The Advantages Of Using Vehicle Tracking SystemsIn order to manage a fleet of vehicles effectively there needs to be some kind of vehicle tracking system in place. There are many different types of vehicle tracking software on the market from various fleet management software providers, but there are essentially two types of tracking system, which are the historical vehicle tracking system and the real time vehicle tracking system. This article will look at the major differences between the two and also look at some of the considerations that need to be borne in mind when choosing a vehicle tracking system. The historical vehicle tracking system does as the name implies, in that the data it provides is historical, though usually no more than a day old. The system works by installing a vehicle tracking device on the vehicle which then collects data while the vehicle is on the road. The type of data that can be collected includes the location of the vehicle, mechanical data about the vehicle itself, and some form of driver profiling, such as driving style and speed. The data collected by this system can be extremely detailed, and so will enable the fleet manager to make detailed decisions about each vehicle in the fleet. Since there is no delay in data collection, as there can be with real-time tracking systems, a historical vehicle tracking system gives a complete picture of the time a vehicle was in transit. The disadvantage to this system is that the data cannot be viewed until the car or truck has returned back to the warehouse or parking lot. It also has to be downloaded manually from the tracking device, either by use of a data key or in some cases by the use of a wireless download. A real time system provides data that is always up to date, or at least no more than a few minutes old. The data from the vehicle is captured on an onboard vehicle tracking device, which then relays the data to a server system run by a fleet tracking software provider. The fleet manager can than access the server via the internet and view data about every vehicle in the fleet. One of the major advantages of the real time system is that it enables the fleet manager to know the exact location of any vehicle at any time, and so enables the company to provide great customer service. If a job comes up unexpectedly, the fleet management team can quickly find the nearest vehicle to the customer's location and inform the driver of the destination. This is especially important for freight trucking companies which may need to quickly handle consignments of freight. What does need to be borne in mind with the real time tracking system is that these generally require a monthly fee to be paid to the vehicle tracking software package provider for continued use of the software and access to the data server. As you can see, there are both advantages and disadvantages to each type of tracking system: the historical and real time systems. Historical systems give more detailed data, though the data is not readily available. Real time systems give up-to-the minute data but do require a monthly fee for their operation. By bearing these major points in mind it should be possible to decide which type of system is suitable for a particular vehicle tracking job. |