When it comes to developing GPS tracking software there’s one criteria that’s more important than anything else – quality. It’s great to have feature-rich applications but if the software is prone to faults, inaccuracies or errors then it’s no good to the driver or the fleet manager.
In fact, poor quality software is usually the number one cause of user frustration. There’s no quicker way for a software company to alienate its users than by delivering a painful user experience.
How is GPS tracking helping make mines safer?
There’s no disputing that mining is a dangerous industry. While safety standards have improved, the Chilean mining disaster of 2010 has shown that things can go horribly wrong. Those miners in Chile enjoyed a lucky escape but only after a massive international rescue effort that took almost two months.
Mining dangers include anything from carbon monoxide poisoning, coal dust explosions, falling rocks, runaway carts, equipment failure to more long-term health hazards such as black lung or hearing loss.
Since the Chilean mining accident, mine safety has once again come under the spotlight, with the rescued miners promising to form a mine safety group to promote safe working practices.
Other groups are also considering what needs to be done to improve the safety and wellbeing of miners on the job. A recent comment made by Derrick Sibanda, business development manager at DuPont Sustainable Solutions in South Africa (a company involved with rescuing the Chilean miners), stated that “…preventative rather than reactionary measures should be prioritized and the government should take the lead in putting in place minimum safety standards across the board.”
How is modern technology making mining a safer industry? How is GPS tracking helping managers create a safer environment by putting the emphasis on prevention rather than reactive measures?
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Obviously, employers want to take whatever measures are necessary to limit their liability in these cases, and one area that can help greatly is by effectively managing speeding.
Managing speeding saves money – and lives
Fleet managers face the challenge of proactively managing their drivers without being like ‘helicopter parents’, monitoring their every move while hanging around them like a shadow that won’t go away.
At the same time you can’t afford to not manage driving. With speeding accounting for over a third of all traffic accidents and corporate manslaughter laws becoming stricter, employers need to protect themselves, while keeping both their drivers and the public at large safe.
If you’re an employer it can be scary to stop and think about how responsible you are for your employees and their actions. In a lot of cases the law holds you and your company liable for any damages an employee causes.
For fleet managers, the risk a company is exposed to is far greater than staff who may be limited to working within an office. The chance of an employee being involved, or causing, an accident is much higher when a significant amount of their time is spent on the road.
What if a driver kills someone? Does your company share some of the blame? And how can GPS tracking help to minimize the risk?
Do you know what your carbon footprint is? Or what your GHG emissions are? If you’re a business and you provide goods and services to the U.S. government very soon you will be requested to provide that information.
In what is seen as somewhat of an inevitable move towards more sustainable business practices, the EPA and the Obama administration are pushing for more reporting by businesses on their environmental impact.
Recently the EPA handed down a ruling that requested suppliers in the U.S. to report their GHG emissions. For some American fleets this will prove to be a major headache, for others, like those using Telogis Fleet management software, it won’t be a problem.
When the bugs invade your home you don’t stop to think too much about how that pest control technician makes it to your house. You just want him there – fast!
But let’s take a moment to step into the world of a pest control business and go behind the scenes. What’s involved for a pest control business, from the moment you contact them to tell them you’re being overrun by termites or tarantulas, to the actual arrival of a technician, ready to fight those nasty bugs?
There’s growing discontent amongst truckers who are complaining that anti-idling laws are not only a huge inconvenience but also putting lives at risk, and not just driver’s lives either. If truckers can’t regulate the temperature in the cab by keeping the engine idling, some say this will potentially result in drivers freezing to death in their sleep or sleep-deprived drivers on the road, threatening the lives of other motorists.
Are these claims simply scare-mongering by truck drivers? Are the state trucking regulations forgetting commonsense and putting environmentalists ahead of people’s lives?
From June 1, 2012, any fleet that fails a DOT audit will be required to install an EOBR (Electronic On Board Recorder).
The FMCSA (Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration) announced the new ruling on April 5, 2010 and the change will impact over 5,500 trucking companies around the U.S.
The rule states that fleets breach HOS (Hours of Service) rules 10% of the time or more, based on a single DOT audit, must use an EOBR to monitor driver hours.
Carriers that refuse to install an EOBR will not be allowed to work interstate and may even have their operating authority revoked.
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How secure is your online software?
With the popularity of online software growing there is a concern that it is not as secure or reliable as desktop-based applications. GPS fleet tracking software is generally run online so it’s of particular interest to fleet managers to know that the infrastructure used by providers is both robust and secure.
But before you make the switch to online software, it’s important to check a few things about the provider to make sure they are taking the best care of your data and you can enjoy a reliable software service, something that is vitally important when you’re looking at running mission-critical applications.
Here are five things you should check with your online software provider before you buy.
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5 ways to beat GPS jammers
May
5 ways to beat GPS tampering involves staff training
In our last post we looked at four ways that GPS jammers attempt to tamper with a GPS unit to prevent it from working correctly, and transmitting accurate data back to the user. If you are worried about your GPS hardware being tampered with, here are 5 ways you can counter these attempts to disrupt GPS tracking.
It is also worth mentioning that it is only a small number who will attempt to tamper with a GPS device. Not only it is becoming increasingly difficult and illegal, most recognize the legitimate use of GPS tracking. For example, fleet managers may use GPS fleet tracking to measure overall fleet and driver performance to make a fleet more profitable (and thus improve job security) and ensure all drivers are fairly following company policy.
