Blog Archives - Page 38 of 62

How long is my GPS Data Stored with Geotab & GoFleet?

Posted on June 2, 2015 | by Victoria Gole

There are many people who store a significant amount of important and valuable information on their computer, such as financial documents, family movies and photos, personal music collections, and more. This large amount of data should be (but unfortunately, usually isn’t) backed up and preserved in case of data loss or theft. Each and every day there are millions and millions of data records passing through Getoab’s servers. This data is backed up in many different ways on a regular basis. This article will provide you with an in-depth explanation of how long the information is retained for and how frequently our Geotab data is backed up.

Active MyGeotab Databases
Databases currently in-use (with active Geotab GO devices, regular logins, etc.) are backed up on a nightly basis. Additionally, the previous 2 days of backups are also stored on a server in a different physical location. In the extremely unlikely event of the loss of a server, the previous nightly backups can be brought online.

Inactive MyGeotab Databases
In the effort to provide high server and because of the plethora of data stored in the MyGeotab servers, databases that are not in use are permanently removed from the servers after 60 days. A database not in use could be an empty database or one with all inactive devices.

Data Purging
Similar to the removal of inactive, empty databases to save valuable space, customer data older than one year will be regularly removed from the database. This purge, along with database deletion, is done without prior notice to customers.

How Can I Keep My Data for Longer?

Customers wishing to keep their data for longer than the guaranteed one year period are free to and encouraged to use our built-in migration tools for archiving their data.

The current Export Database function in MyGeotab can be found by browsing to Administration, System, Export Database. It is here that you can control how much data is exported. Keep in mind that the database is suspended while it is being exported. Upon completion of an export, an email will be sent requesting the export with an attached .zip file containing the exported data.

In summary, Geotab is committed to taking care of your telematics data and providing outstanding uptime and data availability.

For more information on Geotab’s data retention and backup policies, please see our standard service-level agreement (SLA). For more information on MyGeotab database Export/Migration tools, contact us at 1-888-998-1122 or [email protected].

Original Article By: Phillip M.T. Rolle, IT Systems and Security Administrator at Geotab
http://www.geotab.com/blog/long-geotab-keep-data/

5 Easy Tips for Safer Passenger Car Tires

Posted on May 28, 2015 | by Courtney redwell

Tires are often overlooked and forgotten when it comes to passenger vehicles. Not only do they have an affect on the mileage of the vehicle but also on the overall safety of the vehicle.

Let’s take a look at a few tips from Automotive Fleet that will help you & other fleet managers ensure proper tire safety on a passenger cars:

Tip #1: Understand how to properly inspect a tire.
Before heading out on the road, drivers should inspect all four car tires for any damage, including nails. Also look at the tread depth and tire inflation.

Tip #2: Understand how to check the tire pressure.
Yes, many vehicles today may already come equipped with a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) but it’s important drivers still know how to properly check tire pressure and where to find the OEM’s recommended tire pressure rating. Tires can lose up to one psi per month under regular conditions and an addition one psi for every 10°F drop in temperature.

Tip #3: Get periodic tire maintenance.
Take the car in for regular tire rotations, alignment and balancing to help evenly spread tire wear and to provide another check for any damage. Our software offers the option to add in scheduled maintenance reminders so you’ll never miss tire maintenance and keep your vehicles in the safest condition.

Tip #4: Check the tread depth on tires frequently.
There are a couple easy and fast ways to check the tread depth on tires; use a small tool specifically made for the job, or a penny can work fine just to eyeball any problems. If any part of Abe Lincoln’s head is covered up by tire tread, that’s a sign you are safe and good to go!

Tip #5: Know how to read a tire’s sidewall.
This skill allows a quick check to know if on a specific vehicle type, the right tire is being used.

Source:
Author Lauren Fletcher in Automotive Fleet: Keeping Passenger Car Tires Safe

Driver Fatigue and the Underestimated Dangers

Posted on May 26, 2015 | by Courtney redwell

Driver Fatigue Danger

Driver fatigue can often be an underestimated danger. Companies rely on their drivers for getting to remote job sites, product deliveries, and transporting goods between warehouses. Your fleet drivers may often have to take long trips and/or inconsistent driving schedules which then results in them driving tired. A study in the US focusing around this issue found that being awake for 17-19 hours straight causes impaired performance equivalent to a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05%.

