Do you know of many cars today that do not have a GPS tracking device installed in them? You probably do not. One of the most popular fleet management devices out there today is GPS. The most important use that GPS has is in giving directions to those vehicles, both commercial and private that spend many hours on the road each day. These directions are given based on the exact coordinates of the vehicles location at that time.
Widening GPS Usage
More and more people, companies, and communities are realizing the value of a good global positioning system. One good example of this can be found in Dakota County. They are gearing up to use a GPS system to monitor the whereabouts and movements of disabled people.
Project Lifesaver is underway in Dakota County. Fleet management devices will be modified to be used in a bracelet for those who are suffereing from autism, Alzheimer's, or other mentally incapacitating diseases.
In the UK, one company has made use of the GPS for a unique reason. They are using it to help ensure better food retail management. Common sense tells you that you must be on time if you provide food to cafes, restaurants, or fast-food chains. Even better, you should be early. If you are late, meals will be delayed, resulting in a loss of sales for the food chain, and, ultimately, for you.
There is a company in the UK called PHS Teacrate. PHS Teacrate rents crates to companies in the UK. This company has recently installed a GPS tracking system in every single one of their collection and delivery vehicles. Use of these GPS units will allow route managers and dispatchers to give customers valuable information about their shipments and reroute a driver as needed for a last minute pickup. This information can provide the customer with an accurate time frame on when they can expect their crates to be delivered. Response times have been reduced as has mileage, which creates a significant savings for PHS Teacrate.
The school system in the town of Mobile County has experienced an unusually large number of recent copper thefts. More than five of their schools lost 40 copper units last summer alone. Sadly, the consensus is that the problem will only get worse, not better. For this reason, the school system is considering installing GPS tracking devices in their copper in order to locate the criminals and bring them to justice.
The copper coils will have GPS devices installed on them. The copper coils are commercial units that can weigh as much as 70 pounds. The small size of the GPS units will make their detection by thieves very difficult.
Companies that manufacture various instruments used in fleet management have a lot of optimism that the demand for GPS systems will grow in the future as the crime rates continue to rise. Add to that their value as a deterrent to vehicular accidents and they expect that GPS will not fade out, but become ever more commonplace in today's world.
Fleet management is much more than just knowing where your vehicles are but it is also about the health and safety of your employees whilst under your supervision. GPS tracking has many benefits for fleet managers with one of the most important attributes, real time tracking, helping to keep your workers safe and you still in business.
According to the Health and Safe ty Executive (HSE) over 10 million workers in the UK drive a licensed vehicle in connection with their work, whether its company car, taxi, or a bus. Under new Government legislation, employers have a duty of care to ensure so far as reasonable and practicable the health, safety and welfare of their employees whilst they are under their supervision.
Although there is no specific legislation relating to employer duties on road safety issues, employers are still responsible for the health and safety of their employees and under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, employers must perform a risk assessment of all work activities including working on the roads.
For fleet managers, who must take responsibility for a number of vehicles and mobile workers, this legislation is particularly serious, especially considering the introduction of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. This act, alongside changes to existing road transport legislation, means that it is now more important than ever to carry out safety checks and risk assessments and implement policies and risk reduction procedures.
Any organisation that fails to meet their duty of care policies in such a way that results in the death of an employee whilst at work can be prosecuted by law. With the HSE indicating that nearly a third of the 3000 road traffic fatalities in the year 2000 being at work at the time the seriousness of this new legislation is clear. In addition to these laws an employer also still has legal obligations under the Road Traffic Act 1998/1991 and the Road vehicle (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986.
As a fleet manager, you should be well aware that monitoring and controlling your fleet safely is critical for your business and are likely to have put strict duty of care policies in place. One of these policies is likely to be regular assessments and auditing of all work related driving activities. Any employee whether in their own private vehicle or a company vehicle, and including employees who work at the road side is your responsibility as their employer.
Alongside ensuring that all employees are competent and fit to drive your vehicles it is your responsibility to provide adequate training and instruction where needed with regards to your own health and safety procedures. The state and condition of all vehicles used to perform your business is also your responsibility even if the vehicle in question does not belong to your company.
One of the many steps fleet managers can take to ensure that they meet with their duty of care obligations is to utilise GPS tracking technologies. GPS tracking can help to minimise the risk of a corporate manslaughter claim in many ways including providing real time geographic positioning of mobile workers.
Alongside tracking the location of each vehicle within your fleet, GPS tracking also allows you to monitor driver style and importantly the amount of time they have been driving. This is important to fleet managers as all drivers should only work according to the guidelines set out in the Working Time Directive (WTD).
The WTD was set up to help fleet managers adhere to driver's hour's regulations which stipulate how long is considered safe for one driver to be behind the wheel. When you consider that some 20,000 accidents were caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel during the year 2000, according to the London Hazards Centre, this is an important aspect of managing your fleet safely. GPS tracking systems can also help provide evidence if there ever was an accident as to the speed, direction and temperature of the vehicle in question.
Driver Behaviour is also important to fleet managers when assessing risks as drivers who are known to be harsh accelerators or frequently record heavy usages of breaks may need more supervision, these records also allow you to identify which driver styles tend to use less fuel and cause the least amount of wear and tear to your vehicles.
For more information on how GPS tracking systems can help to keep your fleet safe, visit www.supatrak.com
Both Mahoney & Dave Logic are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Mahoney has sinced written about articles on various topics from Sales and Negotiation, Environment and Computers and The Internet. John Mahoney is an expert on reviewing GPS fleet management equipments and technology. Follow these links to find best gadgets and information on: