Cell Phone-Based Tracking vs. Vehicle-Installed Tracking

Cell Phone-Based Tracking vs

Cell Phone-Based Tracking vs. Vehicle-Installed Tracking

Occasionally, fleet owners and managers have hesitated to implement a vehicle-installed tracking platform such as GPS Insight's because of misconceptions regarding the ease-of-use and reliability of cellular phone GPS tracking. Many believe that cell phone-based tracking is cheaper, facilitates easier communication, and more effectively monitors their employees. The fact is that GPS tracking via cell phones is an unreliable method.

Phone-based tracking has many technical and practical limitations which lead to inaccurate information, leaving management to question where their employees really are. The Mobile Resource Management Systems Market Study by C.J. Driscoll & Associates, the leading consulting firm for the telematics industry, reported that "fleet operator concerns about the reliability and performance of these solutions (GPS capable cell phones for tracking) versus vehicle-installed solutions has been an issue."

Cell phone-based tracking leaves too much power in the hands of the employee. It is effortless to "misplace it" or "lose signal" by using a metal wrap around the phone, or by placing it in a toolbox. Employees often simply turn the phone off if they don't want to be tracked. In addition to tampering issues, battery life plays a role. Phone-based tracking also runs the risk of battery depletion as the tracking applications must run and access GPS satellites the entire work day, requiring the battery to constantly be recharged. Keep in mind that cell phones don't send alerts, accurately report, or track at all when they are shut off. Simple circumventions such as these typically render phone-based tracking of very limited value. Also, with a hard-wired GPS tracking system, battery concerns are minimal as it is wired to the vehicle battery for constant power. A vehicle-installed system is always on, and always tracking. Employees cannot simply shut off the installed device and if tampered with, the device sends an alert notifying that the power has been cut off.

Typically, the most immediate driver of Return On Investment is the reduction of vehicle idling and personal vehicle usage, which saves significant amounts of fuel. Cell phone tracking will not help with either issue.

If communication with drivers is a concern, the GPS Insight vehicle tracking solution allows SMS text messages or emails to be sent to and from drivers' cell phones with ease through its web-based interface. Also, dispatched routes can be sent to the drivers' cell phone or Garmin device via GPS Insight, which makes dispatch communication with employees much more efficient. Additionally, one-click "canned" messages can be exchanged to and from drivers by using a Garmin navigation device mounted on the vehicle dash, instead of more distracting and time consuming messaging via a cell phone.

While cell phones are excellent communication devices, they are not designed to serve as a comprehensive GPS tracking system. Why trust the monitoring of assets worth thousands of dollars to a $49.00 cell phone that can be disabled simply by shutting it off? A cell phone can not monitor fuel consumption, speeding, idle time, or report if a vehicle is stolen, which are all capabilities of a wired, dedicated GPS fleet tracking solution such as GPS Insight. Such a GPS tracking system provides improvements in productivity and operating efficiency that cell phone-based tracking can not support. Experts have found, and fleet managers agree, that the potential ROI far outweighs the initial start-up costs for in-vehicle hardware. Most GPS vehicle tracking customers report a significant return on investment in just a few short months and report that the system pays for itself within the first year.

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