When people think of GPS tracking for school boards, their first thought is usually of tracking buses that transport students to and from school. While this is a common use, school boards also manage a variety of service vehicles that are crucial to the day-to-day operation of educational facilities. These vehicles go beyond buses, including everything from passenger cars to pickup trucks and service vans. Trackem GPS offers many Canadian school boards significant operational benefits, in managing these service vehicle fleets.
By adopting Trackem’s GPS technology, including a variety of different trackers and industry-leading software tools, school boards can improve the efficiency of service-related tasks, monitor vehicle usage, and streamline operations. This post will explore the types of vehicles typically used by school boards, how Trackem relates to specific trades, and how fleet management benefits school board operations overall.
Benefits of Fleet Management for School Boards
The implementation of Trackem goes far beyond simply knowing where vehicles are at any given time. Here’s a breakdown of the key fleet management benefits that Canadian school boards can expect from adopting GPS technology for service vehicles:
Real-Time Location Tracking: With GPS tracking, operations managers have a live view of where every vehicle in the fleet is located. This not only helps in ensuring that workers are on task but also enables dynamic route planning. If there is an urgent job, the nearest available technician can be dispatched, reducing travel time and improving response rates.
Job Progress Monitoring: One of the primary benefits of GPS tracking is the ability to monitor how long workers spend at each job site. This provides insights into task durations and can be used to track the productivity of the workforce. For example, if John spends three hours on a task that was estimated to take one hour, the manager can investigate potential delays or inefficiencies. This data helps streamline operations, ensuring that tasks are completed on time and that resources are properly allocated.
Efficient Resource Allocation: GPS tracking enables school boards to optimize the use of their service vehicles. By analyzing travel times, idle periods, and job durations, managers can ensure that vehicles and personnel are used efficiently. This is particularly important for high-demand vehicles, like service vans and pickup trucks, which are often required for multiple jobs in a single day.
Reduced Fuel Costs: Inefficient routes, speeding, excessive idling, and poor maintenance can lead to unnecessary fuel costs. Trackem can help reduce these costs by identifying the most efficient routes, minimizing vehicle downtime, and encouraging more efficient driving behaviors. This not only saves money but also contributes to the school board’s sustainability goals by reducing the fleet’s carbon footprint.
Enhanced Accountability and Safety: By tracking vehicle locations and usage, school boards can ensure that staff are adhering to assigned tasks and following safe driving practices. GPS systems can also help track vehicle speeds and routes, ensuring that safety protocols are being followed. In case of accidents or emergencies, GPS tracking provides real-time data that can assist in swift response and resolution.
Vehicle Maintenance Scheduling: GPS tracking systems often come equipped with maintenance reminders, alerting managers when a vehicle requires service based on mileage or engine hours. This proactive approach to maintenance helps prevent costly breakdowns and extends the lifespan of the fleet. Ensuring that John’s van is always in top shape, for example, means fewer disruptions to his schedule and more time spent on important tasks.
Types of Vehicles in a School Board Fleet
A school board's fleet consists of more than just buses. Many vehicles support the overall functioning of schools, facilitating repair work, administrative duties, and essential services.
Passenger Cars: These vehicles are used by school board staff, including inspectors, administrators, and other personnel, to travel between schools or attend offsite meetings. These cars are essential for conducting day-to-day business, site inspections, or any operational oversight.
Pickup Trucks: Pickup trucks are vital for maintenance teams that need to transport large tools, supplies, or equipment. For tasks like landscaping, snow removal, or transporting building materials, pickups are indispensable.
Service Vans: Service vans are the workhorses for technicians such as electricians, plumbers, and HVAC specialists. They are commonly used for carrying tools and specialized equipment. Vans are often chosen for their cargo space, allowing maintenance staff to carry the equipment they need to handle everything from classroom repairs to infrastructure work.
Each of these vehicles plays a vital role in keeping schools operational and safe for staff and students alike. Managing them effectively is crucial to ensuring that the right person, with the right tools, gets to the right place on time.
A Day in the Life of a School Board Electrician: The Role of Trackem
To better understand how GPS tracking can benefit school boards, let’s consider a common scenario involving an electrician employed by a school board.
A work order to repair faulty lights in a classroom at one of the district's schools has been generated. Using Trackem GPS, the maintenance or operations manager can quickly see on the map which electrician is closest to the school that needs the repair. The chosen electrician can be dispatched through the Trackem GPS driver app, to the job, with the work order in the app.
The selected electrician loads up the tools and sets out. Without GPS tracking, the operations manager might not know exactly where the assigned worker is, how long it will take him to arrive, or how long he will spend on the task. However, with GPS tracking in place, the manager can monitor all this in real-time, seeing routes, speed, stops, entries/exits from school properties (geofences), fuel consumption, mileage, and more.
This visibility offers several advantages:
The operations manager can estimate the arrival time, providing the school with an accurate update.
If another job becomes urgent, the manager can see if that worker or another is nearby and available to take on the task.
Trackem also logs the time spent at the job site, helping to monitor task duration and ensuring accountability.
In this case, the GPS system logs when he arrives at the school, how long he remains there, and when he leaves for the next assignment. This kind of data helps the school board optimize its workforce, ensuring that tasks are completed efficiently and within expected timeframes. Additionally, it allows the board to analyze overall job performance and make data-driven decisions on how best to allocate resources for future tasks.
Furthermore, Trackem GPS tracking is perfect for alerting managers of unauthorized after-hours vehicle usage, and for theft recovery.
School Board Service Vehicles and GPS Tracking
Canadian school boards rely on a diverse fleet of vehicles to keep their schools functioning smoothly. From administrative cars to service vans and maintenance pickup trucks, these vehicles are critical to ensuring that school facilities are well-maintained and that services are delivered efficiently. By adopting Trackem GPS solutions, school boards can enhance their fleet management, monitor vehicle locations and usage, and improve overall operational efficiency.
Trackem provides school boards with the tools they need to optimize their resources. In doing so, school boards not only save money and time but also improve the quality of the services they provide to students, staff, and the community.
