Vehicle Tracking With Fuel Monitoring

With the steady global increase in the price of gas and the increasing importance of considering our impact on the environment, many businesses now have to ensure that their fleet vehicles are using it effectively.

In order to do this, they may wish to control fuel consumption. This can be done using a Global Positioning System (GPS) which incorporates fuel monitoring.

GPS vehicle tracking uses GPS space satellites to deduce the exact location of a vehicle on the ground.

Each satellite in the system knows the precise distance between it and the other GPS satellites, so the receiver unit, located in the vehicle, uses the time taken for the signal to reach it from each satellite, to work out its exact location.

The GPS receiver then transmits its location, speed, time and direction to a central computer connected to the internet or a private network.

The GPS fuel monitoring tracker increases the data that is given, allowing the fleet manager to see information about fuel levels and consumption.

How Does Fuel Monitoring Work?

Information on differing fuel levels is provided by a fuel level sensor located within the fuel tank. The sensor may either be the vehicle’s own or one which has been added.

The GPS tracking system shows the time and the vehicle’s location.

Using a calibration table (usually in the software of the tracking system) the amount of fuel consumption can be determined.

The fleet manager can also monitor where and when the vehicle was refueled and how much fuel was put into the tank at this point. This helps prevent the misuse or theft of fuel, consequently saving money.

A fuel monitoring graph can be produced which shows a vehicle’s fuel levels. Any rapid drops on the graph would indicate a fuel leak or fuel theft, whereas a steady decrease in fuel levels would indicate normal fuel consumption.

A straight increase on the fuel line would show a refueling which can then be checked against the time and location shown by the GPS. When there is no change on the fuel line, the vehicle would be parked.

There are many suppliers of these types of systems. One example is the Vestigo 360F. This is a GPS vehicle tracking system with fuel management designed to enable fleet managers to monitor and track a fleet of any size.

The entire fleet can be tracked on one screen, so even for a large fleet, one person should be able to do this, thereby cutting labor costs.

Another company, Webfleet Solutions (formerly TomTom Telematics), also offer a similar system.

These systems are a very good way for businesses to keep fuel costs to a minimum and to avoid fuel theft, which has become an increasing problem.

The value of a single fuel tank on a truck can easily reach $1000, and until these systems came about it was very difficult to keep track of how this expensive commodity was being used.

GPS with fuel management functions now offer businesses an ideal solution.