Truck drivers deliver product such as food, vehicles, milk, petroleum, construction material, packages and more from one place to another. They may deliver goods from one state to another or stay within one particular state. They may be away from home for days or weeks at a time or they may return home each day. There are many advantages and disadvantages that come with this job, including being away from family, stress keeping up with delivery schedules, driving in heavy traffic and living a healthy lifestyle. The pros are job security, paid travel to places they’ve never seen, and freedom while on the road.

1. Tractor Trailer Truck Drivers
   A tractor trailer truck driver hauls dry product or refrigerated product in a contained trailer. He or she may be delivering anything from food to furniture. They may own their own semi or “rig” as some truck drivers call it, or they may be hired by a trucking company and driving their vehicle. This is probably the most common type of truck driving job available. Truck drivers may be on the road for days or weeks at a time depending on where they deliver or they may drive on local routes and return home each day. The hours may be long and tedious. They may hand deliver everything with the use of a hand cart or they may have the help of a store employee. 

    

2. Tanker Truck Drivers
   The driver who delivers liquids will be driving a tanker. This person has the responsibility of keeping the tanker on the road safely because liquids are not as stable as the product a tractor trailer driver delivers. He must have special training to know how to handle a tanker. He may be delivering milk, gas, oil, or other types of chemicals. He may or may not be on long hauls. Along with the responsibility comes better pay and benefits. This job is often dangerous, especially if he is carrying flammable materials. 

    

3. Fed Ex and UPS Drivers
   Two of the most popular truck driving jobs, the Fed Ex and UPS delivery man. This person values his job because both companies offer their employees great benefits and good pay. The Fed Ex driver has his own vehicle and works under contract with the Fed Ex company. He is delivering packages to customers all over the country. A UPS driver drives a truck that the UPS Company owns. While Fed Ex promises overnight deliver, UPS takes a little longer. Both jobs are highly sought after and have companies in over 200 countries. 

    

4. Auto Haulers
   This truck driver may or may not own their own semi. They deliver many different types of vehicles either locally or across the country. Their vehicle is open to the weather. The driver delivers cars, trucks, SUV’s, all terrain vehicles, other semis and even military vehicles. They deliver to auctions, new and used auto dealerships and even to various ports so the vehicle can be shipped overseas. 

    

5. Flat Bed Haulers
   When you can’t fit large materials inside a trailer it must be delivered on a flat bed trailer. This is the vehicle you see loaded with construction materials such as scaffolding or roofing tresses. This driver also delivers bulldozers and other types of heavy equipment. It is different than an auto hauler because the trailer is flat and may be covered with a tarp in inclement weather. The driver delivers to construction sites, heavy equipment dealerships or auctions.

No matter which type of truck driver you are, the hours can be strenuous, often driving up to 10 or 12 hours at a time. A lack of proper nutrition and sleep is hard on the body and being away for long periods of times may be depressing. Although truck driver’s jobs are stressful, there are drivers who love their job. They love the freedom of the open road. They also enjoy meeting people from all walks of life.

We headed to Chicago to talk with FLS about their company and how their vehicle tracking system has helped them stay ahead of the competition.

We headed to Los Angeles to hear what Evergreen Landcare had to say about their landscaping business and GPS tracking.
 

Based on the feedback our customers provided about what they want next from FleetMatics, we know you’ll be blown away by the new features and enhancements in FleetMatics. We can’t wait to take your fleet management capabilities to the next level.

9.0 Features Include:

• LogBook Do away with paper driver logs, remain compliant and keep your drivers safe.
   
• Timecard Take the hassle out of timecard processing, and ensure time paid equals time worked.
   
• Driving Style Shine the light on aggressive driving & keep your business, drivers and reputation safe.
   
• Hotspot Report Ranks the locations most frequently visited by your drivers to uncover unknown places.
   
• General Enhancements Live Fleet Search, Long Stop Alert, Driver Assignment, Route Replay, More.

For more information on the 9.0 features, visit the 9.0 page.

