Fleet Product Guide

Editor’s note: Suppliers, if you offer fleet products — or any new technology for use in the pest control industry — that you would like to have highlighted in an upcoming issue, please send a press release and a high-resolution photo to jdorsch@gie.net.

Fleetmatics

With the Fleetmatics REVEAL GPS tracking and fleet management software, stop wondering what’s happening in the field — and start boosting productivity. Fleetmatics REVEAL provides:

• Near real-time reporting on vehicles’ locations;
• Timely alerts on potentially unsafe driver behavior; and,
• Customizable reports that can help improve the productivity, efficiency, cost savings, safety and security of vehicles and mobile technicians.

Whether PMPs need to update a client on arrival time, locate the nearest technician for an added job, document time on-site, or discover opportunities to reduce fleet expenses or improve worker safety and productivity, Fleetmatics REVEAL will give you the information you need at a glance, the firm says.

Customizable, intuitive dashboards can be set up to show your fleet’s performance at a glance and help you discover opportunities to reduce expenses, extend vehicle uptime and improve the productivity, accountability and safety of your technicians in the field. Alerts can inform you when employees are driving over a pre-set limit, idling excessively, or using vehicles at unauthorized times. With the Fleetmatics REVEAL mobile app for Android, iPhone and iPad, you’ll have the information you need whether you’re at your desktop, in the field or on your mobile device.

GPS Insights

Your pest control business pays expenses every day that you may consider to be the “cost of doing business.” Sure, these costs will always be there, but do they need to be nearly as high as they are? Pest control companies are using vehicle tracking to solve difficult business challenges, gain visibility over their fleet, and to identify and cut unnecessary costs.

Here are some ways that pest control businesses are using fleet tracking to impact the bottom line:

• Achieving Fuel Savings. One of the most common areas that pest control fleets are overspending is fuel. While fuel prices are subject to change, there are controlled variables when it comes to how much you spend on fuel, such as excessive idling, speeding, rapid acceleration, inefficient routing, unauthorized usage, and other driving behaviors that your business can regulate.
• Tracking Jobs Completed with Fleet Data. It can be a challenge for pest control fleets to provide proof of service during a customer dispute due to the nature of the business. How do you prove that your service technician was at their home and completed the service without any evidence to back it up? Without a fleet tracking system in place, it can be extremely difficult to do, which often results in a refund to maintain the relationship. That’s why many pest control companies are moving towards this technology to validate jobs completed and to streamline billing.
• Validating Payroll Accuracy. Along with using fleet tracking software to keep a closer eye on how customers are billed, many pest control fleets are using it to monitor and validate their payroll accuracy.

ServicePro

ServicePro recently launched GPS Version 8. The GPS module has extended integration with the company’s mobile application and employee time clock, and provides valuable reporting and management tools for customers, according to ServicePro. This version has fully integrated schedules that includes both work completed and work scheduled to be done, and it provides a real-time look at what needs to be done and helps in dispatch for service, emergency and callback customers. ServicePro has integrated a real-time activity feed and an in-cab buzzer with driver behavior that allows for increased fleet management and safety. The GPS now has an improved “Point of Interest” functionality that helps with day-to-day work, including servicing and identifying important locations and customer sites.