Wireless Matrix Blog

Reducing Your Maintenance Costs through Fleet Optimization

Mark Freeman — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:17:02 +0000

Depending on the nature of your business, chances are you deploy your service fleet quite differently than the next guy. What remains constant, however, is the wear and tear that your fleet endures. Whether you focus on servicing a small local area or need to answer service calls across state lines, the ability to reduce your maintenance costs comes down to effective and efficient fleet optimization.

The problems of poorly maintained fleets are well documented – increased fuel consumption, unnecessary repair bills, lost business due to out of service vehicles, etc. What’s not commonly known is how to avoid them. That’s where enhanced fleet optimization comes into play. Through enhanced fleet optimization, you are able to significantly reduce vehicle maintenance costs. But how do you achieve better fleet optimization?

The only way to truly ensure your fleet is being utilized in the most optimum way is through greater fleet visibility. Using GPS fleet tracking solutions you are presented with a comprehensive, real-time view into the use and location of your fleet. Knowing where and how a vehicle is being used empowers you to make informed decisions on how to optimize your fleet resources. This leads to more efficient routes, less engine idling, lower fuel consumption, etc. – which reduces the wear and tear on your vehicles and provides you with significant cost savings.

To learn more about how fleet optimization cannot only help reduce maintenance costs, but increase the response rate and efficiency of your fleet, check out some of the different tools within FleetOutlook. Click here to download more information on our vehicle maintenance module – automating the routine maintenance of your fleet has never been easier.

Towing the Line Between Fleet Productivity and Customer Service

Mark Freeman — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:22:28 +0000

The inability to account for drivers’ whereabouts and effectively dispatch trucks to customers is a major challenge for towing companies.

A large part of their success is based on the ability to secure and retain key contracts. Regardless of what the contract is for, it all comes down to performance and customer service. If you are not getting the job done, the contracts will go elsewhere. To ensure Around the Clock Towing remained at the top of its game despite reducing its fleet by half, owner John Castillo turned to GPS fleet tracking.

Teaming up with Wireless Matrix and implementing its FleetOutlook solution, Castillo was quickly able to get the fleet visibility he needed to increase his drivers’ productivity and maintain a high-level of service to the approximately 30 Orlando repair shops it services. In fact, even with only half the fleet of trucks, Around the Clock Towing is now able to answer calls up to 30 minutes faster than before.

To learn more about the benefits Around the Clock Towing is seeing, or to see how a GPS fleet tracking solution can help your tow business, download the Around the Clock Towing case study.

Comprehensive Fleet Visibility: Taking Accurate Tracking and Reporting One Step Further

Mark Freeman — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 16:25:34 +0000

As any fleet manager knows, successful fleet operations rely heavily on fleet visibility. However, the ability to get accurate data and make sense of that data plays a large role in how well a fleet manager can see into his fleet operations. Case in point; a fleet supplied with limited in-vehicle navigation to track drivers, only provides a piece of the data pie. Key information like true vehicle speed, ignition, odometer readings, and other key engine activities are not properly tracked or reported.

To get a true comprehensive view of your fleet, you need to combine leading cellular/GPS tracking with the ability to monitor key parameters via the vehicle’s OBD-II port. But gathering that data is only the beginning. Only by overlaying this data in an easy to access format, are you able to get a complete view of your fleet’s activities.

By combining your data with a robust fleet management application that can provide you with an accurate snapshot of your fleet, you are in a much better position to improve productivity and efficiency of your mobile workforce. Whether you are looking for more accurate tracking of your fleet or trying to cut down on fuel consumption and maintenance costs, the data you receive from your vehicles is useless unless it is accurate and discernible.

To learn how you can get more accurate data from your fleet and increase your fleet visibility, check out our latest GPS device, the Reporter 30.