The National Sleep Foundation’s report “Sleep in America” found that of the 169 million adult drivers polled, 60% admit to driving while drowsy and 37% reported falling asleep behind the wheel. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA) made a conservative estimation when stating that 100,000 of police reported crashes each year are caused by driver fatigue. Professionals have difficulty generating these estimations since it is often hard to prove fatigue is the sole cause of accidents. Unfortunately, there are no tests similar to alcohol impairment that can be administered and currently police do not include a fatigue assessment in their investigation practices. Driver fatigue is most common in the following demographics:

Shift workers with long commutes and/or inconsistent schedules
People living with children
Young adult males

Drowsiness can happen fast and many professional drivers tend not to consider tiredness a big threat therefore do not act right away. In the “Sleep in America” report mentioned before, it estimated that 1 in 5 drivers recognize drowsiness and pull over to take a rest. The most alarming and obvious ramification of continued driving is falling asleep at the wheel but there are other consequences that also may lead to accidents:

Driver’s ability to drive defensively decreases
Driver’s get irritable or impatient making them more susceptible to road rage
Driver’s alertness decreases which may cause them to miss road signs or traffic signals

Companies rely on their drivers to be alert and safe and driver fatigue poses a threat. If there is an employee injury or accidents due to a driver being too tired it can cost millions of dollars in damages and potential lawsuits if a third party is involved.

The need for technology to monitor this issue is increasing and some ideas have been circulating within the industry. Some of these ideas include heart rate detectors or eye scans to monitor driver fatigue. It is the responsibility of both the drivers and their fleet organizations to ensure best practices and safety when driving. This includes: strong recognition and decision making skills, being well rested, and always taking the correct steps when starting to feel too tired.

Telematics technology helps to track the health and status of your vehicles and also helps managers better manage drivers; it is important to also consider fatigue. An overly tired driver is much more likely to get in a crash than a well-rested driver. Business and fleet safety managers must encourage their drivers to spot driver fatigue symptoms (like slow reaction time, trouble focusing etc.) and to stay off the roads when experiencing these symptoms. The consequences of accidents linked to fatigue have been found to be more serious because drivers in this state normally make little attempt to avoid the crash.

Source:
Original Article Written by: Tori Denning, Accounts Administrator at Geotab
http://www.geotab.com/blog/underestimated-dangers-driver-fatigue/

Healthy Sleep: Judgement & Safety
Sleep Foundation: National Sleep in America Poll
Drowsy Driving: Facts & Stats

Why Choose GoFleet As Your Geotab Partner?

Posted on May 21, 2015 | by Victoria Gole

Finding the Right Geotab Partner

Geotab relies on a partner ecosystem to allow the technology they develop to be successfully represented, rolled out, and grow with ongoing customer needs. So how does a fleet choose which telematics provider is the best fit for their needs in the short AND long term?

Here is Geotab’s view of how to find out with a quick quiz:

Question 1
Will the information that is collected for your business be used by more than one department (fleet maintenance, fleet management, sales CRM, field force dispatch, risk management, claims management, government compliance, finance)?

Question 2
Is your IT team looking to standardize the various software programs needed to run a business today (payroll, CRM) along with some industry specific programs (route scheduling, IFTA)?

Question 3
Does your company have the in-house resources to watch the overall health of all deployed data collection telematics devices – ensuring uptime of all installed units?

Question 4
Does your company have the in-house analysts to inject your collected data into your company’s evolving business objectives?

If you answered yes to ANY of the 4 questions, Geotab may well be your best choice of a technology solution to rely on. If you answered yes and have already deployed with a different telematics provider, we would be happy to talk with you about making the switch. As a business, your freedom to operate and evolve is essential and that’s what the Geotab telematics operating system with GoFleet’s partnership approach is all about.

As a Geotab partner we resell their technology with additional applications and services; while also offering a business partnership approach and working with you on a regular basis. We take pride on never once having a customer who has not saved more money than our solution cost them and work closely with all our clients to ensure this high level of return on investment is maintained.

