10 GPS Vehicle Tracking Reports That Save Money

As a fleet manager you already know that using telematics is extremely useful, but did you know that you are probably missing out on even more benefits? There are dozens of telematics modules that can tell you everything from the temperature in the different zones of a reefer trailer, to the tire pressure. Here is our top 10 list of vehicle tracking reports in GPS Trackit:

1) Temperature Monitoring Report

If you are shipping fresh produce, meats and other perishables from farm to table you know how important FSMA Transportation (The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Rule on Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food) and HAZMAT Compliant Routing. Telematics helps with that by monitoring in real-time three or more temperature zones in a truck and issuing alerts if temperatures exceed requirements or go too low so you can take action the moment your cargo is compromised. The temperature tracking in most cases involves adding sensors to the reefer compartment and a software update.

2) Driver Scorecards

Driver scorecards are a useful report feature that allows the fleet manager to measure driver performance based on specific driving metrics, customized to your safety thresholds.

With scorecards you can see:

• Rapid acceleration
• Hard braking
• Sudden stops
• Hard turns
• Speeding
• Safety events

Driver scorecards give the fleet manager an overall “score” or “grade” for each driver. The net result is data that helps identify needs for training or coaching your drivers.

Another report with positive implications is driver trends, which allows fleet managers to see trends in a drivers’ behavior (or a group of drivers) over time during the last few weeks, months, or quarters. The usefulness to the fleet manager is being able to reduce risk to your fleet and your business.  

How does driver behavior impact your business? Bad driving can have major implications and consequences to your business. There are three ways this is important:

Reduce Accident Risk

Accidents do happen, but many can be prevented. The American Journal of Public Health commissioned a study on driver behavior which found that driver behavior plays a dominant role in traffic safety. By using a fleet telematics management system you can see which drivers are causing accidents and take action by initiating training and disciplinary measures.

Reduce Fuel Costs

Driver behaviors like speeding and idle time can negatively impact fuel usage and efficiency. According to Automotive Fleet, up to 30% of a vehicle’s fuel efficiency is impacted by driver behavior. Additionally, changing these behaviors can result in a 5% to 30% reduction in annual fuel consumption. 

According to Savannah Brewer with GPSTrackIt.com , “By monitoring your idle time, you can reduce your fuel overhead, whether you’ve tied in a WEX card or not. You’re sitting there running your engine burning fuel. So if you reduce that you reduce your fuel consumption.”

The WEX Fleet Card is a fueling credit card that can be used by fleet drivers. It offers automatic fuel expense tracking, discounts, and tools to reduce spending. 

Knowing your fuel spending can help you make better budgeting decisions. View driver scorecards, optimize routing, use speed alerts, know how much fuel is being purchased with fuel card integration, monitor vehicle health, and understand vehicle performance.

Reduce Vehicle Wear and Tear 

Trucks and other vehicles fall apart over time. Things break down. How a driver treats your vehicle directly affects wear and tear. For example, hard braking and rapid acceleration are hard on brakes and engines. With the real-time data generated by telematics, you can use reports to see an increase in the vehicle lifespan of medium-duty trucks by as much as 120,000 miles. 

3) Operational and Maintenance Reminders

It is just common sense to manage your fleet based on a schedule of preventative maintenance rather than reacting to every individual breakdown. While you can use a whiteboard to keep track, GPS telematics can help you automate that process, saving much time. It also uses something called predictive maintenance. Capturing, aggregating, and channeling maintenance data is one way that you can interpret, maintain and act on these tasks without creating chaos.

According to GPS Trackit’s Savanna Brewer, “You can base your maintenance intervals on mileage on the hours the engine has run or just number of days, and it doesn’t have to be just one you can say, every 600 miles or every 45 days, you know, whichever threshold you hit first.”

Predictive maintenance combines all of the error codes, scheduled replacements and other calendar issues into one manageable visual dashboard on your computer or mobile telephone. Fleet managers can also receive alerts before something on a truck breaks down.

In combination with predictive maintenance, a fleet manager can reduce stress by having drivers report problems or potential problems with their trucks on a regular basis. Rough idle, jumps or skips, difficulty shifting, and stalls can be reported. Also, having drivers check all engine fluids, tire tread, that brakes are not slipping, and operation of interior & exterior lights goes a long way to keeping your truck in tip-top shape.

4) Vehicle Tracking

When it comes to tracking your fleet vehicles, access to accurate, real-time data is critical. That’s why fleet management software powered by Google Maps – the most accurate and consistently updated mapping system in the world –  is your best choice. Telematics can also track a specific vehicle’s mileage.

