OneBridge GPS Buyer's Guide - Part 2

The Four Categories: Fleet Tracking & Management Solutions

While the market continues to expand, the categories of solutions remain the same. Below is a summary of each of the four categories with pros and cons for each.

Handheld Device Solutions
These devices combine the functions of a cell phone, PDA or handheld reporting device with a GPS location signal. They offer portability, but also become problematic for tracking anything related to a vehicle or driver behavior.

Pros:
In most cases it can be added to existing phones or handheld devices. 
Employees can use the device for direct voice or SMS text message communication with the dispatch team.    
Best for tracking a person’s specific whereabouts, especially at large jobsites or facilities.

Cons:
The device is controlled by the employee. It can be left at the jobsite while an employee takes the vehicle somewhere else.
When the device is indoors, the GPS signal is useless. GPS requires a view of the sky to be transmit¬ted and captured.
Many of these systems track the location through a combination of cellular towers, only giving you a location within miles, not feet.
Handheld devices track people, not vehicles. You cannot receive alerts on vehicle activity like speeding, idling, maintenance issues or simple travel and stops data.
Handhelds don’t help solve the issue of lost or stolen vehicles.   
Handhelds cannot track mileage for preventative maintenance programs.   

When prospects or customers compare other system types to handheld systems, they find that the loss of visibility of the vehicle becomes a roadblock. If your goals are more around vehicle use than employee location, handheld systems offer limited benefits.

Vehicle-Based Passive Download Solutions
These devices are hardwired into the vehicle, typically under the dashboard. When the vehicle returns to the company lot or parking area, data can be downloaded either through a removable memory device or via a wireless data connection.

Pros:
Provide an unbiased, accurate history of the vehicle’s workday.   
Good value for reporting and post action reviews of driver behavior, routes and associated costs.   

Cons:
Require vehicles to return to a specific location on a regular basis in order to collect the location data. If the vehicle is not returned in time, device memory will overwrite itself.
Often require more manual work for the user, especially if not downloaded over a Wide-Area Network (WAN).    
Lack the value of real-time knowledge such as alerts and dispatching functions. Dispatchers and fleet managers can’t impact the business when timing is critical (i.e. emergency customer call, driver rerouting or safety issue).
Cannot be effectively used as a security device for the vehicle.   

Passive download devices overcome the issues associated with handhelds in terms of user interference, but lack the value of real-time information that can save time and money at the moment, rather than days later.

Real-Time Vehicle Based Solutions
Real-Time solutions use a device hardwired under the dashboard of the vehicle, similar to the passive download solution. The key difference is that the device not only collects the GPS information, but transmits the data frequently over a cellular data network back to a network operations center. The data is collected, scrubbed and then refreshed into either a secure web
application or to a software solution housed at the customer’s location.

Pros:
Provides the most accurate location information for dispatching and routing decisions made during the workday. As the day changes, routes and jobs can be optimized to keep costs low and customers satisfied.
Removes any chance for driver interference, making the data as reliable as possible.   
Allows more freedom without creating more risk. Vehicles do not have to report to a specific location every day to collect information. This allows drivers to take vehicles home and save time from driving to a central location away from their route.
After-hour usage can be easily monitored and alerted, giving fleet managers and owners peace of mind.
Provides the ability to locate a lost or stolen vehicle and its assets immediately.   

Cons:
Can be more costly than the other two major groups, as they require an installed device along with a monthly monitoring fee.
Require some level of cellular data coverage in order to work effectively. If coverage is lost, data can be stored on the device and relayed when coverage improves again. Be sure to check with the provider as to which networks their devices utilize.

Though relatively more expensive to the customer initially, market feedback on real-time systems is that they reduce costs, create safety and help satisfy customers faster and more effectively than the other two solution sets. Dispatchers can see true vehicle location and find the nearest vehicle to an unscheduled job. They can also give customers more accurate estimates of
appointment and arrival times. Managers can act on driver behavior before risky or costly situations play themselves out on the road.

Asset, Trailer & Heavy Equipment Tracking
For fleets with more than just vehicles, these types of solutions allow you to track the exact whereabouts of as¬sets for insurance, security and maintenance purposes. The actual GPS devices used in these types of solutions may be ruggedized to absorb wear and tear and may also derive power from an alternative source such as a solar panel or an internal rechargeable
battery.

These solutions typically operate on a “ping” only basis as opposed to an automatic update frequency. In order to trigger security alerts they may store a security perimeter, or “geofence,” locally. To create a geofence around the device, a driver or operator may need to push a button on the GPS device. 

Pros:
Ping based approach to tracking location creates a lower monthly cost compared to other types of solutions.   
Good for monitoring hours of use on heavy equipment. Some solutions may include preventative maintenance tools such as alerts based on this metric.

Cons:
Limited data collected from the device provides little opportunity to create meaningful reports. These types of solutions can limit you to simple tracking capability.
Storing the security perimeter locally makes sense based on the ping approach to tracking location. But that design may also put security in the hands of your field service technicians and may include limits on the size, shape and number of security perimeters available.

Although these solutions are lower cost, their focus on tracking for security purposes makes them a bad fit for a fleet that has primarily vehicles. But in the right situation, this type of solution could be a perfect fit.

What if my fleet has vehicles AND heavy equipment?
Many fleet managers and business owners struggle to find the right solution for their business, and when their fleet contains a mix of vehicles and heavy equipment the challenge gets even more complicated. In these situations, here are your best bets:

Understand a provider’s focus: Most providers are either vehicle focused or heavy equipment focused. Depending on the size of the provider, they may have little to no experience outside their area of expertise. Be sure to ask what percentage of their units in service is heavy equipment. 

Consider using multiple providers: Depending on the size of your fleet, it may make sense to purchase from two different providers – one for vehicle tracking and another for heavy equipment. Purchasing from two different providers for what seems like the same thing may sound inefficient, but driving productivity in a mobile workforce and managing security for expensive
assets are pretty different things. For a big fleet, the savings and focus are probably worth having two relationships.

Don’t force the wrong solution: Most mixed fleets include more vehicles than heavy equipment. If you are dealing with a small percent of heavy equipment, you can probably go with a single vehicle focused provider that has some experience in heavy equipment. But you should think twice about going the other direction. Heavy equipment focused providers will struggle to
provide the reporting and insight required on vehicle activity.