As an Authorized Geotab Reseller, we receive routine weekly training on best practices in deploying Geotab technology, business case studies, new features, and upcoming developments on the horizon. Geotab works with us daily to ensure our high level product knowledge and performance is maintained.

For businesses, there is a fog of telematics companies who on the surface appear to offer the same features and functions. But focus on the 4 questions and think of how together we will provide new business intelligence for you to use to grow and increase revenue.

Contact us to learn more about the partnership approach we take with each of our customers, and how we can generate the return on investment you are looking for.

Original Article By: Colin Sutherland, VP Sales & Marketing at Geotab
http://www.geotab.com/blog/finding-right-geotab-partner/

Canada Road Safety Week May 2015

Posted on May 12, 2015 | by Courtney redwell

National Road Safety Week in Canada

May 12th-18th 2015, marks Canada Road Safety Week, which is a national traffic safety and enforcement initiative conducted in partnership with the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and police services from across the country. The goal of Road Safety Week is to make Canada’s roads the safest in the world. It is a 7 day campaign running through the Victoria Day long weekend.

Road Safety Week is designed to remind Canadians how important it is to drive safely and obey all driving laws. The laws are put in place to ultimately keep yourself and others on the road safe.

There are 4 main focuses for this week which include: impaired driving, seat belt use, aggressive and distracted driving.

Always take precautions when you’re driving. Your driving often not only effects you but also those around you whether that be another driver, cyclist, pedestrian or motorcyclist. Always be aware of everything around you to ensure the safety of yourself and others.

Let’s take a look at some tips from Canada’s Safety Council on
How to Drive Like a Hero:

Focus, Focus, Focus!
Distracted driving is becoming one of the leading causes of car accidents in Canada. Any collision involving a vulnerable driver has the potential to be deadly. Texts and calls can wait. Turn off your phone or at least put it on silent and out of reach so you are not tempted to use it while driving.

Stay on the Lookout
Be sure to scan ahead for cyclist, motorcyclists and pedestrians, who can often be hard to see; pay extra close attention around intersections and when making turns. Also, don’t immediately drop your guard once you have put your car in park, try to get into the habit of checking before opening vehicle doors in order to avoid dooring someone walking, jogging, or cycling past.

Stay Calm & Courteous
Everyone you are sharing the road with is trying to get somewhere, respect your fellow drivers. Try to be especially cautious with the elderly and children who may struggle with judging the speed and timing of traffic.

Check Your Speed
There are a ton of speeders on the roads and it takes bravery to stick to the actual speed limit. Your decision to drive the speed limit will influence others to do the same. Every kilometre over the speed limit you’re driving increases stopping distance and reduces your effective field of vision. A small difference in your speed can be the difference between life or death; the posted road speeds are there for a reason, stick to them.

Leave Space
Do not follow too close; riding the bumper of the car in front of you doesn’t do anything good for anyone. Also, always leave enough space for cyclist and motorcyclists. When you are passing a cyclist make sure you slow down and leave a minimum of 1 meter of space or if possible change lanes. If there isn’t enough space for you to safely pass, maintain your distance and pass when the opportunity arises.

Canadian drivers can expect stronger than normal law enforcement during Road Safety Week; please keep these tips in mind and make sure you are driving safely and obeying all traffic laws.

Sources:
Toronto Police Services: Canada Road Safety Week News Release
Canada Safety Coucil: Be a Road Hero: The Way You Drive Can Save Lives

Explore Fuel Card Benefits

Posted on May 7, 2015 | by Vishal Singh

Fuel your company profits with Fuel Cards

Fuel cards help view and confirm driver fuel card expenditures. Information can be generated daily, helping managers eliminate fuel theft and realize return on investments through GoFleet’s management solution.

Benefits of Fuel Cards

Fuel cards work in a very similar way to ordinary credit cards with the exception of the card restrictions to purchases of fuel, oil and lubricants only. Available to businesses of all sizes, the card when combined with GoFleet’s fleet solutions will help achieve substantial savings through:

Improved cash flow
The ability to monitor and control fuel expenses more closely
Single invoices, eliminating piles of receipts
Improved security as cards can be matched to a vehicle, driver or both.

