# Why Should I Use GPS Tracking?



## NeroGPS (Oct 31, 2008)

I came across a study that was done on GPS Tracking and the impact it has on the profitability of a business. The study was conducted by a research company called the Aberdeen Group in 2007. Here is one of the tables in the study that shows the impact GPS Tracking has.


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## Rc2505 (Feb 5, 2007)

Unless your a big company with many trucks on the road, I can't see where the savings would be. The cost of each unit, the software to run the program, and the manpower to monitor it all would out weigh the savings by far.


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## JCI Trans (Oct 21, 2008)

i manage a trucking company with 9 tractors. we use a fleet tracking system and i would never go back. I can see exactly where they are, who to give pickups to, and it does all the state mileage reports at the end of the month. definitely something i would look into if you have a small fleet


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## NeroGPS (Oct 31, 2008)

Rc2505;702845 said:


> Unless your a big company with many trucks on the road, I can't see where the savings would be. The cost of each unit, the software to run the program, and the manpower to monitor it all would out weigh the savings by far.


That is actually not the case at all. We have had several smaller customers say that they have huge savings because of our system. Think about how much you spend on fuel for each vehicle each month. Usually around $500 - $600 and save 13% of that. Then think about how much you spend on maintenance and reduce that by 13% and it has more than paid for itself.

Now think of how many more accounts you could service if your guys put in a full days work instead of seeing how many hours they can get paid to sit around. Now the GPS is making you money.

Not to mention when someone slips in one of your parking lots and you can go back and say that I plowed at this exact time and salted at this exact time, liability issues tend to go away a little quicker.


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## mycirus (Dec 6, 2008)

You can do a lot of that with a Garmin and Mapsource without the monthly fee. You just wont know where your trucks are at every moment but there is a solution to that. Pick up the phone and say, hey, where are you.


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## NeroGPS (Oct 31, 2008)

mycirus;703112 said:


> You can do a lot of that with a Garmin and Mapsource without the monthly fee. You just wont know where your trucks are at every moment but there is a solution to that. Pick up the phone and say, hey, where are you.


Very true, but what alot of our customers have found is that the worker says they are in one place when they are really in another.


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## KAG (Jul 19, 2007)

*Sprint Phones*

You can get an add on feature to cell phones you can use that lets you see where they are at. Cheap also


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## NeroGPS (Oct 31, 2008)

KAG;703218 said:


> You can get an add on feature to cell phones you can use that lets you see where they are at. Cheap also


This is also true. Cell phone tracking is a cheap alternative to devices hardwired in vehicles. However what we have found is that cell phones can be turned off and can get broken. The average lifespan for a cell phone is about 13 months, and I would bet that it would be alot less than that if it was used for tracking.


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## KAG (Jul 19, 2007)

NeroGPS;703272 said:


> This is also true. Cell phone tracking is a cheap alternative to devices hardwired in vehicles. However what we have found is that cell phones can be turned off and can get broken. The average lifespan for a cell phone is about 13 months, and I would bet that it would be alot less than that if it was used for tracking.


They do wonder how it is I just show up where ever they are at or if they were late for work or what time they quit work.


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## JCI Trans (Oct 21, 2008)

we were going to use the phone tracking but went with the hardwired units after a tractor trailer was stolen. the drivers nextel was in the office charging where it was supposed to be. wouldnt have helped us there.


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## drivewaydoctor (Nov 26, 2008)

I have to say I am very interested in GPS tracking but my problem is price. These companies don't seem to accommodate the smaller companies with only a few trucks. Regardless of savings they need to realize that we don't all have 20 trucks pulling in $1 Million... 

There is a company in Texas called Advanced Tracking. I think I may be going with them this spring. Their tracking isnt live but you download all the data from the truck when it gets back to the yard. The amount of information is amazing. It even tells you how long the truck was shut off for or how long it was in park etc. And the best part is they make it affordable for the smaller guys.


