Simplytrak, the East Yorkshire-based fleet management software company behind the device, are familiar with this method of vehicle recovery and specialise in helping their customers in similar situations. Ian Wood, Simplytrak’s new Managing Director, explains:
“Motion detection is one of the many options that come with our trackers and is becoming increasingly important for businesses who want to protect their vehicles.
“As well as detecting when the ignition is switched on and off, our trackers continue to track the location of a vehicle when the engine is off. This means we can still alert the owners when a vehicle is moving even if, like in this example, the vehicles are loaded onto a wagon and taken off site.”
On this occasion, the thieves thought they had done enough to disable the trackers by disconnecting them from the quad bike batteries, however, what they weren’t planning on was the emergency power supply that kept the trackers in full operational mode for long enough for the Misson Organic Dairying Ltd to spring into action.
The quad bikes were leased from Richard Platt Farming, who supplies various vehicles to agriculture businesses. Mr Platt said:
“The agriculture industry uses a range of vehicles such as quad bikes, which are often seen as an easy target for thieves.
“That’s why I recommend that all the vehicles I supply have the Simplytrak system installed, complete with motion detection – offering customers peace of mind that they’re getting a secure vehicle to reduce the risk of business disruption.”
Joel Rathbone from Misson Organic Dairying Ltd added:
“We’re extremely grateful to Richard Platt and the team at Simplytrak for helping us use the system to its full potential to recover these vehicles. This is a busy time of year for us and all our vehicles are important to the running of the farm. We’d be lost without them.”
Following the theft, motion detection alerts have been set up in case the thieves come back and try again. During set times, if the vehicles move when the farm know they shouldn’t be moving, an SMS/email alert will be sent to Mr Rathbone at the farm so they can act quickly to keep tracks on them.
According to the Rural Crime Report 2018 from NFU Mutual, the cost of agricultural vehicle theft and quad/ATV theft last year was £5.9m and £2.3m respectively, meaning much needs to be done to tackle this increasing threat.
Effective vehicle tracking is just one of the ways in which farmers should be looking to protect their assets in 2019.
The driver, who was delivering parcels on behalf of online retail giant Amazon, was dragged from the vehicle before the thieves drove away. Luckily, he didn’t suffer any injury as a result.
Immediately after receiving notification of the theft, Practical’s director Naz Akram called the Simplytrak customer helpline.
He said: “Fortunately, the van was fitted with a tracker which has the functionality to immobilise the vehicle once the engine is turned off. So, I called Simplytrak to inform them of the incident.
“The Simplytrak team were excellent and they started tracking the van, so we knew where it was and then remotely immobilised the vehicle, so we were able to recover it.”
Immobilisation works by remotely sending a signal to the tracking device, which is wired up to the vehicle’s electrical supply, enabling users to cut the power to the engine to prevent the ignition from being turned on.
Upon recovery of the vehicle, Mr Akram noticed that the interior light and roof lining had been ripped out. These are areas where some other models of vehicle trackers are often located.
Simplytrak’s business development manager, Ian Wood, explains why their trackers are harder to locate: “Vehicle thieves are getting wiser and they know that tracking devices are becoming more popular, particularly in larger fleets.
“This is why our trackers are carefully concealed in a way that makes them difficult to locate so we never lose track of our customers’ assets, which is so important when immobilising and safely recovering vehicles.”
This incident came just days after the Sheffield branch of the Practical franchise experienced a similar theft. But the Simplytrak immobilisation feature came to the rescue then as well.
Practical’s Mr Akram added: “There’s a strong partnership between Practical and Simplytrak and quite a lot of the franchisees use them for tracking.
“Occasions like this really show the value of the system but what’s impressed us the most is the customer service we’ve received from the team at Simplytrak. They helped us to immobilise and recover this van swiftly, even on a weekend.”
Well the answer depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you are trying to track your mobile workforce than the app might be sufficient. However, if you want to track driver behaviour, fuel consumption and have accurate route replays you’ll need an installed vehicle tracker. When weighing up your options make sure that cost alone is not the drive to your decision or you might end up feeling disappointed.
You might decide to use a mobile phone app for ease of use with no installation needed in your vehicles. However, if you are trying to keep track of a fleet it really isn’t a reliable option. Loss of signal could mean that you can’t always access the location of your fleet or that parts of the journey aren’t recorded at all. As the tracking device is the driver’s phone then the GPS can just be turned off if they wish to stop their employer tracking them. A GPS app can also drain your employee’s phone battery so unless they turn up to work with a fully charged battery every morning you run the risk of their phone going dead.
You also run the risk of your business getting left behind. If your competitors are using more sophisticated fleet management systems, and they likely are, they’ll be eliminating paper work, increasing route efficiency and have an insight into unwanted driver behaviours.
It might feel like the more expensive option but the efficiency it will drive across your business will offer you a significant return on your investment.
A fleet management system allows businesses to be much more intelligent in how they schedule trips. Fleet managers can optimise planning too by assigning jobs to idle vehicles or that are within closest proximity or travel time to the location. Overall the number of jobs and trips can be minimised by planning the workload in a strategic way. By maximising the workday, your fleet will be able to complete more jobs and increase revenue.
With a fleet management system it is easy to gain an understanding into unwanted driving habits such as excessive speeding and harsh acceleration and braking. By identifying any trends within your fleet, it will help you to educate drivers on safer and greener driving habits. This will reduce fuel consumption, maintenance costs and the chances of an accident.