1) Fuel Card Invoicing

The first noticeable benefit from using fuel cards is the elimination of receipts. Business owners and fleet managers no longer have to sort through piles of receipts and expense claims to submit an appropriate level for the reimbursement of mileage as fuel costs are immediately apparent on the invoices.

2) Fuel Card Reports

At the end of each month a fleet managers can receive a scheduled management report containing information regarding fuel purchases. These reports can be customized as well as designed to show details of each and every transaction such as the specific card used, the date/location/time of the transaction as well as the quantity and type of fuel purchased.

3) Fuel Cards remove the need for cash

The classic benefit is arguably health as it reduces company administration costs and expenses claims can be tracked and calculated easily.

4) Fuel Card Network Coverage

The card can be set to be used within a specific network of service stations. This will allow for easy control and monitoring of the purchases made and the locations driven too.

5) Fuel Card Pricing

Many fuel cards offer discounted prices which mean in the long run, the amounts will total to a large amount of saving.s

Lastly, the most important feature of the fuel card it it’s the ability provide convenience to all drivers and administrators and maximize cost savings on administration allowing business owners and fleet managers to massively reduce fuel fraud, which cause a major drain on company finances.

To learn more about fuel card options, contact us at 1-888-998-1122.

7 Tips To Improve Your Company’s Customer Support

Posted on May 5, 2015 | by Courtney redwell

Improving Your Company’s Customer Support

There are tons of companies out there that spend tens of thousands of dollars on promoting their brand. Unfortunately, customer support (which can often be the customers first contact with a company) doesn’t get the attention it deserves. Too many businesses make it overly complicated for customers to get the help they desire, ultimately creating a bad impression of the company as a whole.

To improve your customer and technical support services, take a look at these expert tips:

1. Cover All Channels, Based On Your Consumer

It’s not all about phone based support any more, which is why it’s important to make sure you cover all your bases. Phone support is a must but if your products and/or services are geared towards active social media users, you may want to offer support via your Twitter or Facebook account.

It is also important to offer options. Phone support is a must but what about offering email support or a support portal for those who may not have the time to sit on the phone with you to have their issue resolved? Get to know your customers and their needs, then determine the different channels they will most commonly use and benefit from.

2. Listen to Your Customers

Pay close attention to what they are writing or saying; give your customers the confidence that you will personally own and solve the issue at hand. People don’t like to passed around from one agent to another.

Do not use terms your customer won’t understand. Use plain English but be sure not to talk down to your customers, you want to be as straight forward and polite as possible.

3. Offer a Self-Service Option

If a customer can quickly find detailed answers to their problems all on their own, they’ll feel empowered and appreciate the information they were able to find without having to deal with customer support. Self-service can often be quicker than calling an agent over the phone, plus it frees up time for your support agents to focus on the bigger problems customers are having, not minor ones that have an easy fix.

Self-service is a good addition to phone, email and other support. You don’t want to make your customers feel like they have to solve their issues on their own, but it is a nice option to offer.

4. No One Likes Being On Hold

No one wants to be left on hold for more than about a minute or two, or they tend to get impatient and frustrated. If your support agent is unable to resolve the issues in a timely manner while on the phone with the customer, simply tell the customer you will be looking into this issue and call back when you have a resolution.

5. Use a Multichannel Ticket Management System

If you have multiple channels for support (which is recommended) it is important to have a ticket system in place to keep track of all support issues in once place. For example, if a customer emails you, you should have the ability to turn that email into a support ticket to stay on top of all incoming queries and answering them in a timely manner.

6. Hire Awesome Reps

Your support staff basically demonstrate to your consumers who you are as a company. Your agents should be patient with your customers and really find a joy in helping people. You can’t preach about the importance of keeping your customers happy and then offer a poor and unreliable experience.

7. Have Enough Reps, Especially During Peak Times

Make sure you have enough reps to effectively deal with your customer base. As your business grows, your support team should grow.

If your business is busier at certain times of the year, you may need to hire some more reps at that time to manage your support successfully.

