Vehicle routing and tracking has taken a giant leap forward Since I first wrote about in 1999 in my article on Road Transportation Management using GIS. Back then the use of GPS was still in it’s infancy, and very few if any companies were actively using it. These days GPS technology such as the GPS Insight vehicle tracking system, one of many such tools, can not only pinpoint any vehicle’s exact location, it can also transfer a wealth of detailed information about each vehicle.
A wealth of information
To name but a few of the many possible options:
- Current and past speed
- Engine Diagnostics
- Activity reports (On/off hours, Idle stop times, etc.)
- Fuel Consumption
- Service alerts
- Emissions
With such a tool in place, every vehicle operator or freight hauler knows at any time where his fleet is and how well it functions, thus streamlining operations and keeping costs down, let alone ensuring 100% accountability. I can imagine how important the latter is for service and trucking companies like HVAC, roofing, plumbing, construction, sales forces, delivery vehicles, and long haul trucking, to mention just a couple of examples. So what can the GPS Insight vehicle tracking system actually do? And is it worth the cost?
www.gpsinsight.com
What is apparent from a thorough look at the company web site is that GPS Insight is a hardware and web software-based vehicle tracking product from a vendor who is among the technical leaders in the GPS tracking field. This software can do so many things that even if you spend a whole day on their website trying to learn about it, you still haven’t seen everything it can do. If you’re like me you will probably wonder what this software can NOT do, and honestly, I don’t know.
Video Demos
There are some very nifty videos demonstrating in detail all this software can do. The overall running time is more than three hours, and I must admit that I did not take the time to finish all of them. Albeit, I’m impressed with what I found, because it’s practically like a step-by-step tutorial. And truly, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the show…don’t forget the crisps and the sodas, well, almost. Watch the GPSInsight Demo Videos.
Support
GPS Insight also operates a GPS Insight support wiki for customers where users can find answers to almost any question about how to operate GPS Insight and answers to all kinds of probable and maybe not so probable problems with installing and using GPS Insight.
Blog
GPS Insight also has a blog for GPS vehicle Tracking. Here you can find information on the latest updates as well as customer testimonials onr how to put GPS into practical use like this one: I definitely wasn’t going that fast…
Pricing
GPS Insight has a very easy-to-use price information page where you simply type in the number of light and/or heavy duty vehicles you operate and any product add-ons you require to get a total cost and a cost per vehicle, which in fact is no more than $1.50-2 per day per vehicle.
Why use GPS Insight?
For one thing, it gives you full oversight of your fleet at any given time. The activity reports allow you to pay only for hours worked, so there is no spillage or hours paid for, but not accounted for. In addition efficient routing will help save fuel costs, let alone deliver your goods or services on time to your customers. Engine diagnostics assists in scheduling when which maintenance is due, and vehicles can be serviced efficiently, before something happens that needs urgent attention. All in all, GPS Insight can streamline operations effectively and keep track of every step along the way.
Conclusion
Even without having taken the time to compare the GPS Insight vehicle tracking system with similar products from other vendors, I still feel confident that this tool is among the leading products in the transportation industry. In conclusion I cannot imagine any serious fleet operator who would want to be without a tool like this. GPS Insight appears straightforward and trivial to install (it plugs directly into the vehicles diagnostics port), and as far as I know it is the only product which gets direct engine diagnostics (fault codes, speed, fuel consumption, odometer readings, idle time, etc.), and it gives 2 minute updates with VERY high end map options and customizations. Sure, there are definitely other products and you should choose the tool that best suits your needs. GPS Insight is only one of them. Is it the best? I don’t know. You need to try to find out. Is it worth it, as in can you save money by putting it into use? Now that answer is definitely yes. At $1-50 to 2 per day per vehicle I cannot imagine why it will not pay off.
Interested? For more information, please visit GPS Insight.
Related
- husdal.com: GIS for Transportation
- husdal.com: GIS for Vehicle Routing and Tracking