Increasing Fuel Efficiency Through Greater Fleet Visibility

Mark Freeman — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 00:15:50 +0000

With gas prices continuing to rise, the cost of getting behind the wheel becomes a mass concern, particularly for business owners in the fleet industry. Within just two weeks in February, the average price per gallon rose 19 cents, according to the Department of Energy.

While some have the option to carpool to work or choose alternative methods of transportation, fleet owners still have to distribute products to customers, make service calls, etc. By properly implementing a fleet tracking solution you can identify behaviors that waste fuel as well as effectively manage your fleet’s idle time.

In addition to wasting fuel, an idle engine does not allow your vehicle to operate to its full potential. The EPA of New England estimates that idling the engine causes twice the wear on internal engine parts and burns fuel faster (up to a gallon an hour) than driving at regular speed. By monitoring your unproductive engine cycles and strategically turning your vehicle off, drivers can prevent wear and tear, unforeseen maintenance and the early retirement of vehicles from your fleet.

Tracking idle time also presents the opportunity to improve driver productivity. Being aware of what’s occurring during high levels of idle time can indicate points where efficiency needs to be improved. Identifying what’s going on while your vehicle is running in place can help you understand the actual amount of productive time lost while standing still. Whether the driver is filling out paper work or eating lunch, leaving the vehicle running can go a long way from keeping money in the company’s pocket.

Employing a fleet tracking solution provides your company with an abundance of information and puts critical tools at your disposal to effectively manage your fleet. Check out our top 10 ways to reduce fuel using a GPS fleet tracking solution to learn more.

GPS Fleet Tracking for Rural Co-Ops = Enhanced Outage Management and Safety

Mark Freeman — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 20:55:35 +0000

Everyone knows service outages create numerous headaches for customers, but the challenges faced by rural electric cooperatives are usually overlooked. Co-ops need to cover a lot of ground during outages, often over sparsely populated areas. And with minimum budgets to work with, they need to be as efficient as possible to meet both customer needs and the needs of their members. The fact is – co-ops and their members lose revenue every minute an outage lasts – the sooner it is addressed the better for all parties involved.

That’s where fleet tracking comes into play. When implemented properly, fleet tracking solutions can keep co-ops connected to their vehicles and show them who is closest to an outage area to ensure rapid response. Safety is also increased due to the ability to know where workers are in relation to storms and other threatening events. They can be properly evacuated or rescued and sent back in when it is safe to make repairs.

To learn more about the necessary tools to coordinate resources and maximize the effectiveness of a fleet management solution, check out how our FleetOutlook solution seamlessly works with existing applications to easily be deployed and power critical business drivers for co-ops. For a customer’s point of view, check out how Mid-South Energy is using FleetOutlook to decrease outage times by over 30%, minimize fleet maintenance, increase safety, and lower risk and liability claims.

GPS Fleet Tracking for Limo, Charter and Tour Companies

Mark Freeman — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:47:54 +0000

In the transportation industry, visibility of your fleet is everything – it can mean the difference between a great customer experience or the loss of key clientele. And when you operate an around-the-clock chauffeured transportation service in Hollywood, you can’t afford to provide anything but the best customer service.

That’s why Econation, an eco-friendly limousine transportation service, turned to Wireless Matrix’s FleetOutlook. An innovative GPS fleet tracking web application, FleetOutlook provides Econation’s Fleet Manager and Technology Director, T.J. McClearin, complete visibility of his fleet in real time. Now dispatchers can respond to client requests with greater efficiency and accuracy, significantly increasing response times and enhancing customer service.

GPS fleet tracking goes well beyond just increased productivity and customer service, however. Listen to our podcast with McClearin as he describes the many additional benefits of increased fleet visibility, from reduced costs to increased driver and customer safety.

GPS Fleet Tracking Increases Productivity and Safety for Utility Companies

Mark Freeman — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:07:17 +0000

For utility companies, staying on top of employees in the field is mission-critical. Every day, road-bound workers cover many miles trying to keep the infrastructure up and running. But outages remain a reality of business. So are accidents and mishaps that can delay staffers, or worse, put them out of commission.

