iTRAK News - October 2008
Customer Spotlight – Affiliated Auto Glass
Henry Witt, owner of Affiliated Auto Glass, reports that iTRAK Fleet Manager has been directly responsible for doubling the efficiency of his operations in less than 3 months. Affiliated Auto Glass is one of the largest independent auto glass replacement companies in Texas, installing over 500 windshields every week. A dozen mobile vans travel to consumers and commercial accounts throughout central Texas, each driving an average of 75 miles a day.
 One of the biggest improvements in efficiency was increasing the number of installations done by each technician. According to Witt, before iTRAK was installed, his technicians were working 10-12 hours per day, and each technician performed an average of 4.4 installations per day. Now, technicians are completing nearly 7 jobs during an 8-hour day. Witt says, "I increased my daily revenue by almost $400 per man. That’s an increase of almost $1 million a year in revenue without increasing costs!"
When asked what contributed to the inefficiencies before iTRAK, Witt reported that some of his technicians were not focused on getting the job done on schedule, and were taking unauthorized 'breaks' during the workday. When he introduced the concept of 'fleet tracking' to his technicians, some were quick to complain that it was not fair. It turns out, according to Witt, that those who complained the loudest were the ones taking advantage of the company.
Not only did operational efficiency double, but the number of customer complaints dropped by 95%. "When we tell a customer we are going to arrive between 2:00 and 4:00 PM, they expect us to be there," says Witt. "Sitting at home all day waiting for a technician who is 4 hours late makes customers so angry that they cancel the job and never use us again. That’s $100 in profit taken right out of my pocket. Even worse, if we lose a commercial customer who pays us more than $10,000 per month, that’s business we will never get back."
iTRAK also helped efficiency in two other areas of business at Affiliated Auto Glass:
- When trucks were not back at headquarters by 5:00 PM, the office staff would usually wait for them in order to get the day’s paperwork processed. Staff sometimes waited for an hour or two, and then gave up. Now, with a glance at the iTRAK Fleet Manager screen, office staff can see exactly where all the trucks are, and estimate when they will arrive at headquarters.
- Nearly all drivers had a habit of leaving their trucks running at job sites while performing glass replacements. With a typical job lasting 45 minutes to hour, vans were unnecessarily idling as much as 6 hours every day. At 1/2 gallon per hour and $3.25 per gallon, this practice was wasting almost $10 per truck per day in fuel costs alone! Witt has the iTRAK idle alert set to 3 minutes, so he knows right away when drivers are wasting fuel. According to Witt, "Reducing idling at the job sites more than paid for the entire cost of iTRAK."
"iTRAK has increased my profitability more than any other change in our 26 years in business," says Witt. "I wish I had installed it years ago!"
What’s New – iTRAK Report Manager™ Now Available!
Our new, advanced report manager application is now available to all customers. The key feature of iTRAK Report Manager is the fully automatic generation of vehicle reports as a background activity on any user’s PC. Customers can schedule an expanded array of reports to run in real time or on any selected future date.
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You can configure any report to include all vehicles, a group of vehicles, or a just one vehicle, whatever is most useful to you. Reports needed for supervisory review can be set up to run automatically, and are emailed to multiple recipients. You can set up the report to run once, or on a recurring daily, weekly, or quarterly basis. Reports are also automatically stored in a designated folder on the user’s PC for convenient retrieval at any time.
iTRAK Report Manager is designed to be used in conjunction with your existing iTRAK Fleet Manager web account, so all vehicle and landmark data are automatically downloaded to the application when you launch Report Manager.
"iTRAK Report Manager is the ideal enhancement for operators who need fleetwide reports on a regular basis," said Zachary Antilley, Large Customer Support Manager for Cash Register Services, a Texas-based provider of grocery store POS systems across 7 states. "Since everything is fully automated, we just need to set it up once. It runs overnight and emails the most critical reports to management."