1. Give recognition habitually.
2. Make goals clear.
3. Schedule one-on-one time to coach.
4. Make training a priority.
5. Show enthusiasm.
6. Give people more ownership.
7. Ask them to help solve a problem.
8. Be more informal.
9. Celebrate milestones.
10. Say ‘Thank You’ more.
11. Tell people what they do right.
12. Take them to lunch.
13. Listen better and remember what you hear.
14. Lead by supporting.
15. Make sure the right people are doing the right things.
16. Foster creativity.
17. Set achievable goals.
18. Lighten the mood.
19. Take the team’s pulse periodically.
20. Encourage ideas and consider them thoughtfully.
21. Be consistent and spread praise across the entire team.
22. Identify the team leaders and keep them positive.
23. Tie organizational goals to personal goals.
24. Incentivize based on the individual. Not everyone motivates the same way.
25. Let people know what’s ahead. Avoid mysteries.
26. Set career paths within your organization and promote from within whenever possible.
27. Use job titles wisely. They can be powerful ego boosters.
28. Get office equipment fixed/handled/replaced promptly.
29. Make the work environment attractive and professional.
30. Praise people on-the-spot and so everyone can hear.
31. Give your people leadership roles to reward their performance.
32. Take team photos and make them visible.
33. Set team goals, not just individual goals.
34. Get your people executive recognition as much as possible.
35. Plan outside events. Baseball games, barbecues, comedy clubs, etc.
36. Let people dress business casual or even wear jeans. You might save them hundreds of dollars in dry-cleaning.
37. Implement contests that earn time off.
38. Encourage (and pay for) outside professional seminars.
39. Be as flexible as you can with breaks during the course of the day.
40. Give gag awards (e.g. at one job I was proud to earn “The Golden Hammock” for going above and beyond.)
41. Buy the team a pizza once a month.
42. Once a month take the team into a conference room and watch an episode of “The Office.”
43. Demonstrate integrity every day. Be trusted.
44. Be flexible and gracious.
45. Ask your team to bring potential solutions whenever they have problems.
46. Whenever possible, make the team part of your decision-making process.
47. Explain decisions.
48. Ask your team to think big.
49. Give people time off during the work day to learn more about their craft or their industry.
50. Position your people as experts in the company.

We traveled to Ontario to hear what they had to say.

“We have had FleetMatics’ vehicle tracking system installed in our fleet for more than a year now. Where to begin… the first success story, if you can call it that, was stopping a theft. We noticed inventory discrepancies so began pulling data out of FleetMatics. We discovered very quickly that there was a repetitive location being delivered to that we didn’t show as an active customer..”

Fast forward to the end result, “We caught the employee dropping off inventory using both the Detailed Report and Live Fleet, and stopped a $300,000+ theft ring from continuing.”

“The other examples are much more positive. Our analysis shows that over the last year, using FleetMatics vehicle tracking reports, we have optimized our routes by over 25% which extends savings in fuel and maintenance. We now run about 1000 a day on our fleet where before FleetMatics, our stats showed that was in the neighborhood of 1250 per day. Using the reporting feature, each of our 8 drivers no longer manually reports anything pertaining to daily routes. FleetMatics does everything for them and us! On mileage alone we have cut over 50,000 miles annually at 15mpg + $3.00 gal, which has led to over $10,000 in savings. That’s just a quick saving calculation and doesn’t even include the reduction in costs for all the labor and maintenance on the vehicles.”

Yes, GPS tracking for businesses provides numerous benefits: fuel savings, improvement in driver behavior, faster response times to your customers, an edge over your competition, accurate timesheets, reduced overhead costs, and more. But, what are the problems with GPS tracking? You’ve heard several companies all claim they can save you money by installing GPS tracking units in your vehicles, but you need to know if the pros outweigh the cons, and will implementing a fleet tracking system really provide a significant ROI for your business.

So rather than going on and on about the benefits of GPS tracking, let’s address the problems:

1. Your Employees’ Reactions

You don’t want to offend your employees because you are worried that all they see with a fleet tracking system is that you don’t trust them. Rest assured. The truth of the matter is that the majority of your drivers will actually embrace the fleet tracking system because it leads to productivity, rewards, proof of service, more jobs, and therefore, more money in their pockets. What about the ones who don’t embrace it? Well, we hate to be the bearers of bad news, but those employees are most likely the ones abusing your company vehicles and policies.

Rather than worrying about your drivers’ reactions, why not prepare yourself by planning out a way to introduce the fleet tracking system to your drivers. That way, they will see that you are doing this to better the business and their jobs as well, not because you think they are all misusing the vehicles. Focus on three key benefits: Safety, Service, and Savings.

• Safety
  A fleet tracking system provides alerts that will allow your business to maintain a proper maintenance schedule for the vehicles. This ensures that the vehicles are up to date with oil changes, tire rotations, and all other servicing needs. GPS tracking also helps expedite recovery of stolen vehicles and any equipment or tools on board. Because vehicles with GPS tracking are more likely to be recovered sooner, resulting in little to no loss or damages, insurance premiums are reduced as a reward for the extra safety measures.
• Service
  GPS tracking is invaluable as a customer service tool. Customers will no longer have the ability to lodge false complaints about overcharges. You can back employee claims of services rendered. Also, a fleet tracking system allows your business to respond more quickly to customer needs, resulting in happier clients and additional business.
• Savings
  GPS tracking provides numerous benefits that help increase revenue. These include reduced fuel costs, lower insurance premiums, increased productivity, improved dispatching, and back office efficiencies. For the driver, all these benefits add to job security with a financially stable company during these tough economic times. Saving money on fuel alone over the course of the year can provide the entire salary for one employee.Increased revenue can also be forwarded to employees in the form of bonuses. Rewards based on data collected from GPS tracking can boost morale and help gain acceptance of the system.