With this in mind, Keith Warren of Wireless Matrix talks about the advantages of real-time GPS fleet tracking solutions for the utilities industry. During a sudden outage, Warren explains, these solutions can rapidly pinpoint the nearest crew truck. They can categorize the employee skill capabilities within those vehicles and relay that to dispatch managers. This way, the right crew gets sent to the location in need, quickly. Fleet tracking can also help utility managers evaluate how long individual crews are taking on specific jobs, further enhancing productivity. In fact, these solutions are reducing outage times by 20 minutes per incident, Warren reports.

GPS fleet tracking is not only making for more productive utility operations, but a safer work environment as well. To find out more, listen to Warren on our brief podcast.

Addressing the Unique Needs of HVAC Companies through GPS Fleet Tracking

Mark Freeman — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:59:09 +0000

An idle truck literally takes money out of the pockets of HVAC business owners.

Often using small crews – and even going out on jobs themselves – these owners can’t afford to constantly work phones to find out who’s where and what they’re doing (or what they aren’t doing). Thanks to today’s real-time GPS fleet tracking solutions, they don’t have to, according to Keith Warren of Wireless Matrix.

These solutions offer tools that allow HVAC owners/managers to pinpoint where their trucks are, and how long they’ve been idle. Additionally, they allow them to more efficiently route employees to each jobsite, while also helping evaluate how long individual crews are taking on specific jobs, to further improve productivity practices. Because we all know HVAC owners/managers rarely stay behind a desk, the tablet/mobile-friendly nature of these solutions allow owners to go out on calls themselves and still stay on top of their staff.

From easier management of field service personnel and increased ROI to providing safer working conditions, GPS fleet tracking is revolutionizing the way HVAC operations are being conducted. To find out more, listen to Warren on our brief podcast.

GPS: The Secret behind Crop Circles?

Aaron Sage — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 13:41:41 +0000

Crop circles – those huge, increasingly complex circular designs that pop up randomly in farmer’s fields – have eluded researchers for years. Crop circles are known to be created at night, unbeknownst to field owners, and upon their discovery, never fail to excite the public, worry officials, and dismay farmers themselves. Lately, however, crop circles have become wildly imaginative and complex, with an upwards of 2,000 individually created shapes comprising each design. So just how are these intricate works of art – or aliens – created?

It is generally accepted that crop circle designers have historically used wooden planks and ropes to create their masterpieces, as opposed to the work of UFO landing pads or the devil’s doing. But now, research evidence suggests that GPS technology is responsible for the latest, greatest designs. Crop circle samples contain microwave-like radiation, indicating that precise GPS systems, paired with magnetrons (high intensity heat devices used to flatten crops), are the culprits. What do you think? Aliens or GPS? Or both?

GPS Reaches New Heights

Aaron Sage — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:28:49 +0000

GPS technology is rapidly moving from the 2-D to 3-D realm, as Rice University scientists unveiled new software claiming to estimate altitude to within one centimeter, an accuracy simply unheard of just days before the announcement. GPS systems historically provided inaccurate altitude estimations due to the earth’s landscape, where mountains and valleys easily disrupted the faint GPS satellite signals. Now, this breakthrough in technology has the potential to indefinitely change the way we think about GPS.

The immediate beneficiaries of accurate altitude estimation are researchers measuring mountain and glacier erosion, but, according to Fast Company, may also include those predicting landslides and natural disaster risks. But what about everyone else? The internet is buzzing with mentions of “augmented reality” maps – the GPS-fueled ability to define streets and nearby locales on an “augmented” smartphone map of what’s right in front of the viewer. While this feature might be a long ways away, it hasn’t stopped Apple from requesting a patent for the technology. Nothing has been released yet, but it’s increasingly clear that GPS not only could – but will – truly change the way we see the world.