{"id":18445,"date":"2021-01-19T15:28:24","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T15:28:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gpsinsight.com\/?p=18445"},"modified":"2023-03-02T12:56:47","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T19:56:47","slug":"looking-monitor-power-take-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gpsinsight.com\/blog\/looking-monitor-power-take-off\/","title":{"rendered":"A Quick Intro to Power Take-Off and Fleet Management"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A Quick Intro to Power Take-Off and Fleet Management .<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n

[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text disabled_on=”|off|” admin_label=”Blog Intro Text” _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”||||||||” header_font=”||||||||” header_2_font=”||||||||” header_2_font_size=”36px” background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n

Quick \u2013 what does PTO stand for?<\/p>\n

If you’re like most people, you answered Paid Time Off. But fleet people who deal with vehicles, mobile assets, and drivers every day, know it stands for Power Take-Off, as well.<\/p>\n

Both answers are right, of course. But this blog post is all about power take-off (we’ll leave blogging about the other PTO for the human resources pros).<\/p>\n

First, what is PTO, exactly?<\/p>\n

It allows you to use all or a portion of the truck\u2019s engine power to perform various tasks, usually through a switch. At the most basic level, PTOs make additional power for vehicle accessories.<\/p>\n

Combining this capability with a fleet management system provides you with insights that let you use your vehicles more efficiently. That’s a huge bonus for government and commercial fleets that are cutting costs and also reducing their carbon footprint.<\/p>\n

This post will break down helpful information about PTO.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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How PTOs: A Quick Overview<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

While many businesses rely on vehicles that wouldn’t look out of place in your own garage, some commercial trucks are an entirely different beast. They’re bigger and more powerful, with far more torque than a lighter-duty vehicle.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All that power makes it possible to funnel some power away from the engine. There are\u00a0many\u00a0configurations for PTO units. Some will only engage the PTO when the vehicle is stopped. <\/span><\/p>\n

That’s just\u00a0scratching the surface of the many PTO options available<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to fit every fleet’s needs.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In essence, PTOs take the rotary power of the truck’s engine and turn it into hydraulic power that can raise the bed of a dump truck,\u00a0lift a bucket to repair a power line, or turn the barrel of a cement truck,\u00a0just to name a few applications.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Work\u00a0vehicles are available with PTOs from the factory. In many cases, though, PTOs are added as an aftermarket accessory.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Power Take-Off + Fleet Management Solutions = Winning\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Earlier in the post, we mentioned efficiency. Fleet managers who are trying to make their vehicles more efficient often target idling. And for good reason.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Any idling vehicle wears faster, burns fuel, and spews pollution \u2013 all while not getting any work done. Fleet management solutions are an important tool in combating idling.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, not all kinds of idling are equal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

GPS Insight clients rely on an Idle Time Summary Report that knows the difference.\u00a0<\/span>It identifies idling done while the vehicle is parked and separately while parked with PTO engaged. If engaged, thus working idle, the value is removed from the overall idle time to give you vehicles True Idle Time\/Wasted Fuel.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, GPS Insight clients often configure their solution to trigger idle alerts. They can exclude Working Idle Time to receive true notification of wasteful idle.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Fleet managers can notice trends in True Idle Time and encourage better habits from employees. The results can add up to signi<\/span>ficant savings:\u00a0<\/span>West Coast Sand & Gravel<\/span><\/a>, a construction material hauler, used this report to reduce fuel use by 5,205 gallons, or $18,000, in one quarter\u202fjust targeting idle time.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, the report can also tell you when the PTOs for your vehicles are engaged and getting the job done. That can prove that time spent idling was time well\u00a0spent<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Monitoring PTO to Provide Proof of Service<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Government and commercial fleet employees both know that it can be hard to discover the truth behind a constituent or customer complaint.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

By monitoring power take-off with a fleet management solution, you can quickly find insights to indicate whether workers performed scheduled tasks.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For example, a utility company could verify that line workers were servicing power lines by seeing whether they activated the vehicle’s boom. With the right equipment, it\u2019s also possible to see how long the boom was up and when it was lowered, and compare that information to the expected time to complete the job.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Summarizing PTOs<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Power take-off is a great way to accomplish more with your vehicle, and PTO\u00a0monitoring\u00a0can\u00a0make your fleet vehicles more efficient and even provide a measure of accountability.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Power take-off powers accessories for many fleet vehicles, and combining PTO with a fleet management solution can provide many other benefits, too. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":36693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"

\"\"<\/a>For the most part, companies with outside sales teams, such as pharmaceutical companies, have not adopted GPS tracking software to monitor their reps. There have been a number of reasons as to why they haven\u2019t, two of which being privacy issues and the hardwired installation of the devices. These are two legitimate issues that we have the answer to.<\/p>

GPS Insight has been selected by Garmin to integrate with the fleet 590 device, which is a portable device that combines GPS tracking<\/a> capabilities for fleet management and the simplicity of Garmin navigation.<\/p>

Problem #1: Invasion of Privacy<\/h2>

Since outside sales teams are typically given a company leased vehicle, reps use them for work and for personal use. The issue lies with tracking their employees during off hours and weekends. Sales reps understandably don\u2019t want their employer having insight to what they do with their personal time.<\/p>

The Garmin fleet 590<\/a> device can be taken out of the vehicle on evenings and weekends so that the invasion of privacy conversation goes right out the window.<\/p>

Problem #2: Installing a GPS Tracking Device<\/h2>

The fact that the majority of GPS tracking software providers sell hardwire installed devices is a problem for companies with outside sales teams, like pharmaceutical companies, seeing as they usually lease vehicles. Fleet managers do not want the hassle that comes with messing with wiring on a vehicle they do not own. This would also make it cumbersome to move the devices from vehicle to vehicle as new reps leave and come on board or as vehicles get traded in.<\/p>[caption id=\"attachment_1989\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"300\"]\"Garmin<\/a> Garmin fleet 590 GPS tracking device[\/caption]

The Garmin fleet 590 device plugs into the cigarette lighter for power and ignition on\/off recognition. This device works perfectly for companies with leased vehicles, because all professional installation costs and downtime are eliminated.<\/p>

How GPS Tracking Benefits Outside Sales Teams<\/h2>

With those 2 obstacles aside, GPS tracking software provides not only fleet managers with an array of benefits, but it also supplies sales managers of outside sales teams with powerful information, they wouldn\u2019t otherwise have, to help optimize sales operations.<\/p>