GPS Tracking for Sunroom Installment Companies
24 Jul 2018Sunroom installment companies are responsible for a lot of moving parts. Not only do you need to worry about making sure the needs of your customers are met in timely and predictable manners, but there are many tools, pieces of equipment, building products, fleet vehicles and employees to keep up with. This is where GPS tracking for sunroom installment companies is invaluable, offering the following benefits to your sunroom installation business.
Verify that Proper Tools, Equipment, and Supplies are Loaded onto Trucks
There are few things more frustrating and costly to sunroom installation companies than time lost driving back and forth to retrieve missing tools, locate missing equipment, or replace wrongly loaded supplies for the installation project. You can use barcode scanning and GPS tracking to quickly locate items needed for the jobs you’re set to perform each day and to ensure the right items get loaded onto the appropriate trucks.
Track and Monitor Essential Tools
You’ve probably experienced costly tools riding off in the wrong truck or going home with your employees more than once or twice. Even if the tool taking was unintentional (and often it is, riding home on belt loops or in pockets where they were placed during the course of the workday), they often fail to make it back and wind up forgotten in employee’s homes, trucks, etc. GPS tracking for expensive tools can ensure that you can locate the tools quickly, so they can be recovered when these accidents happen.
Ensure Drivers are Sticking to Prescribed Routes
There have been several news stories in the past years about employees taking advantage of employers to run personal errands, take naps, and even enjoy extended lunch breaks while on the clock. GPS tracking lets you know your employees are where they are supposed to be so that you can be confident that you’re getting the value you expect for the money you’re paying them.
Optimize Routes for Fuel and Labor Efficiency
In your line of work, while tools and equipment may be costly, labor and fuel are among your biggest continuous expenses. GPS fleet tracking for your sunroom installation trucks allows you to plan routes that maximize the efficiency of your fuel and your crew allowing you to get more rooms installed in less time.
Do you own or manage a sunroom installation company with a fleet of trucks? If so, give us a call at LiveViewGPS at 1-888-544-0494 to learn more about our GPS fleet tracking solutions and how they can benefit your company.
2018 Best and Worst U.S. States for Teen Drivers
23 Jul 2018In American culture, many consider obtaining a driver’s license a rite of passage. Unfortunately, it has also led to thousands of teen deaths each year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), among the teen 16 through 19-year-old population, motor-vehicle accidents still remain the main cause of death.
Teens aged 15 through 19 years old were responsible for nearly 11 percent of all motor-vehicle injury costs, the CDC said — not including costs like:
- Insurance premiums
- Auto maintenance
- Potential traffic citations
And, these types of costs can pile up with time.
WalletHub performed an analysis of the teen-driving environment in all 50 states. They used 23 different key metrics to come up with their findings. Here are some of the findings:
Each item is per teen population
Teen Driver Fatalities |
Teen Driver DUIs | Adding a Teen to Insurance Policy | Cost of Car Repairs |
Fewest – Vermont | Fewest – Delaware | Lowest Premium Increase – Hawaii | Lowest – Michigan |
Most – Wyoming | Most – Montana | Highest Premium Increase – Rhode Island | Highest – Connecticut |
The Graduated Driver License program, implemented by Texas in 2002 for example, provides new drivers the opportunity to enhance their driving skills in lower-risk environments over time.
New drivers are not allowed to drive a motor vehicle:
- If they have more than one non-family member passenger under 21 years old in their vehicle.
- Between the hours of midnight and 5 am unless they’re participating or attending a school-related activity, are required to drive the vehicle for their work or its due to a medical emergency.
Those under the age of 18 are not allowed to use a wireless communication device until they are at least 18 years old. This includes a hands-free device. The only exception is if there’s an emergency.
Office Sgt. Dub Gillum of the Texas Department of Public Safety Public Information said teen drivers are involved in motor vehicle crashes due to several factors including a lack of driving experience and distracted driving.
To tackles some of these issues that teen drivers face, he says teens should practice their driving with their parents so they gain experience. Not only this, but parents can then correct their teen’s driving errors before they turn into poor driving behaviors. Both parents and teen need to learn driving laws and concentrate on driving skills no matter what city, county and state they live in.
Driving can be daunting for the new, inexperienced teen driver, but with the right tips and advice, it doesn’t have to be.
What Parents Can Do to Help Their Teen Drivers
Some things you can do as a parent are:
- Get to know the GDL law and be aware of the restrictions placed on your teenager’s license
- Ensure your teen uses a seat belt all the time
- Discuss the dangers of alcohol and drug use while driving and that it’s illegal and deadly
- Don’t rely on a driver’s education course only to teach your teenager how to drive — these classes are only one part of the GDL system
- Ensure you’re a good role model. Drive safely yourself and practice good driving behaviors
- Implement GPS tracking for teens to monitor your teen’s driving behavior like hard braking, driving speed and aggressive driving. You’ll also want to use the GPS teen tracking system to set boundaries, so you’ll know if your teen goes out of them
While teenagers are responsible for their own driving behaviors, as a parent, you’re going to shoulder much of the financial and emotional consequences when things go wrong. Setting up some ground rules before your teen gets behind the wheel can help.
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/teen_drivers/teendrivers_factsheet.html
http://www.cleburnetimesreview.com/news/wallethub-texas-no-best-state-for-teen-drivers/article_fbb2ee10-7016-11e8-a20c-afb675f48e3b.html
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-for-teen-drivers/4598/
Hard braking is a problem far too many fleet managers struggle to handle among their drivers. It’s not something you can always point your finger at if you don’t have the tools to de. But, it is something you must deal with whenever you have an opportunity to do so.
Why is Hard Braking a Problem for Fleet Managers?
Hard braking causes more problems than may be immediately obvious. When you compound these problems by an entire fleet of drivers, the costs of hard braking can add up quickly. These are some reasons to consider action to end hard braking in your fleet.
- Tears the brakes, requiring more frequent repairs and more downtime for vehicles.
- Wears out brake pads faster.
- Warps brake discs.
- Damages rotors by overheating them.
- Wears the tires faster.
- Wastes fuel, costing fleets up to three miles per gallon of fuel in efficiency.
- Increases accident risks.
- Symptom of aggressive driving issues that must be addressed.
It doesn’t take long for the costs of hard braking to add up for a fleet of vehicles on the road. It’s a problem your organization must address quickly and effectively.
What Causes Hard Braking?
For the most part, hard braking is an overall symptom of poor training and/or bad driving. That doesn’t mean that every occurrence of hard braking is an indication of these things.
In some cases, hard braking is the result of a driver’s attempt to avoid an accident or of a driver being involved in an accident. However, if a driver has a consistent record of hard braking, it’s a sign that the driver requires additional training and/or discipline to deter this type of action in your fleet vehicles.
How to Solve the Problem of Hard Braking in Your Fleet?
Obviously, if you have some drivers who consistently need new brakes or tires, more frequently than other drivers in your fleet, it could be a sign of a hard braking habit. Proving the habit, however, requires a little more evidence.
GPS fleet tracking is one of the best tools you have available to track hard braking among your drivers. You can even set up alerts that will send email and text notifications directly to fleet managers when hard braking occurs. This allows you to address the issue instantly.
GPS fleet tracking also allows you to track hard braking instances over time, so you can gauge if your current attempts to raise awareness, educate, and discipline offending drivers are effective.
Breaking a hard braking habit among your fleet drivers needs to be a priority for your entire organization. GPS tracking can help.