GPS Tracking ROI

I promised that this site was going to be re-purposed towrd those who want to learn about GPS but are not ready for all the technogeek articles I have tended to publish in the past.  For the business and tech side of GPS I have now set up a separtae GPS Business Blog at www.gpsbus.com   Feel free to visit there.

But for the rest of us, here’s agreat video that shows thesafety benefits of having GPS tracking in your car or truck, even for a private usser. 

Thanks to C|Net and OnStar … OnStar is just one vendor in this market but it’s a company that has made a huge impact in just a few years in making this esoteric technology “real” to ordinary users.

I write a lot about how GPS tracking can save nickels and dime (and dollars) in day to day fleet operations. But there’s often a lot more at stake. I was reading an article today from Seattle about “Cargo Crime By The Truckload” which certainly caught my attention.

“In years past we’d hear about a trailer being stolen once or twice a year perhaps,” said Paul Petersen of the Kent Police Dept.

Kent police say within the past year, though, they’ve had a rash of truck thefts, but they can’t say exactly how many.

By examining Kent crime reports, the KING 5 Investigators discovered dozens of thefts of big rig tractors, trailers, or both.

They included:

- A stolen semi full of REI clothing - a $250,000 load.

- Two trailers full of whirlpool washing machines.

- And a trailer full of motorcycles - a $200,000 payday for the thieves.

We found 37 reported truck thefts in Kent alone in a two-year period.

“Estimates of how much cargo crime hurts consumers are hard to come by, but it’s clear you pay for it with every purchase,’ said Ernesto Diaz… (a driver whose live hold-up story is in the article)

I’ve written a number of times before about this issue.  Cargo crime is growing by leaps and bounds. And unlike crimes like bank robbery, fast food hold-ups or saying uncouth things about basketball players, the police pay it very little attention.

Advice to criminals: If you are sure you have to commit a crime, steal a truckload of cigarettes, motorcycles or even washing machines.  Don’t rob a bank … you’ll assuredly get caught and you will be lucky to even leave the bank with a few thousand in cash.  But a single trailer can carry hundreds of thousands in easily merchandisable cargo and there will only be minimal police interest.

Advice to shippers: Put a GPS tracker on the trailer before you load the cargo and track it until it is in the receiving warehouse. You think it costs too much? Do a cost-benefit analysis and lean how fast you can get a positive ROI (Return On Investment) … and improve your business efficiency and customer satisfaction to boot.

I wander too far afield on the technical side of things here I realize. Many folks come by just to learn about the technology in the simple sense of how it can help them. I started another blog at www.GPSBUS.com to focus on more on the technogeek aspects and I promise to try to be more beginner oriented here at the GPS Tracking main blog.

Why would a person even consider GPS tracking for their business vehicles, government fleet or even their family car? Here are the Top Five reasons:

1. Peter Drucker said it best many years ago. “You can’t menage what you can’t measure.” In years of selling and servicing these systems I have yet to find a manger look at his fleet for the first time and not say words like, “Why are they driving there”? It isn’t that your folks are always wrong … but it’s that the manager never really knws how little s/he really knows about what the fleet is doing on the road unless they are tracked.

2. You’ll improve safety. Even if accidents didn’t cost so much in terms of insurance premiums, repair costs, downtime and workman’s comp claims, they would still cost in human terms. A company I worked with with spent several million dollars equipping a huge fleet with GPS trackers. “Oh my, I could never afford a deal like that” you are probably thinking, but get this … they saved back the initial cost in less than a year … and continue to save, millions per year in safety-related cost avoidance.

3. You’ll improve the environment. Three of the most significant and easy to predict savings will be reduced speeding, fewer wasted miles driven and less idling. Not only do these three all cost you money, they all pollute needlessly… two benefits for the price of one.

4. You’ll do more business. Ever deal with a delivery company wo can only tell you, “It’s on the truck”? Frustrating, isn’t it? How many old customers can you please and retain and how many new customers can you win over by always knowing the who, what and most important,when the delivery or service tech will arrive?

