The importance of GPS asset tracking equipment for government fleets

Effective fleet management goes beyond just tracking vehicles. All assets and equipment are crucial to fleet-dependent organizations, yet powered and non-powered assets can be harder to keep tabs on—or simply get overlooked—when implementing GPS tracking. Powered and non-powered assets are just as vital to fleet and company success. With telematics, fleet managers can seamlessly track assets as well as vehicles. Asset trackers offer a reliable and effective solution for visibility into your entire fleet, powered or not. 

What are non-powered assets and how do you track them?

Non-powered assets include generators and trailers, bobcats and off-road four-wheelers, boats, speed limit and road signage, dumpsters and lawn equipment and any other equipment that cannot run under its own power supply yet is crucial to the operational productivity of an organization.

To monitor non-powered assets, you can use the same telematics-based GPS technology that you use to monitor powered assets and vehicles. The GPS asset tracking device will need its own power source, so an asset tracker with a long life battery is crucial. It must also be rugged, weatherproof and waterproof to withstand the extreme conditions the asset might encounter. 

The benefits of tracking devices for both powered and non-powered assets

For companies managing a mix of assets, GPS asset tracking can help give better visibility into equipment location and utilization and help improve proactive maintenance. Monitoring your powered and non-powered assets can provide four distinct benefits.

Utilization and inventory management

As your fleet grows, the number of assets you manage increases. This can prove challenging for your administrative staff, especially when it comes to asset tracking and inventory management. Your team must not only maintain an accurate asset inventory, but needs to also determine how efficiently each asset is utilized. Since all assets are not likely to be in use at the same time, there is a potential for underutilization, wasting your money. 

GPS-based asset tracking software can help you get a better sense of which assets are in use, at what location and in what way. This type of full asset visibility improves your resource efficiency and bottom line, enabling you to:

• Reduce costs and fuel consumption by analyzing usage, travel and “power on” duration. This can save money on fuel and power by enabling more efficient scheduling and providing data for employee coaching opportunities regarding wasteful practices.
• Identify underused assets that can be sold or repurposed elsewhere.
• Track asset usage by project to improve cost analysis and confirm billing.
• Monitor asset location and time of use. You can track when specific assets are in use, and if it’s in the manner for which they’re intended.
• Generate advanced utilization reports for powered assets to learn asset movement duration and idle time, as well as location and distance traveled.
• Make more informed decisions around renting additional assets vs. redeploying underutilized, owned assets.
• Decide what you want to monitor and how often you want the GPS asset tracker to report—frequency and manner of reporting is configurable to meet your business needs.

The City of Annapolis in Maryland needed better visibility into their large, mixed fleet, as well as expensive assets in the field. With easy-to-use GPS tracking, the city’s fleet management program improved response times and can get critical equipment like boats, backhoes and bobcats to the appropriate location when needed. By adding vehicle and asset trackers, the City of Annapolis is increasing employee productivity and improving transparency with the community. report—frequency and manner of reporting is configurable to meet your business needs.

Security

One stolen asset can lead to significant replacement costs, lost opportunity costs, unplanned downtime and customer and employee frustration. 

Whether standalone, or attached to a vehicle, your fleet equipment requires the same protections and precautions as your fleet vehicles. Investing in GPS tracking technology can provide added asset security, whether to deter thieves from stealing or to locate missing assets. It provides near real-time notifications when an asset is:

• Used during unauthorized time periods or off-hours
• Moved or towed
• Taken outside specified geofenced areas

It also provides the ability to:

• Locate assets and assist in theft recovery using breadcrumb tracking
• Leverage near real time alerts to enable you to immediately notify the police
• “Check in” at configurable intervals based on your security requirements

Maintenance

Properly maintaining assets is one of the most important steps you can take to maintain fleet productivity and profitability. Yet you may need help transitioning from manual record keeping to electronic-based monitoring to stay on top of service and repairs. Deploying a GPS-based asset tracking solution can help mitigate maintenance issues by helping you to:

• Reduce costly downtime with data which enables planning for preventive maintenance
• Improve maintenance scheduling accuracy based on quantifiable metrics (e.g., engine hours, distance traveled, etc.)
• Obtain on demand and scheduled reporting

Compliance and regulatory requirements

• Governmental Accounting Standards Board Requirements (GASB)

• Public Sector organizations have to comply with GASB standards. These standards establish accounting and financial reporting standards for U.S. state and local governments that follow generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and this reporting must include assets. An asset management platform can help with this reporting by assisting in tracking of an asset’s value, depreciation, and condition. This data can then be easily accessed via the intuitive interface. 

• EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Regulations

• Agencies must manage assets to comply with environmental standards such as the proper disposal of hazardous materials. Freon, fiberglass and electronics, to just name a few materials, may require special consideration. By tracking lifecycle data owners of assets can document their disposal.

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration Standards (OSHA)

• OSHA ensures a safe and healthy work environment for employees. Maintenance of equipment has to meet safety standards to provide this environment. An asset management platform can help manage, monitor and document usage and upkeep of assets, ensuring a documentation record that maintenance occurred as needed or on schedule. 

• Federal Grant Management Standards

• Organizations receiving federal funds often need to comply with specific reporting requirements. An asset management platform can help manage, monitor and document a variety of factors, whether maintenance, usage, disposal, location etc. An easy to use system can provide configurable reports, scheduled and on demand, helping to ease your paperwork burden.

• General Data Protection Regulations and State Privacy Laws 

• Public Sector organizations have to manage personal data according to state laws. For example, the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) prevents businesses from sharing personal data and requires employees be afforded the right to privacy. An asset management platform can help an organization maintain compliance with these laws by enforcing strong data security measures as well as enabling employees to review data collected by the organization. 

Learn how GPS asset tracking can help you get more out of your valuable equipment and resources.

What to look for in an asset tracking platform

When investing in GPS asset tracking technology, it’s important to look for solutions that provide comprehensive features that work with your unique needs for both powered and non-powered assets. Here are a few things to keep in mind when selecting the right solution:

• The ability to track vehicles, powered and non-powered assets on one software platform
• A platform which is intuitive, comprehensive and easy-to-use
• A platform with near real time mapping and features such as alerts, reports, configurable features and outstanding support.
• A solution that seamlessly integrates with your existing systems and fleet management technology 

Verizon Connect can provide a 360° view of business-critical data, helping you to achieve your organization's business goals. With Verizon Connect’s robust, centralized software, asset tracking, Live Map, data protection and reporting, fleet managers can have more visibility into their device location and performance to proactively track vehicles, powered and non-powered assets, plan for maintenance and secure their valuable equipment. 

Is it time to upgrade your asset management solution? Check out our buyer's guide for public sector fleets to learn more details about what to look for in an asset tracking solution.