Employees should know that while it may be new to your business, GPS tracking is rapidly becoming the industry standard for any business with a fleet of vehicles. Your competitors are already using GPS to maximize profitability. By not embracing this technology, you would be putting your business and employees at risk.

2. It’s Expensive

It’s no secret that implementing a fleet tracking system is an investment. The companies that have been in the business for 5+ years are charging anywhere between $45 and $65 per vehicle per month. Multiply that by the number of vehicles in your fleet and it can cost a pretty penny. If the provider charges much less that, chances are that they are just looking to cash in on the latest technology craze and cannot provide you with the support and infrastructure needed to upkeep a quality fleet tracking system.

But, like with any investment you make, the focus should be on the return. A lot of companies who have installed GPS tracking claim that the system pays for itself within the first month just on fuel savings alone. We’ve also seen several companies use the fleet tracking system to recover a stolen vehicle, which in some cases means saving $50,000 – see a real life example.

3. Not Enough Time in Your Day to Monitor the Software

You see the benefits of installing a fleet tracking system, but you just don’t have the time to sit in front of your computer and monitor the wealth of information and data that GPS tracking provides. This is a valid point – you’re a busy business owner or fleet manager and you just don’t have enough time in the day to pick up another responsibility. However, the best fleet tracking systems do all the work for you. You don’t have to sit down at your computer at all if you don’t want to. You can set up Alerts and Reports to be emailed directly. If a driver is speeding or is in an undesignated area, you or a co-worker can be alerted.

Some GPS tracking providers have even developed mobile phone apps, so you can literally manage your fleet from anywhere.

4. They Aren’t Designed for Small Businesses

Most fleet tracking systems can seem overly complex. You may not want all the bells and whistles, but rather just a simple, easy-to-use system in which you can check on your vehicles’ locations throughout the day. When developing their software, the best GPS tracking providers focus on ease-of-use.

Providers like FleetMatics focus on SMBs and want business owners and fleet managers who don’t have as much computer experience to be able to use the software as well as an IT professional. The software is built specifically for all backgrounds and allows for companies to use as little to as many features of the solution as they want. For example, see this story from a pool service business owner who was hesitant to implement a fleet tracking system because his company is very small.

5. It’s a Huge Commitment

As we mentioned earlier in this post, implementing a fleet tracking system for your business is an investment. And yes, making the decision to implement a service that will impact your business well into the foreseeable future is a big commitment. Most GPS tracking providers require a 3-year contract.

However, many of the users of GPS tracking we have talked to don’t know how they ran their business without it. For example, a commercial roofing business owner will never manage his business without a fleet tracking system again. Read his story.

While it is important to weigh all of the pros and cons when making a decision that will significantly impact your business, GPS tracking provides positive impact. The problems we addressed here are either not really problems at all, or problems that can easily be resolved.

At the end of the day, implementing a fleet tracking system for your business is a smart decision that will provide a huge return on your investment, both in dollars as well as the extra time you’ll gain from having your fleet completely under control.

Want to know how to identify this behavior?

Watch out for maintained high speed vs. infrequent high speed.

With gas prices today, GPS fleet tracking software users are looking to shave off extra dollars any way they can. Monitoring speeding patterns is a great way to instantly start saving money, as well as keeping your fleet safe on the road. You can view this activity through the FleetMatics Fleet Red Flag Report.

When looking at the Fleet Red Flag Report, the one thing to watch for is maintained speed. This report shows a list of every time a vehicle was speeding, the posted speed in comparison to theirs, and the address being passed.

To identify maintained speed, you’ll want to look at the time stamps. The FleetMatics gps tracking system refreshes at a 90 second rate, so if the high speed is maintained, it will reflect this in the time stamps, showing the speeding over a prolonged period of time. Other vehicles will show spaced out time stamps, with hours in between, and no maintained period of time.

When you maintain a high speed over a long distance, you waste more fuel than a driver who accelerates once in a while to pass someone or to get onto a highway.

As far as the impact of maintained speed, please see below for a quote from the U.S. Department of Energy.

“Speeding can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town… You can assume that each 5 mph you drive over 60 mph is like paying an additional $0.31 per gallon for gas.” – U.S. Department of Energy / www.fueleconomy.gov

Just think of all the money you would save in a month if you were able to decrease your driver’s speed by a mere 5 mph!