Posts Tagged ‘GPS Tracking’

Effective Solutions for Mobile Asset Management

Friday, June 26th, 2009

asset-managementGPS devices critical for improving efficiency in business

Vehicles rank among many companies’ major capital expenditures, along with facilities, goods and inventory and equipment. Often the person or entity that owns them rarely sees them because they are out in the field. Management is very labor-intensive, because often there are multiple vehicles, and their drivers to keep on schedule.

GPS tracking devices have proven that they are an enormous benefit in mobile asset management. The systems have helped thousands of companies save money, and boost staff and customer satisfaction.

About 10 years ago, when GPS tracking devices started emerging in the market, one of the first segments of business to install mobile asset management systems was large companies. Early technologies were cost-prohibitive to the small to medium businessman. Even in a Fortune 500 company, it was critical that upper management be convinced they’d get a solid return on investment (ROI) for the mobile asset management system.

But as the systems have become more compact, more accurate and more affordable, companies big and small are realizing the value of mobile asset management. It gives businesses, from corporations to Mom-and-Pop shops, to independent, self-employed sales and service people, a tool to become more competitive and profitable.

Passive and Active Devices

Vehicle tracking devices take the guesswork out of locating mobile assets. Managers no longer need to rely on drivers to check in from the road. With GPS tracking systems, a vehicle’s position, from moment to moment, is accurately recorded. Speed, direction, miles driven and the address of stops can also be displayed.  A receiver in the vehicle captures signals from satellites in space.

GPS vehicle tracking systems are either passive or real-time. Passive devices record location data, which is downloaded to a computer for viewing once the vehicle returns from its trip. Real-time units integrate GPS technology with a wireless network. The tracking data is transmitted to remote computer or Internet-enabled cell phone and the user can see where the vehicle is as it moves along its route.

Both have a host of applications for mobile asset management, all pointing to a business trend toward working “lean.” And new, innovative uses are being discovered all the time. (more…)

Alzheimer’s Disease a Growing Threat

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

Senior Man & Worried SonGPS Tracking Devices Rein in Wanderers

Baby boomers, you’ve spent a lifetime trying to make your mark in the world. Now prepare to get lost in the crowd.

The first of the post-World War II born “boomers” are now entering their retirement years. It seems the generation that grew up with television Westerns, the British Invasion, arcade games and the Vietnam War might soon run a risk of developing early-onset Alzheimer’s disease.

Forgetting where you set the car keys is considered an absent-minded blunder and an everyday occurrence. Unfortunately, if projections are true, being clueless as to your surroundings and how you got there might also soon be common. (more…)

GPS Tracking in the Workplace Largely Unregulated

Wednesday, May 20th, 2009

men-working-heavy-machineryGlobal Positioning System (GPS) tracking technology was developed for the government and military, but it has since been found to have many practical applications in the private business sector. (more…)

GPS Tracking Helps Schools Monitor School Buses and the Children in Them

Thursday, May 14th, 2009

PUEBLO, CO. (May 13, 2009) – Administrators at a large school district in Colorado plan to take Global Positioning System ( GPS tracking) technology a step further, by monitoring the buses in their fleet while they’re out on their routes, and also the students in them.

Pueblo, CO school system #70 has its eye on a dual-purpose vehicle tracking system that will show – on computer in real time – their buses as they travel around the district. It will also monitor the comings and goings of their students, who will carry individualized ID cards that will scan as they embark and disembark the bus. The technology is similar to a key card.

Many school districts across the nation employ GPS tracking technology to monitor their mobile assets. Sensitive receivers placed inside the vehicles get readings from a system of 24 satellites in space, then transmit location data by wireless network so that they can be read from a remote computer. By capturing readings at regular intervals, usually every few minutes, GPS tracking systems illustrate the bus as it progresses on its route. Multiple vehicles can be viewed over a map simultaneously. This is called active tracking.

Active GPS tracking helps school districts be accountable to parents and taxpayers in the event buses encounter mechanical breakdowns, accidents, weather-related incidents or traffic delays. Supervisors can also monitor drivers’ speeds and keep the vehicles on a regular maintenance schedule.

With the new vehicle tracking system in place, the Colorado school district will also be able to tell what students are on any given bus, and when and where they’ve stepped off.  It will be able to report to worried parents when their students get on the wrong buses or miss their stops. (more…)

Top 10 GPS Tracking Users

Monday, April 27th, 2009

Once a concept restricted to space-age discussions after the 1957 launch of the first man-made satellite Sputnik, Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has advanced to find a place in the everyday vernacular.

GPS is a location system that is based on the transmissions of 24 satellites orbiting the earth. People use ground-based receivers to capture the radio signals. That data makes it possible to accurately pinpoint the geographic location of a receiver, usually within a few feet.

Originally developed as a military application by the U.S. Department of Defense, GPS tracking is now used in a wide variety of consumer products and is in general use around the world. It is used today to: help catch criminals, teach smart driving habits, cut vehicle fuel and maintenance costs, and protect one’s assets from theft; to name only a few. It seems that every few months or so, someone has thought of a new and inventive way to introduce GPS tracking into our lives, to make it either safer or more convenient.

Many types of people have not only become familiar with GPS tracking, they’ve come to rely on it. Following are some of the top users. (more…)