What You Need To Know About Finding The Right Asset Tracker Solution

Asset trackers have a proven record of bettering fleet operations as a whole and grant a high return on investment. But, unfortunately, many fleets are disappointed with their results after using a tracker due to the incorrect solution being used. 

For instance, fleets working outside of cellular coverage can mistakenly implement asset trackers that don’t work outside of coverage making it a challenge to track data. This is because fleets and service providers don’t account for every scenario resulting in such issues. Ensuring that your fleet made the right choice is important, and therefore, fleets should do their research and consult with telematic experts before deciding on which solutions to implement. 

Before Searching For Asset Tracker Solutions

Fleets need to consider what their needs are thoroughly before starting the search for asset trackers. There are several asset trackers that excel in different fields, so only a few will be beneficial for each carrier. Here are the top 4 questions fleets must find answers to:

1. What industry is the fleet a part of?
2. What aspect of the fleet are they wanting to prioritize? Is it safety? Efficiency? Maintenance? Or all of the above?
3. Does the fleet always operate within cellular coverage?
4. How fast of a location update is the fleet looking for? Everyday? Hourly? Or real time? 

Asset Trackers Going Unnoticed

With so many resources available, many with exceptional features go unseen. Typically, our team notices that satellite tracking, solar energy powered trackers and BLE technology trackers are often missed. 

Satellite Tracking – A 360° View of Your Business 24/7

Starting off with satellite tracking, it’s the ultimate device to manage mobile resources whenever and wherever they go. Easy to install, this system features no wires or antennas and can be placed within the asset with either industrial adhesive or a screw mount. Providing fleets with pin-point accuracy on location and activity, it updates hourly when the asset is in motion and daily when stationary.

How it Works

The satellite tracker uses a military grade Smartone LP powered by a AA Lithium Battery pack to keep connected to the satellite network. This allows for great performance under the toughest conditions and temperatures ranging between -40° to +85°, ensuring fleets can operate almost anywhere. It will even alert you when it’s low on battery. It can sync with cell phone tracking or GoFleet tracking so fleets can integrate all of their systems together and simplify their fleet management.

FLEX Solar – Solar Powered Tracking 

If you’re looking for an energy harvesting, self-charging solution that supports long term remote deployment without the need to replace the battery, the Flex Solar is the perfect solution for the job.

How It Works

Providing assets such as trailers, containers and generators with near real time tracking data, the Flex Solar provides visibility into true utilization, dwell time, yard movements, yard entry and exit time of important assets. Leveraging the collected data, fleets can help combat issues surrounding underutilization, effective lot management, maintenance and misplaced assets.  

Engineered to withstand harsh conditions, equipped with an efficient solar cell and a long-life span enables a reliable and self-sustaining solution to provide fleets with more visibility into their assets to better manage their business.

BLE Beacons – Bluetooth Low Technology Outside Cellular Coverage

If you’re looking for a form of wireless communication designed especially for short range communication, Bluetooth Low Energy beacons should be on fleet radars. Equipped with a Bluetooth 4.0 low energy radio, a BLE beacon has a long battery life with a range of up to 250m. 

BLE beacons are great for indoor use as they make it simple to find inventory, equipment and tools in building and job sites and automate inventory pick-up and drop-off times.

With a set of built-in sensors, the status and condition of assets can be monitored. It provides data including impacts, temperature, light exposure, proximity, battery level, speed, latitude and longitude. For example, the temperature sensor provides temperature in degrees Celsius at approximately 1-minute intervals from −40°C to +80°C and the light sensor provides light readings at approximately 1-minute intervals at a full-scale range of 16000LUX.

How Asset Tracking Will Help Your Fleet – Reduced Fuel Costs

Asset tracking allows fleets to learn how their assets are being used and gives the opportunity to correct driver behavior that increases fleet costs. For example, a driver who is speeding can be told to slow down in real time, an idling truck can be checked for the idling reason or instructed to turn their vehicle off to keep the fuel costs down. In general, it costs as much for a truck to idle for just one hour as it does for the vehicle to be driven a distance of 25 miles. With real time benefits, you can alert drivers about traffic jams and weather-related road conditions and re-route them accordingly. Also, by keeping an eye on driver behavior, fleets can also reduce costs in areas such as vehicle maintenance. 

Reduced Labor Costs 

Labor costs are a heavy burden and can be reduced drastically with a fleet management system in place. It will enable fleets to track when vehicles are in service and who is operating them and when, allowing them to generate reports that reveal a driver’s average daily, weekly and overtime hours. Fleets can monitor if drivers make unscheduled stops, stray from their planned routes or spend too much time at certain locations.

Reduced Repair Costs 

Maintenance costs can be a heavy burden on fleet budgets, but they can be reduced with asset tracking solutions that inform fleets when their vehicles require routine maintenance. With proper routine maintenance, vehicles can function efficiently and prevent expensive avoidable repairs. Keeping vehicles in a good condition will help prolong vehicle lifespan in the long run and will prevent fleets from replacing them prematurely.

Reduced Mileage & Wear and Tear

With real time tracking, fleets can take advantage and stay on top of giving their drivers the best route depending on traffic and weather conditions to reduce mileage. Less mileage means less wear and tear the vehicle’s experience on the road.

Reduced Theft & Unauthorized Use 

Asset tracking allows fleets to increase their response rate to theft and unauthorized vehicle use which increases the chances of recovering the vehicle and its content. Depending on the implemented system, a fleet can remotely shutdown vehicles to prevent theft. Geofencing, an asset tracking feature, can be used to create digital boundaries so the fleet is alerted if any vehicles cross those boundaries.

Asset trackers provide fleets with the exact location where all the assets are in the field and helps track performance long term. Identifying choke points in processes or knowing when an asset has been idle for too long can help fleets be aware about these issues and prevent them. Our team is happy to assist you with finding the right solution for your fleet and help you get the most value out of our systems. If you want to learn more about how these trackers can be implemented for various fleets, contact us to learn more.