Your business can keep on top of all vehicle maintenance checks with a range of alerts set up inside a fleet management system. Healthy vehicles waste less fuel and are more efficient, reducing the risk of any unwanted repairs that may come. Specialist fleet management suppliers might also supply an immobilisation feature for extra security if it is stolen, allowing you to safely immobilise your vehicle until it is tracked and found.
A fleet management system will help your drivers, dispatchers and managers reduce paperwork as the system can automatically track and record the details of the time spent at a job. This makes invoicing much easier as job lengths will all be recorded in the system accurately.
Mileage records can also be recorded by a turn-by-turn updated system, eliminating the use of paper records and ensuring a correct submission to the tax office every time.
Excess fuel consumption is bad news for a business and the environment. A fleet management system can provide fleets with the most efficient routes, saving time and eliminating unnecessary fuel expenses. A fleet manager can also set reports to inform them if engines are left running or vehicles are being used out of hours.
Overall an app can be a convenient tool for a mobile workforce but if they are going to be driving a vehicle on a regular basis an investment in vehicle tracking will be well worth the investment.
To learn more about how the Simplytrak system can improve efficiency across your fleet, please contact Ian Wood our Business Development Manager at E: ian@simplytrak.com or on T: 01430879197.
For a business reducing engine idling can open the doors to a range of benefits and is a sure way to create a greener and more efficient fleet. With many councils now acting on this too, as it may be time for your business to take the lead in the change.
There is a growing concern regarding exhaust emissions and the damage they have on our health. Over 30 councils across the country have come together to tackle the issue of engine fumes caused by engine idling. Councils are considering introducing on-the-spot £20 fines if you leave your engine running while in the street or parked up and waiting. Although the new introduction of fines is highly likely to go ahead, it has actually been an offence to leave your vehicle’s engine running excessively since 1986.
If your business has a fleet then you may want to consider measures now that will significantly reduce or eliminate engine idling. This can start by simply educating staff. If staff are trained on the benefits of reducing engine idling this can go some of the ways. In many cases though, unwanted driving habits are learnt over time and the driver may not even recognise them. This is where a fleet management system can be a great insight.
With a fully-featured vehicle tracking system, like Simplytrak’s, fleet managers can be alerted to any periods of engine idling. The incident, date, time and location are available to be viewed within the system or downloaded in a report format and shared with the driver. This can also be a useful tool alongside driver scorecards that promote safer driving techniques and many businesses then use these scorecards to incentivise calmer driving.
By understanding the driver behaviour of your fleet, you will be able to use this analysis to create healthier driving habits that promote lower fuel and maintenance costs, reduce the risk of an accident and maybe most importantly, reduce the carbon footprint of fleets. As businesses come under more pressure to run greener fleets, a sophisticated fleet management system can be the perfect tool to help you achieve this.
To learn more about how the Simplytrak system can reduce engine idling and unwanted driving habits across your fleet, please contact Ian Wood our Business Development Manager at E: ian@simplytrak.com or on T: 01430879197.
Many of our customers have already been able to stop fraudulent claims by using evidence from our Simplytrak solution. Here’s how.
Being able to identify the exact position and route a vehicle has taken is an important feature for any feet manager. With the Simplytrak system we offer our customers live turn-by-turn tracking with a minimum of 60 second update. This ensures the route of a driver is recorded on the vehicle tracking system precisely, making it the perfect tool to provide evidence when there are any discrepancies.
Our servers hold a record of all the vehicle’s movement from the moment the units are installed. We also hold an archive of this record securely on our system for a number of years after the tracker is removed, giving peace of mind to our customers. Through the Simplytrak system any historical route can be easily accessed and replayed.
Using the analysis from a range of customisable reports within the Simplytrak system, fleet managers can conclusively establish evidence if they believe their vehicle was not at fault in an alleged incident. The range of reports are available to view on screen or can be downloaded in a range of formats and then forwarded to any relevant parties. We are always available to offer our support to customers in this process and will assist swiftly to meet the demands of our customers’ requirements.
To learn more about how vehicle tracking can improve the management and protection of your fleet and drivers, please contact Ian Wood our Business Development Manager at E: ian@simplytrak.com or on T: 01430879197.
Practical Car & Van Rental New Milton contacted Simplytrak after the event to consult if there was a way to prevent a similar event occurring. The Simplytrak team added geofences around restricted areas and ports which then alerted Practical New Milton if their fleet was at risk of leaving the country without prior consent.
Jon Wakefield, Managing Director at Practical Car & Van Rental New Milton commented,
“Once again we were able to use the immobilisation feature to our advantage until we made contact with the customer. The Simplytrak team were extremely helpful working with us to assist with future prevention. They created restricted areas in the system that now alert us before our vans potentially leave the country.”
Ian Wood, Business Development Manager at Simplytrak added,
“Our dedicated team regularly work with customers to assist them in utilising different areas of the system to improve their businesses. We’re happy that we were able to come up with a solution for the team at New Milton and that the Simplytrak system also ensured the safe return of their vehicle”.
At Simplytrak we are delighted to be able to offer our unlimited geofencing feature as part of vehicle tracking package at no extra charge. Get in touch for a quote and you might be surprised how small the cost is for peace of mind for your business. For more information on our fleet management system please contact Ian Wood our Business Development Manager at E: ian@simplytrak.com or on T: 01430879197.