Trucking Industry Tool: Geofences

New uses for Geofences and Long Haul Trucking

f all industries, the trucking industry probably benefits the most from the technologies of GPS Truck Tracking.

Send trucks out to distance places and keep track of them. A match made in heaven. But really, who wants to sit and watch a truck on a computer terminal for hours, if not days. The question then, is how to use the tools in the fleet management system effectively. And of all the tools available, which ones do the trick and should be focused on.

The focus of this post is on one system function that can get you away from computer monitor and back doing the things that help your business grown. Which feature is this? Geofences!

In a matter of minutes, say at the beginning of your driver's trip, before the 18 wheeler and trailer even leave your depot, you can add the pertinent geofences to help you to monitor the progress of the trucks to reach their destination.

What are Geofences?

Geofences are virtual fences on your data. They can just record entry and exit for later reports, or they can be configured to send emails on entry or exit, or even both.

Strategy #1 - Monitor for Arrival at Target Destination

Goal oriented - the most obvious use is to put geofences on the target destination or depot. These can send you an email when the truck arrives. And then again when it leaves.

Strategy #2 - Monitor Progress Along The Route

Another strategy is to add multiple geofences on the route the truck will take to its destination. If the trip is from Florida to New York city, adding geofences that encompass South and North Carolina, another on Virginia, DC and Delaware and yet another on NJ/NY region will give you status alerts as the truck makes its way. The advantage of this strategy is you can leave your desk but still get updates as the geofence entry/exits are triggered. You want faster updates, smaller geofences. Fewer updates, larger geofences.

The geofences can be deleted after the trip, or left for the next trip. Choose descriptive geofence names based on the region, then the email will simply say ".. exited geofence Carolinas..."

Similarly, if you want to know when your over the road trucks are driving vs. parked in rest stops, add a geofence around the rest stops. This works especially well in situation where drivers leave the truck idling for heat or air conditioning.

Geofences and the Trucking Industry

The key to using whichever fleet management system you choose is to make it work for you and not to switch roles and work for the software. Making active use of all the tools within the system are key to making it work for you. In this case, Geofence can get you valuable information - the progress of your 18 wheelers, out on the road, without you even turning on your computer. Geofences are a basic function that are not dependent on gps tracking device type.