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

drivewaydoctor;703446 said:


> I have to say I am very interested in GPS tracking but my problem is price. These companies don't seem to accommodate the smaller companies with only a few trucks. Regardless of savings they need to realize that we don't all have 20 trucks pulling in $1 Million...
> 
> There is a company in Texas called Advanced Tracking. I think I may be going with them this spring. Their tracking isnt live but you download all the data from the truck when it gets back to the yard. The amount of information is amazing. It even tells you how long the truck was shut off for or how long it was in park etc. And the best part is they make it affordable for the smaller guys.


There are several companies that offer that. GPS sticks to the truck, records the information and at the end of the day or month, you can down load it and see where it was at. I'm looking into it for a couple of my "less imortant" trucks.

I do however need a system that can do all the tracking, but also give the driver live updates about where he has been. I aquired a contract that requires one of my trucks to drive over every street in a quadrant of the city each month. NW on the 1st monday, SW on the second monday, SE on the third monday, and NE on the fourth monday to pick up sticks and leaves. I need an electronic map that will mark on it where they have been so they don't double back or not cover an area. Got anthing like that Nero? If not, do you know of anyone?


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## NeroGPS (Oct 31, 2008)

QuadPlower;703768 said:


> There are several companies that offer that. GPS sticks to the truck, records the information and at the end of the day or month, you can down load it and see where it was at. I'm looking into it for a couple of my "less imortant" trucks.
> 
> I do however need a system that can do all the tracking, but also give the driver live updates about where he has been. I aquired a contract that requires one of my trucks to drive over every street in a quadrant of the city each month. NW on the 1st monday, SW on the second monday, SE on the third monday, and NE on the fourth monday to pick up sticks and leaves. I need an electronic map that will mark on it where they have been so they don't double back or not cover an area. Got anthing like that Nero? If not, do you know of anyone?


Thank you for your interest QuadPlower

We do have something like that. Its a report called a route log, which tells you where the driver went minute by minute. Here is a screen shot of the report. Tell me if you think this would work. (The yellow diamonds represent the car and the blue and red triangles tell you the direction he was traveling) Do you want the driver to have access to it while he is on the road or at the end of each day?


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## NeroGPS (Oct 31, 2008)

drivewaydoctor;703446 said:


> I have to say I am very interested in GPS tracking but my problem is price. These companies don't seem to accommodate the smaller companies with only a few trucks. Regardless of savings they need to realize that we don't all have 20 trucks pulling in $1 Million...
> 
> There is a company in Texas called Advanced Tracking. I think I may be going with them this spring. Their tracking isnt live but you download all the data from the truck when it gets back to the yard. The amount of information is amazing. It even tells you how long the truck was shut off for or how long it was in park etc. And the best part is they make it affordable for the smaller guys.


The product that they are probably offering you is called Geotab. We sell that as well, but mainly to companies with a few hundred vehicles. The reason is that its got a fairly high startup cost and doesn't really allow for too much growth. If you do decide to go with Geotab be sure to ask about service and support. Some companies don't charge as much as they should for the units and make up their money on service calls at $200+ per hour.

As for the price of GPS tracking, what it comes down to is whether you think it will save about 1.5 liters of gas per day. If you can, then you break even on the cost and now have more control of your business.


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## IMAGE (Oct 21, 2007)

Nero, I still think about getting your GPS system. I think about it every storm and wish I had it when I am doing the paperwork afterwards. It seems EVERY fricking storm my resi driver forgets to date or even fill out the important parts of the log sheet! I'm gonna have to save up some $$ and get ahold of you, it might be a few months, but I know its gonna be invaluable to have. Thanks again for the demo.


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## NeroGPS (Oct 31, 2008)

IMAGE;705082 said:


> Nero, I still think about getting your GPS system. I think about it every storm and wish I had it when I am doing the paperwork afterwards. It seems EVERY fricking storm my resi driver forgets to date or even fill out the important parts of the log sheet! I'm gonna have to save up some $$ and get ahold of you, it might be a few months, but I know its gonna be invaluable to have. Thanks again for the demo.


No problem Image, if you would like to get it sooner than later send me an email and we'll try to set up some sort of payment plan.


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

No. I don't think that will work. It looks like the driver drove across the block to get to the next stop. And arrows would work better than triangles I would think.

