How GPS Fleet Tracking Works

You may not know it, but you already have GPS fleet tracking. It just isn’t tracking your fleet for you.

Cars, for instance, are the most sophisticated computers most people own. Even older models are filled with up to 1000 sensors. Most cars built since 2017 start copying personal data as soon as you plug in your smartphone.

Your car’s dashboard won’t tell you what your car is recording. You won’t find that information in the owner’s manual, either. There is no way you can download it.

Cars, with very few exceptions (there is one 2022 model from Toyota that doesn’t have this kind of data collection), have become smartphones on wheels. They send and receive data to the automakers, insurance companies, and apps. They collect and analyze a lot more data than you get from seeing your “Check Engine” light come on.

Nobody asked your permission to collect this data from your car or truck, even if you have a fleet of them. Theoretically, this kind of data collection isn’t harmful. It will be essential for self-driving cars and trucks. But wouldn’t it be better if there were some way to use the data that is already being collected from your vehicles in ways that give you more control over your vehicles, help you keep your driver-operators safer, improve operating efficiencies, enhance customer satisfaction, and boost your bottom line?

There is. It’s a kind of GPS fleet tracking called telematics. What’s the difference between GPS, which you probably know pretty well, and GPS fleet tracking with telematics, which you probably don’t?

For starters, all fleet tracking with telematics involves GPS, but not all GPS units can be used for fleet tracking with telematics.

GPS fleet tracking with telematics involves a tracking device, or maybe two tracking devices, with GPS built-in. GPS fleet tracking with telematics sends GPS to your dispatch office’s computer systems. GPS Technologies can provide the software that your computers need to translate fleet tracking signals into meaningful data.

But that data isn’t just where your vehicles are.

GPS fleet tracking with telematics can tell you how fast your operators have been driving, and whether they slowed down for construction and heavy traffic. It can tell you whether your drivers attempted every stop on their schedule. It can tell you when operators slam on the brakes or take hard turns or swerve to the right or left. It can tell you when the “Check Engine” light comes on or when the pressure in the tires is low, among many other operating parameters.

GPS fleet tracking helps with automated IFTA reporting. It can also keep your dispatch office informed of f unauthorized vehicle movements. It provides the raw data used for geofencing.

But GPS fleet tracking with telematics can also help you track trouble codes from your vehicle’s computer, fuel efficiency, and odometer readings.

The latest GPS fleet tracking systems include:

• Fleet health monitoring. GPS fleet monitoring with telematics doesn’t just give you a readout on the pressure in every tire in every vehicle in your fleet. It sends your home office a readout of every vehicle’s pending maintenance issues by VIN.
• Remote lockout response. GPS fleet tracking with telematics gives your dispatchers the ability to let operators back into their locked trucks. This system can be used to keep thieves and hijackers out — or in — your vehicles as you call law enforcement.
• Remote programming. GPS fleet monitoring with telematics updates calibration and control parameters for operations across state lines and border crossings into Mexico and Canada. Your main officer can reprogram governors to make sure your vehicles don’t exceed different speed limits as your vehicles cross-state, provincial, or national borders. There’s no need to take your vehicle into the shop to make these changes.

All of this data comes with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth functionality. Your dispatchers can share any information they want with their drivers through their phones. You can also connect your fleet to the Internet of Things.

If there’s a number to describe it, it’s information you can monitor through GPS fleet tracking. And GPS Technologies will provide you with the software that transforms raw data into actionable decision points.

Whether you need data on a fleet of trucks or you are just keeping tabs on our teenager out on a date, GPS Technologies can help. At GPS Technologies, we are committed to helping you find the tracking solution that meets your needs. Contact us online or call us for a consultation at (847) 382-5107 8 am-5 pm, Mon-Fri CST.

Categorised in: GPS Tracking Service

This post was written by GPS Technologies