Casting Doubts on Global Positioning

Many fleet executives working at electric utilities have doubts about implementing global positioning system (GPS) tracking technology into their fleet operations. A number of doubts exist. For example, GPS technologies are designed to track a vehicle’s whereabouts; this can lead to trust issues between fleet executives and their drivers. Second, the utility might not have the budget to include technologies such as GPS tracking on its expense sheet. Lastly, fleet executives might believe that the many benefits that GPS tracking offers are simply not necessary.

Despite the aforementioned doubts and objections, utilities who recognize the benefits to their fleets of vehicles and other assets are quickly adopting—or planning to adopt—GPS technologies. For fleet executives who are ambivalent about using GPS fleet tracking in their operations, this issue’s Growth & Innovation feature will give valuable insight into why these technologies are worth the investment.