The technology of GPS tracking is a few decades old, and it is being used more than ever. The field of geospatial data analysis is growing rapidly in the developed world, faster than most jobs are. This involves collecting, analyzing, and making use of GPS (global positioning satellite) data being transmitted from vehicles and handheld electronic alike for various purposes. GPS, when used for vehicle tracking, is quite useful for allowing a whole fleet of vehicles to coordinate their efforts, and fleet management software is ideal for this geospatial data work. Vehicle tracking, when used in the context of snow plows across Canada, is essential for getting a good job done, and makes work efficient all the while. What are the specifics of vehicle tracking technology and the benefits of it all?
Snow Plow Vehicle Tracking With GPS
GPS technology has many uses in many different devices, but snow plows are a fine place to start. Many Canadian cities get a lot of snow per year, as do many towns, and this snow impedes vehicle and foot traffic until it is cleared away. City snow plow fleets will handle this work, but these vehicles will do a better job when their operators’ efforts are coordinated with the use vehicle tracking and GPS. If snow plows are not coordinated in this manner, some of the vehicle operators may accidentally get into each other’s work zones, and a worker may finish their area of work and not find any more snow to plow. The worker may sit idle, and that is wasteful. In fact, some Canadian provinces and local governments impose fines on emissions of idle vehicles, so for these reasons and more, GPS vehicle tracking is put to use.
By contrast, a city’s snow plow fleet may be well coordinated and highly efficient with the use of GPS tracking, so that the city can track where each snow plow is and how it is moving. In this manner, geospatial experts can designate areas and routes for each vehicle’s work, and this keeps all of the snow plows out of each other’s way and ensures that there are no blind spots in the overall effort. What is more, that eliminates the odds of a vehicle sitting idle, and the vehicles won’t get in each other’s way. And there’s certainly plenty of work to do. Canada’s top 10 snowiest cities all average 55 days or more of snow per year, with two or more millimetres of snow landing in each of those days. The city of Montreal reported that if the snow is seven inches deep, its fleet of 172 snow plows can clear it all in under five days, and snow one foot deep can be cleared in five days’ time. Using modern vehicle tracking GPS systems makes this sort of time frame possible even when there is deep snow in a large city like Montreal.
Other Uses of GPS
It is clear that GPS tracking is quite useful for snow plow fleets, but that’s not the arena where GPS tracking tech can be applied. As mentioned earlier, many modern devices such as laptops, iPads, and smart phones contain tracking devices that transmit their location, and geospatial data analysis experts use that information for their clients for marketing purposes.
Vehicle tracking extends to the likes of privately owned cars or company cars and jets, too. In the case of a company car or jet, employees may borrow the use of that vehicle, but the company wants to ensure that the vehicle is only going where it is supposed to. GPS tracking makes that sort of monitoring possible. Meanwhile, both company and private vehicles may contain GPS systems in case they are lost or stolen. No matter where these vehicles end up, GPS systems and geospatial data analysis work allows the owners to track down the vehicle’s location and recover it. And this technology is also a boon to search and rescue efforts, since the rescuers may use the vehicle’s GPS transmissions to locate it and rescue everyone they find there. If possible, the vehicle itself might be recovered, too. This may save lives in the event of a storm, blizzard, flooding, or a vehicle breaking down in a remote area.
