Spring has sprung, and with the warmer weather and longer days comes the start of the busy season for farmers in Iowa. They will spend the days of spring applying herbicides and nitrogen fertilizer to their land, as well as cultivating, before planting their crops.

For one Iowa farmer named Robb, the application of fertilizer to his land differs from some other farmers; he uses GPS tracking technology to apply his fertilizer.

Why does he do this? Because it helps him follow the same path where he applied the fertilizer when he heads out into his fields with his planter. This tactic allows him apply less fertilizer to the land, which allows for greater cost control.

Farming can be expensive, and given tight budgets, it’s vital for farmers to strategically sow their land. In addition to using GPS  tracking technology for farming to apply fertilizer to his land, Robb also sprays his own fields. He purchased a spray broom for his tractor, which is also helping him save money on fertilizer. Many farmers hire companies to spray their land, which means that they have to not only pay for the herbicides that are used, but they also have to pay for the services that these spray companies provide. Read the rest of this entry »

A well-known and ever-increasing technology in the location-based fleet management systems and workforce is geoFencing. It is set up to play a vital role in the development of new applications.

In a nutshell, geofences can be thought of as virtual perimeters on a map. They can be a square, circle or another shape created for a specific purpose. Geofencing, just like a physical fence, can be used for monitoring and recording exit and entry of a place within the ‘fence’ automatically.

How GeoFencing Improves the Overall Productivity of your Fleet Business

The good news for fleet businesses is that geofencing offers a truckload of benefits.

Arriving and Departing from Work Sites

It’s important that your fleet drivers arrive on time at a job site. With geofencing, there’s no need for time cards. This technology will alert you when your workers arrive on a job site and the time they began work. They no longer will have to clock in or fill out timesheets. With this technology, drivers are unable to use fleet vehicles and equipment without authorization since you will be alerted each time a vehicle leaves a designated area and therefore allowing you to track where your equipment is during work hours. Read the rest of this entry »

Being in the fleet cargo industry and making sure that your supply chain is in proper flow is a challenging task. Every minute is vital in your business processes; particularly because it can impact things like your trade efficiency system, operational costs, and economic productivity.

In order to manage your assets properly, you need a reliable, optimized solution that will allow you to scale your business. This solution doesn’t need to just work, but it needs to last too. Thanks to GPS cargo tracking, you can enhance the security and productivity of your fleet business and the cargo you transport.

This solution improves the speed and accuracy in the transportation of goods and products and other cargo-related activities. It also eliminates delayed or misrouted cargo shipments,  helps you manage your inventory better, and aids in the recovery of cargo theft. Read the rest of this entry »

The contest is between three prominent production companies who will build the new GPS satellites,: Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Boeing.

This three-way contest is being held by the U.S. Air Force in order to work on new GPS 3 satellites. Billions of dollars are at play here, with just one of the firm’s winning the opportunity to build the final GPS satellites. The winner will be chosen to build up to 22 next-generation GPS satellites.

Each of the firms receives up to $6 million dollars to try their hand at producing the new GPS 3 satellite. Following the contest, the U.S. Air Force will choose just one firm who is going to produce all of the following 22 GPS next-generation satellites.

According to Lieutenant General Samuel Graves of the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, they are ready to work with the winning firm. He said in a statement:

“Industry told us they were ready to compete for the GPS 3 space vehicles. We look forward to working with Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman to assess the feasibility of a follow-on, competitive production contract.” Read the rest of this entry »