Fleet management companies need a good tracking system to check where the vehicles are going and what condition. If you have a contract to send some goods to the client’s place, it must ensure that all the things safely reach there. Therefore, it is essential to check every moment of the vehicles that are moving in the city. There can be hundreds of automobiles in the fleet management company, and it is quite hard to handle them all together.
With the help of GPS, tracking has become relatively easy. It is quite beneficial to install this system in every automobile to monitor everything. You must go here to check out the benefits like improved customer service, fewer risks of theft, no paperwork, no unnecessary communication, etc. In the following write-up, we will discuss various tips and tricks to choose the fleet’s best GPS tracking system.
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Determine Things That You Want to Monitor
It is quite necessary to determine the types of automobiles you will be monitoring with the help of GPS like cars, trucks, etc. There can be many things that you need to check before purchasing any device. You need to keep the purpose clear in your mind about what exactly you want to track. It can be different types of equipment like refrigerators, construction materials, generators, etc.
You have to buy a different device according to temperature or environment like wet or dry. Every vehicle and equipment requires another type of device. Some people look for a versatile gadget without any concern about the price because they do not compromise quality. Therefore, you have to decide what things you need to determine while tracking your vehicles are on the road.
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How You Want to Get Updates: Real-time or Periodic
Initially, you need to understand the difference between both types of updates. In real-time, you are continuously monitoring the vehicle on the road. The tracker gives a report about its presence on a particular route all day. On the other hand, the periodic updates mean that you get information about the automobiles at a specific interval or when your vehicle stops or moves. It gets updated whenever the fleet is changing its location.
Mostly, people prefer real-time for emergency deliveries. It means that when the delivery is getting late, and you have to track the vehicle’s current status, it is necessary to take an update every minute. When we combine the GPS with the fleet management application like geofencing, we will get all the automobile information whenever we want. There are motion sensors that help minimize power usage whenever the vehicle is in the rest state.
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Determine the Type of Trackers
There are two types of tracking devices that are available for monitoring for either short-term or long-term. You need to determine your purpose and choose the relevant one. You need to get updates about your vehicles for a month, or a year or forever till it exists. The significant difference between these two types is the battery life and portability. There are different types of trackers, and you can choose any of them that you think is good for your fleet.
- Battery-powered: If any manager wants a device, which gives updates frequently for short-term, and portability is a significant concern, then they must choose this one. The device works on batteries. It can be alkaline ones or rechargeable ones. There are various settings that can help you in saving the battery backup and get updates efficiently.
- Hard-Wired: If you are searching for the long-term tracking device, then you must consider this option. The device takes power for the activation by the power of the vehicle. There is no use of the battery in such a gadget.
- Hybrid: These devices are available with rechargeable batteries with relatively less versatility. The vehicles that are undergoing transitions in every minute can be well-monitored by this gadget. If any part of the automobile is disconnected from it, then also you can locate it anywhere.
- Solar-powered: If any manager wants a device with extended battery life, then they must consider this option. With the help of solar power, they can recharge the batteries and track the fleet efficiently. Such gadget is for long-term tracking where there is no concern of getting outdated or vulnerable.
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Determine the Equipment and Condition of the Vehicle
When you want to keep an eye on the driver’s activities, like how he is driving, whether he is taking goods safely, meeting an accident, etc. Many trackers are available that detect the current status of the condition of the equipment and vehicle. If you find that anything is wrong going on from the driver’s side, you can stop him or provide alerts to him.
It is easy to detect rapid acceleration, harsh braking, and bad behavior of the driver. The device can check how your automobile is functioning and provide all the information about it. In case of anything changes, it pushes notifications to the manager.
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Determine the Type of Technology
Two options are there when it comes to technology, i.e., Proprietary and Non-Proprietary. A fleet management company needs to spend a lot of money to get the desired application. If you are interested in Non-proprietary technology, then it is possible to connect the vendor’s software to the third-party.
But if you are interested in the Proprietary technology, then you will have an independent application, which will not be connected with other software. You will be observing your vehicles without providing any idea to the client. But if you have regular deliveries and the client is concerned about his deliveries, he may ask for non-proprietary technology.
The Bottom Line
It is necessary to choose the GPS wisely so that you can keep an eye on the vehicle and equipment properly. Everyone has a different choice, but some find it challenging to choose the relevant device. You can consider the best option when you think about the tips that are mentioned earlier.