iTRAK News - July 2008

Customer Spotlight – Cash Register Services (CRS)

The management of Cash Register Services, Inc. asserts that iTRAK Fleet Manager plays a key role, every day, in achieving their objective of delivering “exceptional after-sales service.”

CRS is a sales and service leader in Point-of-Sale systems for the grocery industry. Today, CRS provides on-site service at over 1,300 customer sites across seven states. With the corporate office in Lubbock Texas, five branch offices, and remote technicians in 14 other locations, it is critical for their operations staff to quickly and reliably locate mobile resources.

Since 2005, CRS has used iTRAK Fleet Manager to improve the efficiency of its dispatch operations—saving valuable time and money, while minimizing customer wait times. Currently, 51 vehicles are equipped with iTRAK devices, allowing supervisors to optimize the performance of the company’s field service technicians, installers, and trainers.

Zach Antilley, Fleet Coordinator at CRS, describes iTRAK as the simplest remedy to potential waste and inefficiency. “Besides finding the closest unit to a call, we use iTRAK to verify the past whereabouts of our technicians. For example, a customer called one day claiming that our technician never came to fix a problem with one of their cash registers that had been called in the night before. We were able to run a Landmark Report to find that the technician had already come and gone, fixing the problem before that manager came to work that day. Having every one of our customers set up as a Landmark makes auditing our routes a simple task.”

When the CRS management team decided to invest in iTRAK, the primary purpose was to track its technicians to aid in dispatching, but with the rising cost of fuel, the iTRAK units have become invaluable in keeping operating expenses as low as possible.

Another issue tackled by CRS management was the use of vehicles for “extra curricular” activities, which results in unnecessary fuel and maintenance expenses. Antilley says, “We once had a technician drive his company vehicle 250 miles to a party in another city, and then drove home at 3:30 in the morning. He never said a word about, but it turned up on our daily Activity Report. Preventing incidents like this can easily save us hundreds, if not thousands of dollars across the entire fleet.”

Product Update – iTRAK Call Commander™ Hands-free Voice Option

This unique new product from iTRAK Corporation helps operators of trucks, buses, vans, or limousines provide safe, easy communications between drivers and their command centers, while eliminating costly, non-essential communications.
The Call Commander™ hands-free voice option includes a speaker and hands-free microphone, allowing drivers to place calls to 9-1-1, dispatch, and one other pre-programmed telephone number.

Configuration. The Call Commander option is designed to be used with the iTRAKpro GPS tracking system. The option can be added to existing iTRAK systems or supplied as a fully operational system from the start. Customers must have an appropriate cellular voice plan and data plan to support full functionality.

Driver Controls. A customizable switch plate installed on the vehicle dashboard features lighted switches for simple, reliable operation. Color-coding separates emergency and non-emergency functions. In addition to calling the three pre-set numbers, the driver can also receive incoming calls by pushing the “answer” switch.
Drivers are unable to call any other telephone numbers, which can dramatically reduce driver distraction and minimize cellular phone costs.

Key Benefits of Call Commander

• Reduce driver distraction by eliminating all non-essential cellular calls
• Control costs resulting from driver abuse of cellular access
• Comply with state and local laws relating to use of cellular phones while driving
• Improve incident response by giving drivers single-button access to emergency services

For more information about iTRAK Fleet Manager and the Call Commander hands-free voice option, please contact your iTRAK representative today or email us at itrak.sales@itrak.com.

Tech Corner – GPS Mileage vs. Odometer Mileage

Odometer readings are not gospel, by any means. To start with, odometers are calibrated at the factory with new tires, based on revolutions per mile. Depending on what you read, the calibration may be off by 5% or more in some models. (One auto manufacturer states that accuracy of plus/minus 4% is acceptable.)

Even after taking into account the initial calibration error, odometer readings can vary 2-3% just based on tire inflation, temperature, load, and other factors that change the effective diameter of the tires, which in turn affects the number of revolutions per mile.

GPS mileage is calculated as a series of lines between data points. To illustrate how this differs from actual miles driven, let me cite an extreme example: If I drive my car round and round in very tight circles all day long, I will put lots of miles on my odometer, but the GPS position has not dramatically changed from one data point to the next. Therefore, depending on the situation, GPS mileage and odometer mileage can be different. On the other hand, if I drive in a perfectly straight line for 1,000 miles, my GPS mileage will be within a gnat’s whisker of being what a surveyor would report - far better than any odometer could report.