Report types available in the initial release of iTRAK Report Manager include the standard Activity, Detailed, Stop, State/Province, Over Speed, and Landmark-by-Vehicle reports.
New reports include:
Future releases are expected to include a Maintenance Report, Time Card, and a Driver’s Log.
iTRAK Report Manager is the ideal enhancement to Fleet Manager, especially if you need reports on a regular basis. For further information, click here to email us or contact an iTRAK sales manager to discuss your specific needs.
Technical Tip – Installing iTRAK in Vehicles
Installing the iTRAK 'black box' in most vehicles is very simple, so the majority of our customers use their own personnel to perform the installation. Here is step-by-step guide that covers the basics.
- Mounting the iTRAK box – Start by choosing a location to mount the iTRAK box itself. It should be located in a place from which you can easily route the power cable and GPS antenna. The mounting location should also allow you to view the LED indicators with little or no disassembly of the vehicle interior, in the event you may need to check the status of the device. Common mounting locations include under the dashboard, behind the glove compartment, or under the front seat. Although you may secure the iTRAK box with industrial-grade Velcro tape, most customers choose to secure it by using nylon tie wraps, and attaching it existing wiring harnesses or support brackets. (Make sure you record the serial number of the iTRAK device so you know which vehicle has which iTRAK unit installed.)
- Connecting power – The iTRAK device should be wired to a continuous, +12 VDC source on the vehicle to ensure proper recording of stop positions and to allow remote polling when the vehicle is turned off. The best attachment point for power is either the input side of the fuse block, or the vehicle battery itself. (The red wire on the iTRAK power cable should be connected to the positive terminal, and the black wire to a good chassis ground on the vehicle.)
- Installing the cellular antenna – iTRAK can be used with a variety of antenna types to accommodate different customer needs. Antenna options include rubber duck, rooftop, glass-mount, or magnetic-mount antennas. Antenna type is specified at the time of ordering based on vehicle type and expected cellular coverage. If your unit was provided with a 'rubber duck' antenna, the installation consists of simply attaching the antenna to the connector on the back of the iTRAK device. Use a pair of pliers to gently tighten the antenna. (Do not over tighten.) If you have selected an alternative antenna type, follow the instructions provided with the antenna.
- Mounting the GPS module – Placement of the GPS module is the most critical factor in proper operation of the iTRAK device. The purpose of the GPS module is to receive signals from the GPS satellites, so it must be placed in a location on the vehicle where it has a good view of the sky. Remember that the GPS signals will pass through glass and plastic, but no through metal or wood. The vehicle’s roof is the best location, but you may also have good results mounting it on the dashboard, rear deck (on a passenger car), or another internal location. The base of the GPS module is magnetic for easy mounting on the vehicle’s exterior, but you may use double-sided tape, Velcro, or tie wraps to secure it in other locations. It should also be oriented in a horizontal position. Finally, make sure any extra cabling is bundled and neatly wrapped.
- Finishing the installation – Once the box, the cellular antenna, and the GPS module are secured, it is time to verify that the unit is operating properly. The easiest way to test is to move the vehicle outside and let it stand for about 5 minutes, drive the vehicle for a mile or two, and then stop for at least two minutes. This should generate a start position, a distance-based position, and a stop position. Finally, log into your iTRAK Fleet Manager account and observe that these positions have been recorded, and move on to the next vehicle!
- Connecting optional I/O sensors – If you have chosen to monitor any vehicle sensor such as PTO (power take-off), doors open/closed, or engine on/off, then you will need to connect an additional cable between the iTRAK box and the sensor. If you need help selecting a switch or finding the best connection point, contact our technical support team at 1-866-224-8725 or email them at technical.support@itrak.com.
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
Past Issues of iTRAK News
Check out topics that may interest you from past issues of iTRAK News!
If you have comments, suggestions, or would like to submit a story for publication, we would love to hear from you. Email the iTRAK editorial team at: itraknews@itrak.com.
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