5. You’ll sleep better. Running a business or even raising a teen isn’t easy. There are aspects of the game that will always be hard … and there will always be times when you hit the pillow at night but your eyes fly back open, wondering if you have done all you could. Winding up right back where we began, GPS can’t solve every problem … but it can identify and measure the problems you have, which is the very first step in solving them.

This post was submitted to Darren Rowse’s Top 5 Group Writing Project. You can follow the link to learn more about it if you’d like to improve your blog and your writing skills.

I came on to the computer a few minutes ago to write another post, totally un-related to the world of LTA (Lighter Than Air) and UAV (Unmanned (or Uninhabited) Air Vehicles) … but as usual, Google’s search of the news brought up something than I was so fascinated with I couldn’t help but share.

When these guys say “Up Ship”, they mean UP SHIP!  The MOLTARS (Mortar-Launched Lighter-Than-Air Recoverable Sensor) System is a research project funded by DARPA … the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US government.  These guys don’t have too much of a track record, although they have developed one or two things that have lasted … like the Internet we are communicating on today … but this one looks like even more fun than surfing the ‘Net.  You really should go to the developer’s web site and see the animations and the inflation test photos.  Fascinating re-purposing of existing technology with a lot of new thinking thrown in.  And don’t let the military aspect blind you to how useful this would be to firemen, police and other first responders.  FEMA could even use it to find restaurants for their senior leadership where parking is available and the lines are short … Recommended.

FAA Certification Of New “Commuter” Zeppelin Under Way

FAA Certification Of New “Commuter” Zeppelin Under Way The FAA has issued proposed design criteria for a modern and much smaller incarnation of the famous Zeppelin airship. Built by the same German company that brought us the Hindenburg, among others, in the early part of the 20th century, Zeppelin LZ N07 builds on the hard-won knowledge about safe operation of the aircraft. The newest version first flew in 1997 and is designed as a multi-mission aircraft that can carry up to 12 passengers and two crew. The U.S. and Germany already had bilateral certification requirements for rigid airships, but because Germany elected to certify this new airship in a “commuter” category, the FAA apparently has to rewrite its requirements. The result is dozens of pages of technical and performance specifications that cover everything from the engine-out performance to the quality of water used as ballast (has to be potable water if it’s to be released anywhere but at a sewage treatment plant, which might be difficult to flight plan). Germany first made the request to have the aircraft recognized by the FAA in 2001 and it’s taken six years to get it all on paper. In case you have an opinion on the way these things should be built, a comment period lasts until June 4.   This Great Dirigible Story just in courtesy of AvWeb

Yes, I know, this story isn’t about GPS.  In fact GPS isn’t even mentioned, but I am sure this airship will have GPS as one of its primary navaids when, as and if it makes it through certification.

I can’t imagine a less likely prospect for a way to make money in aviation but I loved lighter than air (LTA) subjects, so who an I to criticize.  I wish them well.

 In this AP photo, artist Christian Nold demonstrates his system for detecting peoples’ emotions while walking a neighborhood in San Francisco’s Mission District on April 12. Nold, a London-based artist who has mapped settings as varied as industrial areas of Bangladesh and the red light district of Brussels, recently arrived in San Francisco for his first U.S. “emotional mapping” project.AP

By Lisa Leff

Associated Press Writer

May 06, 2007 6:00 AM

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As cartography projects go, Christian Nold’s approach to charting the peaks and valleys of urban landscapes is decidedly unconventional.

First, he outfits volunteers with global positioning system devices and the sensors used in lie detector tests. Then, he sends his subjects out to wander their neighborhoods. When they return, Nold asks them to recount what they saw and felt when the polygraph recorded a quickened heartbeat or an elevated blood pressure.

“Tried to stomp on some pigeons,” one tester recalled after a stroll through San Francisco’s bohemian chic Mission District.

“House right here, it reminded me of flowers at a funeral,” another said of what he saw a few blocks south.

“Security guard at a business giving lollipops to kids. I think I wanted one,” still another volunteer observed.

