Page 20 - Oil & Energy - March 2013

20 • OIL&ENERGY
Smart Fleets
THE NEED FOR REMOTE OVERSIGHT OF
equipment and employees in the retail
fuel industry is a concern that managers
face daily, and fleet and asset tracking are
becoming commonplace to ensure the effi-
cient and effective oversight of fleets, assets,
employees and costs.
Companies must be able to track and
manage their investments without com-
promising security and efficiency. GPS fleet
technology, with an easy-to-implement
solution, effectively monitors fleet, asset
and driver performance and safety. Whether
your business has three vehicles or 300, this
technology plays a vital role in maximizing
revenue, increasing operational efficiencies
and achieving ROI.
While GPS can enable businesses to
track vehicles and assets, the remote locales
of many service areas brings another layer
of difficulty to accurate tracking. For this
reason, geographic information system (GIS)
mapping technology can be integrated with
GPS tracking software to provide a compre-
hensive service offering. As a result, fleet
managers can protect and leverage assets
remotely with real-time data and reporting.
Map layering enables managers to set
up accurate geofences and zones to report
on-time arrivals and mileage in and out of
a zone. By creating these zones, customers
can be instantly notified when an operating
procedure is breached. In fact, one com-
pany that integrated its GIS mapping with
NexTraq’s Fleet Tracking solution saw a 25
percent increase in driver productivity. In
addition, overlays such as Doppler radar or
imminent severe weather will make sure
your crews stay safe.
IMPROVE SAFETY AND SAVE FUEL
Employee tracking is about more than
knowing where your employees are. While
that may be one goal of GPS tracking,
improving incidents related to unsafe
driving and reducing fuel consumption
should also be top priorities.
According to the National Highway
Safety Traffic Administration, there are
more than 1,700 fatalities and 840,000 inju-
ries yearly due to vehicle crashes off public
highways. Speeding is the number one
culprit, leading to more tickets, accidents
and potential liability against
the company.
The enhanced function-
ality of GPS tracking solu-
tions, such as turn-by-turn
directions, eliminates the
driver’s chance of getting lost.
Should an emergency occur,
drivers have a direct line of
communication to the office
or dispatch. Given legislation
banning cell phone use in
commercial vehicles, this
capability is more critical
than ever. Tracking technology also allows
you to oversee drivers’ start and stop times
to monitor after-hours or unauthorized use.
Promoting driver responsibility through
speed alerts can prevent unsafe driving
habits as well as fight false citations.
A study by the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency found that trucks left
idling waste approximately 960 million
gallons of diesel fuel each year. Real-time
data collection allows for the monitoring of
variable costs, such as idling. Many com-
panies now track their fleets so they may
report on key metrics including idling time,
fuel consumption, driving speeds, vehicle
location and employee hours. This data can
support strategic decisions regarding driver
performance and efficient routing.
INTUITIVE REPORTING
A window into operations makes it
clear what’s working and what’s not. GPS
tracking systems provide a variety of
reports, including miles driven off-road
(which is needed for companies in states
where off-road miles are non-taxable),
and how many times the truck stops and
starts, or how long it is idling. The Start/
Stop report serves as a “virtual” timecard,
making payroll validation simple. Idle
reports allow for the reduction of harmful
emissions and fuel expenses.
The reporting capability provides a
wealth of information and valuable insight
at a moment’s notice. The collected data can
be presented in a graphically rich dashboard
and is actionable, which means the informa-
tion gleaned can be put to use to improve
processes. Dashboards give fleet managers
and operators the ability to set user-defined
goals that allow for benchmarking. For
example, maintenance reports on whether
the truck needs an oil change can be sent
back to headquarters and ensures a vehicle
stays on its maintenance schedule.
DETERMINING THE RIGHT PARTNER
Transparency from the main office to
individual vehicles is necessary in running
an efficient and profitable service business.
By empowering fleet operations with GPS,
communication is simplified, and there is
a tangible and direct impact on operations.
In fact, companies that implement this
solution increase fleet productivity and
driver productivity, decrease fuel costs and
increase recovered stolen assets.
While fleet and asset tracking give
businesses transparency and ease of use,
choosing the right provider is just as
important as the solution itself. The ability
to access the location of a vehicle or asset
within seconds maximizes the benefits but
means nothing if the provider’s application
experiences downtime. Choose an estab-
lished provider with a cloud-based applica-
tion who can guarantee a 99.999 percent
uptime, offers satellite-based asset tracking
and GIS mapping overlay integration,
as well as comprehensive reporting.
Just as important is a provider that
manufactures their own devices, meaning
they control the quality of their hardware
and pledge industry-leading reliability.
They should service companies both large
and small, and provide the resources to
properly train staff while still offering 24/7
customer service.
GPS fleet tracking with a weather overlay can help
alert drivers and dispatchers of severe weather.
Beyond Fleet Tracking
Companies can use GPS to measure and improve performance
By Mike Scarbrough, Chief Executive Officer, NexTraq