GPS Tracking: An Executive Summary-Who, What and Why

GPS vehicle tracking systems are a popular tool for business owners; Original equipment manufacturers from General Motors to Bobcat are including tracking systems in their vehicles. Hereรขโ�ฌโ�ขs some background information to help you:

Who uses GPS tracking?
GPS tracking systems are used by businesses in the service, transportation and manufacturing industries. Businesses of all sizes, with fleets of 1 to thousands of vehicles, rely upon their tracking systems to add to their profitability.

Types of businesses using GPS tracking:

• Contractors who provide HVAC, plumbing or electrical services


• Limousine and taxi companies


• Uniform / Linen Services


• Food and Beverage Distributors


• Street Sweepers


• Pest Management Services


• Snow Plow Services


• Car Carriers


• Landscaping and Irrigation contractors


• Cable Company Contractors


• Bulk and Route Delivery


• Fuel / Oil Haulers


• Hazmat and/or Chemical Haulers


• Produce / Perishable Delivery


• Utility companies


• City, county and state motor pool fleets

What is it?
GPS tracking systems consist of a device installed in the vehicle, a central server and software for the owner to access the information.

All GPS tracking devices use data from the U.S. Governmentรขโ�ฌโ�ขs constellation of Global Positioning System satellites to determine a vehicleรขโ�ฌโ�ขs location, speed and direction of travel.

The tracking device transmits data from GPS satellites overhead to a central computer server via either a communications satellite or, more often, via the local cellular phone network. The vehicle data is updated every 2 รขโ�ฌโ�� 15 minutes, depending upon the ownerรขโ�ฌโ�ขs preferences and manufacturerรขโ�ฌโ�ขs settings.

The central server makes the tracking data available to the system owner through the Internet. The owner logs onto the tracking companyรขโ�ฌโ�ขs secure web server and sees their vehicle data on a map and in text form. Some tracking companies make the data available for download, so the owner could archive it on their own computer.

Why do they use it?
Users of GPS tracking systems have many reasons why theyรขโ�ฌโ�ขve installed them:

1. Tracking systems reduce vehicle costs by targeting speeding employees, who waste fuel, cause excessive engine wear and ultimately, drive up insurance rates.
2. Using the system's automatic mileage reminder reduces downtime and enhances vehicle resale values by encouraging scheduled, preventative maintenance. Your tracking system will remind you when it's time to rotate tires, change oil or perform other scheduled maintenance.
3. Many insurance companies offer discounts of up to 30% for vehicles protected with tracking systems.
4. Productivity is improved by:
   a. documenting long lunch hours,
   b. exposing unauthorized breaks,
   c. comparing driver overtime requests with system reports of driver activity,
   d. logging personal vehicle use after hours or on weekends.
5. GPS tracking systems improve customer service by showing you which employee is closest to the client who just called. WOW your customers--give them precise arrival or delivery estimates, based upon the actual location of your vehicles at the moment they call.
6. Your system can tell you the exact time and date each employee reached each customer. If a customer questions when your employee arrived or left --prove it to them.
7. Is one employee more productive than another? --Check the data. Is it time to add a vehicle? --Use your system and there's no more guessing.
8. Use your system to correlate overtime performed with your employees' overtime requests. See who is putting in extra time.
9. Never make another phone call to find out where your employees say they are.
10. Simplify asset management by displaying everything on one computer screen. Make work easier for your dispatcher.
11. Tracking systems work without any input from the driver. No driver logs needed.

Purchasers of GPS vehicle tracking systems say they recover their investment in an average of six รขโ�ฌโ�� 12 months, by both reducing expenses and improving productivity. While some users recoup their entire investment at one time by recovering a stolen vehicle, most users are repaid more gradually.

Ken Sink, owner of My Vehicle WatchDog, is a veteran with 20+ years of transportation experience, including fleet management of over 800 vehicles. Visit http://www.MyVehicleWatchDog.Info for more information about GPS vehicle tracking systems from Fleet Management Solutions, Networkfleet and Sprint/Nextel. Submit your info for a quick, no-obligation system quote. Quantity discounts for volume purchases.

Cell Phone GPS Tracking

The development of communications technology has long since surpassed the sole ability to access others when they are mobile. Today, mobile communication devices are becoming much more technologically advanced and offer more than the ability to just carry on a conversation. Cell phone GPS tracking is one of those advances.

GPS or Global Positioning System tracks your location by interpreting the data received from 3 or more satellites. This has made GPS a popular feature in cars as a navigational aid.

All cell phones constantly broadcast a radio signal, even when not on a call. The cell phone companies have been able to estimate the location of a cell phone for many years using triangulation information from the towers receiving the signal. However, the introduction of GPS technology into cell phones has meant that cell phone GPS tracking now makes this information a lot more accurate.

With GPS technology now more commonplace in many new cell phones, this means that the location of anyone carrying a compatible cell phone can be accurately tracked at any time. Cell phone GPS tracking can therefore be a useful feature for business owners and fleet managers who need to be able to keep track of their vehicle movements.

Cell phone GPS tracking can also be a useful feature to the emergency services or police when responding to a 911 call from a GPS cell phone. For this reason, the FCC has legislated that wireless networks provide location information for 911 calls made from cell phones. These are known as E911 calls.

As technology advance even further, future features will be even more powerful. Imagine GPS cell phones used as a navigational device. Based on the cell phone GPS tracking signal, they could be used to find your way to a location, calculate your speed based on your location change over time, from this calculate your estimated arrival time, suggest an alternative route and even phone the person you are calling to see with your ETA! Of course in car GPS navigation systems can already perform many of these tasks, however it is the portability of cell phones that makes them so useful for this technology.

Cell phone GPS tracking could also be used to locate the whereabouts of your children and offer protection to elderly relatives should something happen and they need urgent assistance.

These features will help to secure the future of cell phone GPS tracking providing advantages for all.

For more information on cell phone GPS tracking and other GPS products visit http://www.satnav-gps.info today.