Nold, a London-based artist, calls his work “emotional mapping.” Having mapped settings as varied as industrial areas of Bangladesh and the red light district of Brussels, Belgium, he recently arrived in San Francisco for his first U.S. project…. Read More About Emotional GPS:

I have been told I have too many categories here on the blog as it is (perhaps rightly so), so I’m not going to start another one today.  But I am sorely tempted to start one called GPS fun.  Just when I think I have a good handle on the uses of GPS tracking up pops another fascinating one.

In actuality this wouldn’t be only fun … I can see many practical uses for this technique.  Among them:

• Measuring the effect of advertising … walk people past sample billboards or displays and gauge their reactions
• Real Estate Planning … let people tour areas you are contemplating investing in and find out which ones appeal.
• Signage and Redevelopment measurement .. got a slummy-looking area in your city?  Find out if new signs, simple repainting or different landscaping would help.
• Theme Parks … this would be my fav idea … people’s inclination to part with money would really be influenced by how they felt in certain areas of the park

I guess what this really proves is, my often quoted adage from my now-deceased idol, Peter Drucker … you can’t manage what you can’t measure.

This has always been a popular subject here at the GPS Tracking ROI blog.  Every week there are searches for GPS trackers for pets and I’ve even had phone calls from far away lands from folks looking for ways to track Fido. (by the way, I always like to talk with readers, so you can comment on the posts, email me at davestarr(at) gmail (dot) com or call me on 1-719-423-8872 (sorry, no 1-800 number anymore).

One of the devices I’m looking at today seems new on the market and the other is an update on an old favorite.

First up is the Stealth PetTracker from A.I.Inc. simply fastens to the pets existing collar.  No need for a custom collar, use your own favorite.  The Pet Tracking system is the newest addition to the Stealth line of Tracking units. At only 5 ounces and the small size of 3″ x 2″ x 1″, makes it the smallest GPS unit on the market today. Track you pet on our password protected website.

Overview

The device has a self contained battery (different battery options are available) that can be recharged. Device can operate in 2 modes: Standard/Walk and Geofence. In Standard mode, if your pet gets away, you can get notifications on the website, phone, or via a pet locator specialist. In Geofence mode, you specify the containment area radius, and if the pet wanders from that containment area, you will be notified.   Specs:

• 12 - channel parallel design
• Split Second reacquisition time
• High Sensitivity, low power draw
• Unit is housed in a single enclosure
• antenna is internal
• Powered internal battery with a L-iIon charger pack (sold separately)

This device is unique because the collar seems to connect with your home’s WiFi Access Point (if you have a WiFi access point, that is).  In some cases this would be a good solution because even if you have to run down to BestBuy or some other supplier and pick up a WAP, the will be no monthly costs … and you can conceivably drive around the neighborhood with your laptop and pick up Fido’s signal if he roams.  But for any pet that frequently runs off this seem downright stupid, because you would have to know where the rascal is before you can get a fix on him.  My recommendation:  Not ready for prime time.

Next up is the GlobalPetFinder by GPSTracks LLC.  It works like this:

Globalpetfinder Members can build a virtual fence of ANY size within which your pet can freely roam simply by logging into the command center and following the instructions for ‘create a fence’. The command center will prompt you to enter a name , address and size for your fence. That’s it! Your fence is automatically downloaded to the memory of your globalpetfinder. Up to 5 fence locations can be stored at once.

If your pet wanders outside the boundary you have determined, you will be alerted immediately and sent the continuously updated location of your pet, to the 2-way wireless device of your choice; cell phone, PDA, computer ,etc.

If the pet goes outside the geofenced location, you’ll get an alarm on your cell phone, PDA or pager.  You can check on your pets’ location at any time by dialing F-O-U-N-D from the two way device you’ve chosen, your pet will respond with their position.

My thoughts:  Some nice features but strictly limited to specific cell phone carrier service areas.  Absolutely useless if the pet strays outside cell phone range.  Also could be very problematical if you are in a rural area where street addresses are spares, since the location message is a textual address of the pet’s current location … rather than what would be much more intelligent .. a map.

Recommendation: useful device if you fit within the distinct system limitations.