FleetBoss Report

Special Edition 2005

Bottom Line Benefit: Tow Service Tips
Customized Fleet Management Solutions for the Towing Industry!
(See Story on AAA Auto Club South)

FleetBoss has had a long and successful relationship with the towing and recovery industry, because our fleet management solutions provide indispensable benefits to a towing company's bottom line.

Having automated and accurate records of tasks performed, idle time, miles driven, routes traveled and service time response can be crucial to a towing fleet manager's operational success. Consequently, far from being merely a "nice-but-unnecessary" convenience, a GPS fleet management system can be an essential component for a towing company's profitable survival in today's competitive and litigious marketplace.

PTO Monitoring
One of the first things that FleetBoss discovered when customizing its solutions to the towing industry was the fact that the monitoring of the "power take off" (PTO) was a key requirement for ensuring the efficiency of any tow truck. By flagging service stops based upon the activation of the PTO, managers can instantly pull up weekly and monthly graphs on the number and duration of these stops performed by their tow vehicles. Managers are also able to generate a detailed report of a vehicle's activity on any given day, viewing the times and a map of the service tows. The mileage, route taken, speed and time at location for each trip are automatically logged.

CUSTOMER SERVICE TIP: If a fleet manager needs to justify customer billing, there is nothing more convincing to a client than printing out a specific trip report with an attached map that displays the start and end points of the trip; as well as a breadcrumb of arrows displaying the route traveled.

Besides being able to identify every location where the PTO is used, a contact switch placed on an equipment door can identify when battery cables and other accessory items are used for roadside service stops. For safety and regulatory compliance by their operators, some towing companies have also chosen to flag when the truck's caution lights (rotating amber service lights) are activated.

Monitoring Idling Times
The FleetBoss system provides another major bonus for towing and recovery businesses by monitoring a vehicle sitting and idling times. FleetBoss lets fleet managers measure their fleets' hours of total idling against the time the PTO is in use for actual service. At a fuel consumption rate of more than 2 gallons per hour, idling can rapidly become a major expense in light of today's rising fuel prices.

Tracking Actual Service Time
Because many companies rotate their tow truck operators to provide 24 hour service availability, FleetBoss offers a great solution for tracking both the service activity and work hours of drivers. Using FleetBoss software, a dispatcher can set up the automatic scheduling of drivers and make any adjustments to the dates and times that employees are operating their vehicles. This administrative process provides an accurate log of each driver's activity and a quick review of their weekly hours in a Summary Report. The Summary Report will break down each day of the week, with the hours and miles driven, the operator's start time of his or her first trip of the day and the stop time of their last trip before turning their vehicle over to the next scheduled driver.

Like other satisfied FleetBoss customers from different industries, towing companies that use FleetBoss GPS fleet management solutions are able to monitor the activity of their company vehicles 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, making their businesses more efficient, productive and profitable.