Sources
CIO.com: 11 Tips for Improving Your Company’s Customer Support

Gain Savings with Smart Fleet & Fuel Management

Posted on April 30, 2015 | by Vishal Singh

Smart Fleet Fuel Management: your next step to maximizing company profits

GPS Tracking currently allows you to track, locate and communicate with drivers in real time. Fleet operation managers use the solution to manage their drivers and maintain their fleet through location tracking and custom reports that address and identify daily operations that need attention. Along with the responsibility of managing both drivers and fleet comes the accountability of lowering operating expenses.

Operating a cost-effective and efficient fleet often requires expertise in fleet expenses. With fuel being one of the largest contributor to the increase in operating costs, it is imperative that fleet managers understand the importance of minimizing expenses that can be controlled and avoided. So, how can you really maximize fuel management?

Smart Fleet Solutions

Managing fuel costs often begin by preventing unauthorized access to fuel supplies and implementing solutions that track your company assets. Although tracking is a small step to fuel management the solution is designed to measure fuel performance by:

Tracking vehicle and driver behaviours in real-time
Generating reports and scorecards on how drivers are contributing to fuel costs
Providing drivers with optimized (fuel-efficient) routes
Preparing detailed reports to assess the financial impact on fuel while idling, fuel usage and more

The reports provide an insight into the amount of fuel consumed idling or dangerous driving. The system is also able to generate reports that help companies gain tax rebates(IFTA report). IFTA can be generated to help significantly reduce paperwork and compliance burden for fuel tax reporting if vehicle carriers travel in other provinces/states and purchase fuel in one jurisdiction, but use the fuel in another jurisdiction.

As a solutions company we understand the importance of managing fuel-wasting behaviours further leading to integration with third party systems such as Fuel Cards.

A fuel card is similar to a credit card where fuel card transactions, vehicle data and driver behaviours can be tracked by matching vehicle location and the amount filled routinely. Giving fleet managers the knowledge and tools to manage fuel spent; fuel cards will eliminate the amount of receipts submitted regularly and also accurately verify the location of the fill up and amount filled into the vehicle.

Acting as the most secure, efficient and simple way for fill ups, the program will alleviate some of the pressure off fleet managers by allowing them to focus not just on matters of security but also on wider operational concerns.
Fleet managers are able to analyze transactions according to specific criteria’s such as where, when, and by whom the fuel card was used. The system will be able to also provide personalized alerts if a payment occurs outside the “normal” pattern or exceeds a pre-set maximum fill-up limit. This, in turn, means potential fraudulent behavior can be detected early and fleet managers can respond swiftly.

Find out how GoFleet’s fuel management strategies can help you minimize expenses by contacting us at 1-888-998-1122.

Improve Fleet Management With Professional Fleet Consultants

Posted on April 28, 2015 | by Victoria Gole

Fleet Consultants Help You Improve Fleet Management

Many companies are already well aware that implementing a telematics fleet management system is very useful in terms of security, cost reduction, and quality of service offered to their customers. Unfortunately, there are many cases where they lack the necessary experience to implement these solutions within their organization. This can be anything from training on how to effectively communicate to drivers and unions about the system, management process changes, demos of how to achieve ROI, and other necessary training activities. For these reasons, our fleet consultants offer professional services to our customers.

Understanding company challenges, technical goals, and requirements are some of the key responsibilities our team takes on. Our highly trained fleet consultants help our customers during these processes in the following ways:

Business Case Production: Analysis of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and customer needs, recommendations, and demonstrations of the functionality of the solutions.
Change Management: Communication programs such as management training and how to properly introduce GPS tracking to your drivers.
ROI Consulting: Benchmarking in multiple areas, demonstrating substantial savings, tracking obtained improvements, and detecting non-compliance areas.
Various Training activities: Different levels of training for various departments (eg. management, admin, middle managers, and best practices manuals to maximize the systems benefits).

One of the most common activities for our fleet consultants is the demonstration of tangible benefits during a pilot program. This can be a challenging activity because benefits should be demonstrated with a reduced number of vehicles and drivers in a relatively short period of time (typically only one or two months). This is the best way to demonstrate the solution benefits to the potential customer. Benefit areas depending on the company can be quite different and can vary depending on customer activity and targets.

