RentalMetrics 60 Second Grill - Episode 003
In this episode, we get to gnaw on some serious RedMeat. We're talking about continued investment in training and throwing around meat metaphors galore. Your mouth will water.
RentalMetrics...red meat for heroes that rent iron and move dirt.
RentalMetrics is the "in-sourced" management
consulting firm for the construction equipment rental sector. We're
headquartered in the heartland of America too. Please browse through our site
to gain some insight on how we think, what we do, and what makes us passionate
(some say obsessive) about extracting every last drop of efficiency from your
operations.
GPS Systems
Technology: Killing the small farm and helping large operations produce maximum yields
Image via Wikipedia
Whatever your opinion on "big farming" pushing small firms into obscurity...know this. Today's large farming operation is very advanced. This piece in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel written by Rick Barrett discusses some of the advances that have really produced incredible yields from the same areas.
"It's apparent how successful technology is in farming today, as we are producing more every year with fewer farmers," said Tamara Kass, director of agricultural products for DTN.
For example, in 1997 the national average corn yield per acre was 128 bushels. Seven years later it was up to 160 bushels. And milk production has increased 18% per cow over the last 10 years.
Click through to the article and read the cool tidbits in the right sidebar! Here's a hit, I bet you didn't know that they can identify weeds via infrared now did you! Click it!
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LoJack offers LoCate...adding geolocation to theft prevention
Here's a quote found on RER's website.
LoJack introduces a new comprehensive solution for fleet managers that layers asset management capabilities on top of the company’s stolen vehicle recovery system. LoCate + LoJack features the company’s easy-to-use and straightforward asset management system, which is based on GPS technology.
Leveraging an already interested audience with a technology that is desired by nearly everyone in the business is smart. I would have like to have seen this YEARS ago but hey, things take time.
When Disaster Strikes
It’s been a tough couple of years in terms of natural disasters, and the tragedies in Myanmar and China over the past few months have brought that reality squarely into focus. In the USA, preparedness and response to unexpected events such as hurricanes (remember Katrina ya’ll?) are of utmost concern to organizations such as the Red Cross.
Companies such as Case, Caterpillar, and Komatsu recognize the importance of their roles in providing financial and heavy equipment resources in dire times. Helping countries repair vital infrastructure and save lives is good PR, good politics, and dare I say…just the right, decent, human thing to do.
When equipment gets lost in these situations (and we know that it does) how do you think it gets found again? Chances are that when chaos strikes it’s harder than usual to get that heavy dozer to where it needs to be, and to keep it running in top form for days and weeks without end. It seems pretty clear - when disaster strikes, managing a rapid-response fleet of heavy equipment with GPS is a very smart thing to do.
Blue Sky Networks Releases New Tracking System
Image via Wikipedia
Blue Sky Networks announced the release of their D411 System.
As reported on Fleet Owner Magazine (Full article here):
The Iridium-based D411, the company’s simplest and most affordable satellite tracking solution yet, is designed for fleets that regularly operate in remote areas. Integrated with Blue Sky Network's SkyRouter web portal, vehicles using D411 can be viewed quickly and in near real-time by fleet managers. Additionally, companies with other air, land or sea assets being monitored via SkyRouter can view all their assets on the same online screen.
Blue Sky Networks has been interviewed by RentalMetrics as part of our Online GPS Product Showcase. You can listen to our 5 minute interview here.
Chief Deliverer of Results Quoted in Utility Contractor Magazine
The cover story for the May 2008 issue of Utility Contractor Magazine is called, "The Transmission: Fleet Management Systems Employ GPS and Cellular Signals to Up Productivity
It's a great article. Here's my quote:
“By injecting actionable data from fleet management systems into the business cycle, leaders can proactively make decisions on fleet composition, replace vs. repair and fleet staging,” says Doug Mitchell, CEO and founder of RentalMetrics, a subscription-based consulting service operating online — allowing professionals to research available GPS solutions for their equipment, trucks and trailers and identify and calculate ROI for solution deployments across the enterprise. “Also, data can become very powerful when used across the enterprise to streamline transportation, dispatching a driver directly to a machine vs. somewhere on a jobsite or in field service, dispatching a technician to a machine with a proper inventory of parts based on a fault code received at the home office.”
We try to take a holistic approach with GPS solutions. I've been chatting with solution manufacturers the last few days and each describe that "most clients still buy for one or two key reasons." There's nothing wrong with that...but to really extract the value from the solution across the enterprise, we must engage the entire company and break down the walls between corporate silos.
"Mr. Large Construction company President...tear down these walls!"
(first equipment rental/construction company reader to add a comment with the person who's words I'm making a play on...gets a free 14 day FULL ACCESS trial to the RentalMetrics Interactive Learning Environment.)
Doug Mitchell's Podcast with Sam Simon at the Construction Equipment Owners Blog
I was recently interviewed by Sam Simon over at the Construction Equipment Owner's Blog for a podcast.
If you can spare few moments...take a listen. We chat about extracting maximum ROI from equipment tracking solutions...across the entire enterprise.
Many times, GPS buying decisions are made by one silo within an organization. Often the decision is reactionary. In this podcast, I give some strategies on how to step back and make a sound decision on deploying GPS and getting the MOST out of it.
Sam also references our Introduction to GPS video which is one part of our Free Trial course in our Interactive Learning Environment (ILE). To see all of our course offerings in the ILE, click here for your free trial.
RentalMetrics RedMeat Podcast - Interview Excerpt with Cliff Henley of Fleet Management Solutions
If you can spare two and half minutes, take a listen to Cliff Henley, CEO of Fleet Management Solutions as he shares some insight on a key component in the ROI equation for asset tracking GPS solutions - fuel savings.
This is a clip from a longer and very informative interview I did for our subscribers within the RentalMetrics Interactive Learning Environment or ILE. If you'd like to learn more about the ILE, please click here.
Should I pick ONE fleet management-asset management GPS solution across the enterpirse to maximize ROI?
We get this question quite a bit. Often, larger organizations have divisions or departments that are tasked with "finding a GPS solution that will solve their needs". In the end, that solution does just that...solves ONE group's needs. The group tasked with choosing a GPS fleet management solution will examine the wants, needs, must haves, delighter's, etc. with their lens on, often overlooking synergy between other departments.
Most often, the transportation department will not be consulted or considered when buying ASSET based GPS fleet management devices.
That's too bad, because often times 10-30 minutes of wasted time per day per rental transport driver can be saved by dispatching the driver directly to the machine based on its exact and current location NOW...not the location of where it was dropped off.
Whatever your dispatching system (white board, Nextel, yellow pad, software system) just providing transport with a means to know exactly where their pick up located vs. guessing based on drop can yield enough ROI to pay the monthly bill for the tracking devices. Remember, if canvassing an area for 15 minutes searching is enough to put driver A into overtime...you've not only paid the monthly bill for one GPS device...but likely 3 or 4.
It's very important to look at your operation as a whole (THE ENTERPRISE) to fully exploit the economic benefit (ROI) of a fleet management GPS solution. This is often very difficult to do with busy schedules and competing interests. The RentalMetrics team highly recommends a comprehensive look at the each piece of the enterprise before deciding on a solution. Making the right choice of fleet management GPS solutions NOW...will pay huge dividends down the long and winding road.
We dive into many more examples of this situation and explore the ROI opportunities in our Interactive Learning Environment or ILE.
RentalMetrics Online GPS Product Showcase - Blue Sky Network
If you can spare 5 minutes and 44 seconds...take a look at the next installment in our Online GPS Product Showcase where we chat with Blue Sky Networks, an Iridium Satellite Tracking Partner/Provider.