Geofences are part of the GPS tracking software that allows a fleet manager to set limits (landmarks) on where a vehicle can or cannot drive, such as bars or the driver’s home. Geofences also alert the manager when a vehicle strays beyond its set delivery and pick-up area.

“So with landmarks, there are two separate reports, one where you essentially look at a vehicle or vehicles to see which landmarks they went to,” says Brewer. “And then the other is the reverse. You know, if I look at a landmark, which vehicles came here. So one would be if I’m running a lawn care service, and I want to see which truck got sent to which client locations. The other would be, I’m looking at the client and I want to see who showed up here.”

There is also a function that monitors the use of a truck’s PTO (power take-off). If a driver for a landscaping company, for example, has 10 stops scheduled for the day and the PTO sensor records the PTO being used 12 times, then there is the possibility that the driver is moonlighting on his own jobs.

5)  Mileage Reimbursement Report

If you reimburse employees or yourself for miles driven in a personal vehicle, you can greatly simplify the process with mileage reimbursement reports. The information is guaranteed to be accurate, and you save time by simply running a report to see the miles logged in a certain period of time.

The mileage function also allows fleets to report to states when they cross state lines their mileage within an individual state for tax purposes. This is called IFTA or the 

International Fuel Tax Agreement, which is an agreement between all of the lower 48 United States and Canada. Using this interstate commercial carriers have a universal way to report their mileage and pay mileage-based taxes to the correct authority. 

6)  GPS Vehicle Tracking Detailed Report

This report has a lot of powerful information that you can use to monitor driver behavior. You can see events such as:

• Ignition on and off
• Travel start and stop
• Geofence (geographic driving boundaries) entry and exit
• Antenna disconnections
• Mileage
• Elapsed time

These and other events can be viewed on a map or in a list depending on your preference.

“I pick a driver from the list. And I essentially send them their stops for the day, which can be one at a time or can be a route like for a lawn guy. Every Monday we’re going to run the same thing. But one of the ancillary features of the driver app is the timecard clock function right here. They can use the app to clock in and out. And there is a report that can be pulled for that data,” says GPS Trackit’s Brewer.

7) Landmark Report

If you use landmarks, you can run reports that show when a driver arrived, when they left, and how much time elapsed while they were there. You might use landmarks for important customers to confirm that drivers spent sufficient time there, or for places that you want drivers to avoid (geofencing).

8) State Miles Report

Operating in multiple states can get complicated when it comes to paying taxes and DOT reporting. The state miles report shows you when a vehicle entered and exited a state and how many miles were driven there.

9) Time Sheet Report

Verify employee time reporting more quickly with this report that shows the first time the ignition was turned on and the last time it was turned off. You will also see times at stopped locations.

10) Moving Report

Selecting the most efficient routes is important for saving fuel and optimizing labor time. You can use the moving report to show you what happens from vehicle start to stop on a particular route, including the time spent idling. This report makes it easy to compare multiple routes and select the most efficient.

Use GPS Vehicle Tracking Reports to Save Money

GPS vehicle tracking allows you to do a lot in real-time, but you also have the benefit of viewing historic fleet data. This can be very valuable when evaluating budgets, monitoring driver behavior, or making important business decisions. You can also use the trending data to decide whether purchasing a new truck is warranted, or if fighting financial controls is a better route to take.

According to Automotive Fleet, only 30-40% of fleets are using a telematics solution. There are many proven ROI (Return on Investment) advantages of fleet management solutions and telematics. If you are not using
a fleet management solution or telematics yet, you can discover your company’s potential ROI by visiting the GPS Trackit’s ROI calculator.

If you’re not sure which reports will help you run a better business, ask GPS Trackit. We work with all types of businesses, so chances are if you are facing a certain challenge, we can help you solve it.

If you’d like to learn more about how GPS Trackit can help to improve safety, increase productivity and reduce costs for your business, speak with one of our knowledgeable Fleet Advisors at 866-320-5810 or get a quick Custom Quote.

Sources:

https://gpstrackit.com/solutions/trailer-temperature-monitoring/

https://gpstrackit.com/blog/managing-driver-behavior-with-driver-scorecards-trends/

https://gpstrackit.com/blog/roi-fleet-management-fuel-savings/

https://gpstrackit.com/blog/how-to-transition-from-reactive-to-predictive-fleet-maintenance/

https://gpstrackit.com/technology/map-coverage/