugely reduces cost in other aspects of the business.
- Costs of Fuelling. Speeding and idling are major causes of high fuel consumption. However, the GPS tracking system can alert the manager to warn drivers against potential consequences. Also, route optimization is enhanced, which in turn reduces fuel costs.
- Costs of Insurance. Reckless driving and speeding by drivers can be monitored, hence reducing high insurance costs. In addition, insurance premiums can be reduced by lowering drivers’ Compliance, Safety, and Accountability (CSA) score.
- Precise Customer billing. It allows for accuracy in customer billing, as of the time when a vehicle arrives at customer locations is easily tracked. Learn more from this website.
Improved safety for both trucks and drivers fleet
- The GPS truck tracking system helps to easily attend to emergency situations involving assets and drivers since the location is known.
- Aggressive accelerating, phone usage, speeding, and hard braking by drivers can also be monitored.
- It helps to provide adequate information to an insurance company, law enforcement agency, and clients on the root cause of accidents or disputes.
- It also helps to recover stolen vehicles in case of theft.
Efficiency in Operations
Managers can use the GPS truck tracking system for vehicular operational improvements. This will help minimize potential breakdowns, repair costs, and coordination problems.
Some GPS tracking apps can be used to schedule automatic maintenance alerts for the vehicle. They also help to schedule future service through their records.
Also, it helps to computerize communication between drivers and managers.
Tax and Payroll Automation
Working hours of employees can easily be calculated, hence their wages. Also, the payable taxes can be calculated through the total miles driven in each state.
Improving customer service
This helps customers to determine the exact movement of your fleet, hence, credibility is enhanced.
In conclusion, a GPS truck tracking system is a tool necessary for the successful management of a trucking business.