I want a GPS screen in the truck with the roads on the screen. When the truck moves down the road, I want the color of the road to change from say yellow to blue. That way driver knows he has been down that street to pick up sticks. He can zoom out and see several blocks and realize he didn't hit a certian street. Then he can go back and get it. I might have several drivers doing each route at different times of the year is why I need it.

The screen can reset back to origional colors each day or when ever it is reset.


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## NeroGPS (Oct 31, 2008)

QuadPlower;705680 said:


> No. I don't think that will work. It looks like the driver drove across the block to get to the next stop. And arrows would work better than triangles I would think.
> 
> I want a GPS screen in the truck with the roads on the screen. When the truck moves down the road, I want the color of the road to change from say yellow to blue. That way driver knows he has been down that street to pick up sticks. He can zoom out and see several blocks and realize he didn't hit a certian street. Then he can go back and get it. I might have several drivers doing each route at different times of the year is why I need it.
> 
> The screen can reset back to origional colors each day or when ever it is reset.


The reason it looks like the driver drove across the block to get to the next stop is because GPS works "as the crow flies."

In your case the diamonds (or whatever icon you chose) would be a lot closer together. The screen I showed was with 2 min tracking instead on 1 minute and was of one of our guys driving around. He was going about 40km where your guys would probably be going slower looking for sticks.

Unfortunately I have not heard of anyone that does what you are looking for. The best thing for your driver might be a laminated map and a highlighter so he can highlight the roads as he does them.

We are however in the process of developing a unit that communicates with a Garmin GPS Navigation device which will allow you to remotely program the route. This may work for you as you would be able to manipulate the route to cover every street in the area. I've been told this device will be ready in the spring


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## IMAGE (Oct 21, 2007)

how close together can you get the pings? 1minute? 30seconds? Does it cost more? Just wondering because Quad sounds like he could use the pings as close as possible for a very detailed report.


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## NeroGPS (Oct 31, 2008)

Thanks for your question Image

We do 1 minute tracking, which is a ton of information and from my experience would be more than enough for QuadPlower. We also have 15 second tracking but it times out after a few minutes. (15 second tracking is too much information over a long period of time and would actually become counterproductive. Its designed to give you real time tracking when a customer calls and says where's my guy?)


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## NeroGPS (Oct 31, 2008)

There is a pretty good article in this months snow magazine that talks about GPS Tracking. If your interested here is the link http://www.snowmagazineonline.com/ar...42&IssueID=141.


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## QuadPlower (Jan 4, 2007)

Yea I've thought about the lamitated board and greas pencil. Probably go with that and a down loadable GPS for the reports.


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## Snowballer (Jan 13, 2009)

Nero, I checked out your website and im impressed, its a lot more professional than the other ones ive seen. I will send you an email with my contact info and would like a demo.

Thanks


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## NeroGPS (Oct 31, 2008)

Snowballer;713751 said:


> Nero, I checked out your website and im impressed, its a lot more professional than the other ones ive seen. I will send you an email with my contact info and would like a demo.
> 
> Thanks


Thank you for your interest Snowballer.

Would anyone else be interested in seeing a live customer site?


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## sp6x6 (Jan 14, 2009)

Ihad GPS tracking but then my wife found it in her purse


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## NeroGPS (Oct 31, 2008)

Does anyone else have any questions about GPS Tracking?


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## ahoron (Jan 22, 2007)

There was a thread on here stating that a soon to be ex-wife used gps tracking on a guys truck to find out he was cheating on her.


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## NeroGPS (Oct 31, 2008)

ahoron;749308 said:


> There was a thread on here stating that a soon to be ex-wife used gps tracking on a guys truck to find out he was cheating on her.


I don't know anything about that. This thread is about tracking workers to ensure they are being as productive as they should be.


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## ahoron (Jan 22, 2007)

NeroGPS;751378 said:


> I don't know anything about that. This thread is about tracking workers to ensure they are being as productive as they should be.


http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=78807


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## NeroGPS (Oct 31, 2008)

ahoron;751983 said:


> http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=78807


Wow, that's a tough break for that guy. I guess that's why some owners only want GPS on the workers trucks. I'm not sure if the story is 100% accurate though. If the wife called us we wouldn't tell her where anyone was. The employee that has administrative rights would be in charge of giving people usernames and passwords.


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