GPS is a tracking device that uses a global positioning system to transmit data through cellular (GPRS), radio or satellite signals to determine the precise location of a vehicle, person or object. It's a system that has been strongly adopted by fleet management organisations to allow them to efficiently track their company vehicles. While its implementation has been somewhat controversial, with some arguing it is an invasion of employees privacy, this article looks at the many benefits introducing a GPS tracking system can in fact bring to fleet management organisations and argues that ultimately the need to protect company assets outweighs the need to protect employee privacy during business hours. GPS tracking has allowed for a great deal of improvement within fleet management starting with increases in fuel efficiency. In an era where fuel prices are rocket high, maximising the number of deliveries made in relation to the amount of fuel used is a much more efficient form of business. GPS allows fleet managers to create accurate route plans, meaning they can fill each fleet to their maximum capacity before departure, which reduces the number of trucks out on the road and helps reduce fuel consumption. The capabilities of GPS tracking allows for a significant more than just organising route plans however. Not only do they supply drivers with directions, helping speed up deliveries in unfamiliar territories, but they also provide an invaluable resource of driver whereabouts, vehicle condition and ETAs to a variety of destinations. This means fleet managers are able to effectively measure the activities of their drivers. By recording the direction and speed of the vehicle it's tracking, GPS is highly efficient if the need to file an insurance claim becomes an issue. Discrepancies over incidences become factually recorded and reduce time wasted on dealing with these inevitable claims. Similarly GPS fleet management systems have also helped reduce insurance premiums for many companies. In the event of theft to your fleet, tracking the vehicles becomes much easier. Drivers also tend to take more care when driving; keeping to speed restrictions and ensuring vehicles are always locked when unattended for example. When they are aware they are being monitored, the impact on driver behaviour is positive, driving more considerately, which in the long term, helps reduce premiums. Fleet Management teams have an option to install two types of GPS tracking, real time or passive and the choice will come down to how rapid you will need your information updates. Both provide details of vehicle speed, direction, stops, routes and location however there is a difference in how quickly you receive this. Real time fleet management tools allow users to monitor their information as it happens, as live updates where passive tracking does not produce live feeds. Instead, passive tracking involves a GPS recorder being fitted to the fleet vehicles to record all the relevant data, to be downloaded to a main terminal at the end of each working day, either manually or wirelessly. While this option is not a common as real time feeds, it still allows managers to increase efficiency of their fleet by collating the data built up over time periods. Some have questioned whether GPS fleet management tracking could be seen as an invasion of privacy however it could equally be argued that just as employees are monitored in a working office, drivers can equally have their whereabouts monitored at all times. By having procedures in place for example to monitor drivers who take excessive detours, companies are able to maximise their efficiency and reduce time wasted. There really are very few disadvantages to installing a GPS tracking system, if your long term goal is to maximise efficiency and minimise costs.
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