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Keeping tabs on your assets
Page 66
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Jason Hamer explains how satellite tracking has earned an invaluable place in his company.
We've had a Minorplanet tracking system in our vehicles for five years. The package comprises a software program that links the vehicles to a base station in our office.
By using satellite tracking, we are able to pinpoint the position of our vehicles at any time. It also offers a historical journey plan, which benefits our customers and the staff at West One Express alike.
We use the system to control the cost of our vehicles by monitoring the routes taken, speed driven and the length of time it takes drivers to complete their deliveries.As with many companies. we pay our drivers an hourly rate and with the tracking system in place, we are in control of our drivers even after they have left our premises, unlike companies without this facility.
There have been many times when the system has proved invaluable. For example, if a customer has to locate their delivery and the driver is not answering his mobile, we can pinpoint his exact position. In this situation, we usually find that the driver has arrived at the delivery point and is already unloading.
When we initially installed satellite tracking, our insurance company did not recognise the added security factor and gave us no reduction on our policy.Ttxlay we could have been looking at a 120k claim fora vehicle that was stolen. However, with the technology in place, this was prevented. Recently,one of our sales representatives was paying his weekly tab at the local roadside burger van and as he was parked a few steps away from his car,he decided to leave his keys in there. We are all guilty of this, but the nightmare was realised when some thief seized the opportunity to get his grubby little mitts on our brand new BMW.The first we knew about it was in a phone call from Richard. the rep. He informed us that after hanging on to the side-rails until he broke a nail or two, the car had disappeared into the distance.
That's when the satellite tracking system proved invaluable. We started monitoring the vehicle straight away and were able to pinpoint its position every 30 seconds.The general manager jumped into his car to help the four police units that had already been despatched.
We had one phone line to the police and one to the manager updating them with the vehicle location every step of the way. The car was only moving for about eight minutes and then it was parked in the local motorway services, where the thief decided to lock the car and collect it later. We told the police that the car was stationary and they despatched a helicopter.The ground squad. including our general manager, arrived at the car within two minutes of its having been parked, but there was no thief in sight.
We sent someone up with a set of spare keys and after going through the usual police procedures, we were able to bring the car home without a scratch on it.
The time between the theft of the car and us getting it back was just over 11 minutes. How long would this have taken without the satellite tracking system — would we have got it back at all? I shudder to think. •