Vehicle tracking in New Hampshire saves time, improves efficiency

2079 Provider Enterprises is the largest transportation company dedicated to special needs children in New Hampshire, US serving more than 1,500 children daily. Several years ago, the company decided to deploy GPS-based fleet tracking technology primarily to monitor the location of its 178-vehicle fleet for routing and quality-control purposes.

As it turned out, the project has delivered much more than the ability to view the location of all vehicles in the fleet on a single map in real time. Benefits have ranged from US$450,000+ in fuel and labour savings to a variety of operational improvements that have strengthened routing efficiencies, driver management, student safety and the company's success in reducing its carbon footprint.

The system

The Provider is using three components of 2074 Navman Wireless's OnlineAVL2 fleet tracking platform: Qube GPS tracking units resembling external hard drives that are installed in each vehicle; OnlineAVL2 back-office software; and MDT-860 two-way messaging terminals similar to pagers that connect drivers directly to The Provider's dispatch centre.

Project:
Fleet tracking for private school bus company
Cost:
$8,000 per year
Benefits:
• Real-time visibility of all vehicles on one map
• $50,000 fuel savings in first year
• $400,000 savings in driver overpayments
• 50% faster dispatch than by radio
• Complete audit trail of vehicle activity
• Instant communication with drivers in the field
• Speeding detection and other safety measuresThe Qube GPS units capture each vehicle's physical location every few seconds and transmit the data to the OnlineAVL2 software over the cellular network. The software collects and correlates the GPS information with other data sets for in-depth reporting and analysis, while the MDT-860 messaging devices enable dispatchers to communicate with drivers in the field without lengthy and distracting phone calls. The Provider leases all components at a cost of $45 per vehicle per month.

Cost and benefits

In the first year of use, the Navman Wireless fleet tracking system helped The Provider reduce fuel expenses by nearly 10 per cent for a net $50,000 savings as well as eliminating $400,000 in inaccurate or inflated driver timesheets and associated pay. Those savings are repeated every year.

The fuel savings are achieved in part by sending daily route changes and driving directions directly to the relevant driver's messaging terminal, eliminating unneeded stops, wrong turns and inefficient routing. Also contributing is the system's ability to measure vehicle idling based on a lack of movement when the vehicle ignition is on, making it possible to enforce strict anti-idling policies that further reduce fuel usage.

Driver overpayments and billable hour disputes have been eliminated by having drivers 'punch' in and out of the Navman Wireless messaging terminal for accurate time reporting, and by drawing virtual perimeters (geo-fences) around each driver's home to detect personal vehicle use outside of work hours. In addition, the system is providing complete real-time visibility of all vehicles, fast routing of the closest vehicle with or without a wheelchair lift as needed, 50 per cent faster dispatch than by radio, a complete audit trail of vehicle activity, and increased safety by identifying drivers who speed, fail to stop at railroad tracks or neglect to enforce seatbelt requirements.

Free ROI calculator

Navman Wireless has announced the availability of an interactive ROI calculator, enabling fleet managers to instantly determine the potential savings of deploying the company's Wireless OnlineAVL2 fleet tracking system in their particular organisations. The calculator delivers instant estimates of the impact of GPS-based fleet tracking on fuel, downtime, overtime and insurance costs as well as CO2 emissions, based on the actual size and usage profile of the user's fleet. Company-specific metrics used in the calculations range from the number of miles and hours logged per vehicle per month, to overtime hourly wage, average hourly charge per customer, monthly insurance premium per vehicle, and lost revenue per vehicle per day from downtime.

Results are displayed interactively on-screen as users input data in six different categories. Projected monthly savings and increased revenues are shown by individual parameter as well as in total, with pie charts and graphs illustrating the savings breakdown by category and the payback timeline. Reports with the finished calculations can be emailed with a click, providing documentation of expected benefits that can be used to help make a purchase decision.

The free calculator is online at %$Linker: External 0 0 0 oLinkExternal navmanwirelessus.com/roi-calculator Navman Wirelessus false http://www.navmanwirelessus.com/roi-calculator false false%> or at %$Linker: External 0 0 0 oLinkExternal fleettrackingroi.com fleet tracking ROI false http://www.fleettrackingroi.com/ false false%>.