Jun 30, 2021

What is Asset Tracking? | How Does it Work

At Fleetsmart, we understand the importance of effectively managing your plant and heavy machinery. That’s exactly why we developed our advanced asset tracking system, allowing you to digitally view your fleet anywhere in the world - saving time, money and preventing theft whilst doing so. If your business operates using plant machinery or other heavy equipment and you’re concerned about security/efficiency, we have the solution for you.

Why Do Assets Need Tracking?

There are a number of benefits to implementing asset tracking within your business, from increasing efficiency to improving safety, there are so many ways for you to optimise your operation with a fleet tracking solution. Generally your large vehicles and plant equipment will be highly valuable, so keeping them protected is absolutely essential. Fleetsmart asset trackers act as a great theft prevention tool and a ‘this vehicle is GPS tracked’ sticker is often enough to deter many thieves. If a daring thief decides to take their chances and manages to gain access to your vehicle, with our remote immobilisation add-on, you can relax with the knowledge that you can completely immobilise the vehicle from a remote location. You can also be automatically alerted should your vehicles ever leave your warehouse through the use of geo-fences. These are digital boundaries you can set around a specific location that will notify you as soon as one of your vehicles enters or exits the area. With a Fleetsmart tracker added to your heavy plant vehicles, you’ll always be able to locate your vehicles and stay in control of who is behind the wheel. Not only does this protect you from losing your vehicles, but most insurance companies are willing to give you a discount on your premiums if you have a vehicle tracker or immobiliser fitted. As alluded to above, another great advantage of installing an asset tracking device is the potential for large cost savings. Whilst it might seem counterintuitive to invest in asset tracking if you’re trying to cut costs, with Fleetsmart, you may actually be able to save thousands in the long run. This is because Fleetsmart’s detailed reports give you all the information you need to improve your fleet’s efficiency, which in turn helps you to save significantly on fuel costs, which is the largest single expense for businesses across the UK. A vehicle that usually does 12,000 business miles per year could save almost £1,300 in fuel costs alone by reducing its mileage by just 10%. This can be done through more efficient planning routes with tools such as advanced mapping that allows fleet managers to plot specific journeys on a map, making sure their drivers are taking the quickest routes possible, so that they aren’t wasting time and money by taking longer routes. According to the Energy Saving Trust, through higher productivity and increased vehicle utilisation, operating costs can fall by 10% every year and fuel use by 15%. Not only can you plan routes, you can also ensure that your drivers are following them via live location updates that will notify you as soon as a vehicle deviates from its allocated route. GPS tracking is also vital when your driver is approaching an accident on the road, or traffic jam as you can use it to divert them to a quieter route, saving time that would otherwise be spent queuing in traffic, particularly if they don’t know the area well enough to navigate it themselves.

How Does Asset Tracking Work?

In comparison to our vehicle trackers, our asset trackers have a number of unique features that make them suitable for tracking large and heavy industry vehicles. The tracking unit is IP67 rated, which means it is completely dustproof and can withstand water ingress up to 1 metre, allowing your team to get on with their work as usual. The hardware used is also upgraded, taking full advantage of GLONASS satellite support, as well as GPS to give an improved degree of accuracy. In combination with our advanced app, you will receive consistent real-time updates, removing the worries of wondering where your fleet is, and what your fleet is doing throughout the day. There are as little as sixty seconds between each location and vehicle information update, ensuring you’ll never be left wondering what’s happening on the ground. As well as this, our heavy vehicle trackers have advanced point-of-interest features which give you the ability to segregate sites across small areas.

How are Asset Tracking Devices Installed?

At Fleetsmart, we give you the option of self-fitting your asset trackers with self-fit systems for those who know how. Alternatively, our team of experts can install them for you, ensuring they are fitted safely and out of view, to prevent thieves from finding and dismantling them. This will usually take between 30-40 minutes per vehicle, though this will usually take longer if you opt for add-ons such as remote immobilisation or in-vehicle cameras.

What Type of Data Can Asset Trackers Provide?

Fleetsmart asset trackers can provide you with a comprehensive list of information on your vehicles which can be accessed from your PC, laptop, tablet or smartphone at the touch of a button. The data includes:
  1. Detailed journey history
  2. Real-time updates
  3. Start and stop locations
  4. Speeding statistics
  5. Vehicle activity graph
  6. Proximity to location
  7. PTO (Power Take-Off) report
  8. Driver summary
  9. Private usage
  10. Time in depot
  11. Point of interest report
  12. Daily summary
Let our expertise and comprehensive knowledge give you the control to effectively manage your fleet, with all valuable data available to you at the push of a button. To discuss how we can help optimise your fleet model, why not give us a call? We have a dedicated, friendly, and highly professional team, who’d be more than happy to answer any questions or queries you might have.