The most typical areas of potential benefits (KPIs) are:

Maintenance: Consistently servicing on time to reduce wear & tear
Day-to-Day Efficiency: Improved daily operations through reactive planning and detailed route analysis.
Route Planning: Reduced travel time through optimization, visualization and measurement.
Utilization: Use percentage, amount of time at location, straying from job site.
Out of Hours: Tax compliance and proper overtime validation.
Risk and Duty of Care: Driver behavior such as speeding and idling, monitoring CO2 emissions, lowered insurance.
Fuel: Reduce use through details on consumption, and identifying idling and driver behavior.
Contract Adherence: Billing evidence, SLA compliance.

GoFleet works along side our customers to help measure their KPIs in order to improve driver and fleet performance, and ultimately achieve the desired ROI.

Get in touch with one of our fleet consultants to find out
how you can optimize your business and save money:

1-888-998-1122 | [email protected]

Original Article By: Antonio Venutelli, European Solutions Engineer at Geotab
http://www.geotab.com/blog/professional-services-can-help-companies-improve-fleet-management/

Best Practices for Rolling Out Large Fleets

Posted on April 23, 2015 | by Victoria Gole

Large Fleet Rollout

Rolling out a large fleet can be slightly more complex than installing the devices in 5-10 vehicles. But, if you take the right approach with a mix of planning, monitoring and resources, it will help you complete the rollout on time and achieve the quality results you’re looking for. The guidelines below will help you better manage your project and provide a general overview of the items it is important to consider.

Objectives

Communication is key; all project objectives should be effectively communicated and understood by everyone involved to make sure the roll-out is on the right track from the start.

These include:

Outlined reasons for the implementation – what needs to change?
Determine short and long term goals
Understand the ROI results that are expected to be achieved
Relate to our 5 main pillars to consider the main focus:
Fleet Optimization, Productivity, Safety, Expandability, Compliance
Create measurable objectives

Planning

Quite often, certain key factors are overlooked, which can have a negative effect on a project before it even gets started. There are many elements to consider when planning a deployment of Geotab GO devices in a large fleet:

Recognize the scale of the project: identify whether it is a national or local rollout, single or multiple locations, and the number of vehicles.
Determine who is involved: from administrative staff to project managers, ensure each individual knows what they are responsible for and has the skills necessary.
Communicate effectively: share documentation within your product team and actively communicate.
Shipment/Delivery of Equipment: Ensure realistic shipping and delivery times are taken into consideration when determining the dates of installation.
Installation Schedule: When planning a large rollout, creating an installation schedule is key. You will need to consider the following: number of installers/team members doing the install, vehicle variations (necessary harness), locations, estimated time per install and vehicle availability.

Example of an installation schedule:

Once installation is complete, it is important a training schedule be put together. We offer training sessions Monday, Wednesday and Friday every week at 2pm EST and you can have your entire team join the sessions.

Kick Off Meeting

Before the rollout, setup a meeting to review the implementation plan to ensure everyone is working towards the same expectations and achieving the same goals. It’s also important to clearly set out how changes throughout the project will be communicated and handled between all parties involved. Additionally, this meeting allows you to discuss any concerns your team has and additional items that you may not have considered.

Track Progress

You want to keep the project on track and meet deadlines as best as you can. The better you keep to your deadlines, the faster the rollout, the faster you’ll start to achieve savings and increase the productivity of your fleet! It is common to have changes occur throughout the deployment of the devices but as long as you effectively manage these changes you should still be able to stay on track. Hold weekly meetings to keep everyone informed and address any problems.

A completion tracker can be a great way to keep track of of the planned versus actual progress for both the rollout and training. Check out the following example:

Follow-Up

About a week after rollout, we will set up a time with you to evaluate performance. We will ensure you have everything you need to move forward and will determine anything else you may need from us. We are happy to set up monthly reviews with you to look at ROI results and set up new goals moving forward.

Keep the project simple, set realistic milestones and expectations, deliver on time and keep everyone informed. And don’t forget, we are here to help as much as you need! We take pride in getting our customers up and running as fast as possible so they can start realizing just how much time and money can be saved with our solution.

Original Article By: Laurelle Flewelling, Account Manager at Geotab
http://www.geotab.com/blog/rolling-out-large-fleets-with-geotab-go-devices/