Banks have more security threats today than they did in the days of train robberies in the Wild West. With that in mind, they must now take different measures to combat and discourage robberies. Those listed below are common security measures many banks have adopted in order to do just that.

1) Building high teller counters with barriers. These barriers prevent robbers from jumping over the counters.

2) Hiring on duty security guards. Security guards serve as a visual assurance of protection for patrons and a crime deterrents for people who would rob the banks.

3) Utilizing surveillance cameras inside the bank and out to record possible robbers and in the hopes of identifying them. Since most people setting out to rob banks do so in the hopes of getting away with it, they are likely to skip banks with active surveillance.

4) Placing GPS tracking devices in money bags. GPS tracking devices allows the banks to track the progress of the money once it leaves the banks and has allowed law enforcement to track the money and the thieves.

5) Putting dye packs in with the money. This one isn’t as great for tracking the money but is extremely useful when it comes to identifying the money that was stolen and, in many cases, the person who stole the money as well. Read the rest of this entry »

Once the word got out that Iowa Governor, Terry Branstad was looking into strengthening the domestic violence laws of the state and incorporating the use of GPS devices to keep track of offenders and protect their victims, Sheila Lynch could not be more ecstatic.

Lynch’s daughter had been kidnapped and murdered by her ex-husband. Last February, Lynch appeared at a news conference with Branstad to show her approval and enthusiasm over the prospective legislation. However, once the legislative session concluded, nothing happened with the bill.

Lynch’s daughter, Terese-Ann Lynch Moore who was 30 years old was kidnapped by her

ex-husband from a Des Moines mall in November 2009. This was despite the fact she had a restraining order against him. She was forced into his apartment where he fatally shot her.

According to Lynch, if a tracking device was placed on Randall More at the time, her daughter would still be alive. This is the reason that Lynch has been pushing for GPS tracking devices for domestic violence offenders for over two years. Read the rest of this entry »

An important part of your business if it involves fleet drivers should be driver safety. And safer employee driving can be supported by developing and implementing an incentive program. When you incorporate driver performance into the entire job performance evaluation, positive results follow.

Incentive and reward programs normally involve monetary rewards, recognition, use of rewards to increase participation in an event or a program or motivate the achievement of a set goal or special privileges.

Drivers don’t normally sit in the office next to their manager, easy to reach. Since they are not around physically all the time, it can be difficult to reward them for exceptional performance.

Of course you can use up a lot of time and resources tracking their performance and implementing ways to train them to exceptional performance. But it could be difficult to come up with an incentive program that will work for drivers. When you can, however, it can really benefit your company in ways such as:

• Improving Customer Deliveries
• Monitoring and Reducing Employee Driving Accidents
• Monitoring and Saving on Unnecessary Idling Fuel Costs

Read the rest of this entry »

During a fairly active fall for bears, GPS tracking technology was used by academic researchers and Great Smoky Mountains National Park to figure out ways to curb food related human-bear interactions.

Since there has been a decline in natural sources of food this past fall in the wild, bears turned to wandering the public Park areas, as well as other places in search of handouts or discarded food items.

Bill Stiver, Park Wildlife Biologist, said that figuring out where the bears are accessing human food is one of the easiest ways to put a stop to it.

The Twin Creeks picnic pavilion, the Metcalf Bottoms picnic area and the Cosby campground tend to be the perpetual trouble spots.

The bears that make an appearance in the populated areas are captured and fitted and tagged with a GPS radio collar. There have been 14 bears so far outfitted with these collars. Each collar costs $3,600. A federal grant funds the project. Read the rest of this entry »

There are a lot of responsibilities that fleet business owners endure in order to keep their business growing. Having to track employees is just one of them.

According to the National Labor Bureau, about 5.7 percent of employees engage in side jobs (moonlighting). What is the repercussions of this for business owners? Employee moonlighting can result in extra fuel costs, more vehicle maintenance, and loss of income for your fleet business, not to mention loss in productivity from tired employees working multiple jobs.

A good solution to this is GPS fleet tracking, which can help you to prevent your workers from using your company vehicles for other side jobs.

How GPS Fleet Tracking Can Help

Fleet managers have to be careful when addressing concerns about side jobs. If you try to prohibit your employees from taking on side jobs altogether, it can get you in trouble for infringing on their privacy. Still, you do need to protect your business as well. GPS tracking is the answer to this concern and many companies are already using it to battle this type of situation. Since your employees and your company vehicles are your primary asset in your fleet business, having a GPS system installed and executed properly will give you a huge advantage. Read the rest of this entry »