The bottom line is that GPS data will never agree with odometer data, which will never agree with a surveyor’s record of mileage. For every practical purpose, GPS mileage derived from a properly functioning tracking system is as close to true mileage as standard odometers, and can be used as the basis of any mileage reporting requirements.

If you have any questions about how to determine fleet mileage or to send mileage values to your third-party IFTA reporting contractor, call our technical support team at 1-866-224-8725.

Training – Maximize the Benefit of iTRAK Fleet Manager

Although most features and functions in iTRAK Fleet Manager are intuitive, we find that many customers can derive more value from the product after attending a supplemental training session.

It is important that your regular users are able to easily locate vehicles, move around the map, view the Fleet Summary, and run historical reports.

Schedule a training session, indicating your company name and the number of users who will participate. We will let you know the dates and times of available training sessions.
Request a copy of the iTRAK Fleet Manager “Quick Start Guide.”

Sales Corner – Using GPS to Combat Rising Fuel Prices

Every company with mobile assets is suffering from today’s rising fuel prices. Here are some strategies that will not only lessen the impact, but will actually return extra dollars to you every day!

1. Minimize excessive engine idling. The DOT estimates that medium-duty trucks typically burn 2/3 gallon of fuel per hour while the engine is idling. A reduction in idling of just 30 minutes per day can pay for the tracking system for that vehicle. (Example: The truck will burn 1/3 gallon of fuel in 30 minutes; at $4.50 per gallon, this equals $1.50 per day, or about $45 per month--more than the entire monthly lease cost of iTRAK!) The savings are more significant as fuel prices rise, and the effect is more pronounced in larger trucks that burn more fuel per hour.

2. Reduce wasteful driving. Watching vehicle movement throughout the day will help you dispatch mobile workers more efficiently, and can eliminate long and unnecessary trips across town. In addition, abuse of take-home vehicles can contribute to excessive fuel and maintenance costs. Based on consumption of 15 miles per gallon, eliminating even 5 miles per day of wasteful travel can mean a saving of more than $10 per week—per vehicle!

3. Improve fuel economy. Industry studies show that every MPH above 60 MPH increases fuel consumption by about 1%. Therefore, a vehicle traveling at 75 MPH uses 15% more fuel than at 60 MPH. If your monthly fuel costs are currently $1,000 per vehicle, then reducing speed by 15 MPH could drop monthly fuel cost by $150 per vehicle! iTRAK Fleet Manager can tell you when drivers are exceeding speed guidelines, and help modify driver behavior.

4. Ask your insurance broker for a discount. Knowing where every vehicle is, how fast it is traveling, and where it has been, can significantly reduce the risk of accident, misappropriation, or other mishap. Many insurance carriers will reward you for lowering risk by granting a discount on monthly premiums. With insurance rates rising to nearly 4% of gross revenues, a 15% discount can save $30-50 per vehicle per month--or more!

Ask your Regional Sales Manager to help you fill in the numbers on an ROI spreadsheet so you can see how much iTRAK can save your company every month.

Who's Who at iTRAK...

Admin Support – This dedicated group based at our headquarters handles a large number of different tasks, including new order processing and acceptance, questions relating to existing orders, new user set-up, fleet and unit changes, billing, and all other administrative issues. Call the admin staff at 1-866-694-8725 or email them at admin.support@itrak.com.

Technical Support – Rich Geving and his team will make sure you derive the maximum benefit from your iTRAK system. They can help with installation questions, answer technical questions, and help performance issues. Live hours are 6:00 AM - 5:00 PM Mountain Time, with on-call technicians available after hours. Call 1-866-224-8725 or email technical.support@itrak.com.

Sales Team – Based in regional offices throughout the U.S., our team of Regional Sales Managers stands ready to set up product demonstrations, provide current pricing, help calculate return on investment to justify your iTRAK purchase, and organize post-sales training. You can reach the sales team by calling 1-866-694-8725, or emailing itrak.sales@itrak.com