7 truck technologies you need VI (and why)

Trailer tracking technology can make it considerably easier to locate and manage the utilization of these assets.  

When you think of asset tracking as it applies to truck trailers, the first thing that might come to mind is loss prevention. Adding GPS tracking and a system to monitor what’s going on with your trailers could warn a fleet if those trailers are in high-theft areas, for example, or track a trailer that’s stolen. 

Better visibility of these expensive assets makes solid business sense, just as it does for tracking and managing tractors. And right there, we’ve hit on the bigger reason to add trailer tracking technology to your fleet. 

Trailer tracking doesn’t only involve a GPS transponder that mounts physically to the trailer. It also provides yet another wireless sensor in the Internet of Things, and that means a trailer-tracking device can provide data to be fed into a fleet management system. 

As usual, once Big Data is factored in, there’s more that can be done. For example, MiX Telematics offers its MiX Asset Manager, which can track a shipping container just as easily as a trailer. The company said the technology can make managing assets much easier, such as billing for a trailer that’s rented out. 

Technologies and services are combining in trailer tracking to do more. BlackBerry, which launched its Radar tracking system last year, provides analytics that along with its tracking device can allow a fleet to manage trailer utilization, maintenance and more. Late last year, BlackBerry entered into a sales partnership with fleet graphics services provider Modagrafics. 

“We found this is a further extension of what we do,” Paul Pirkle, president and CEO of Modagrafics, told Fleet Owner. With trailer tracking, “we can look at utilization, productivity, dwell time—all the stuff that our customers care about.

“They can look into their trailers and see how they’re being used, where they’re being used, and whether they’re full or empty,” he continued. “And where we’re thinking of going from here is that this could have a marketing implication.” 

For example, he explained, Moda¬grafics might work with a fleet to launch a local sales campaign that includes specific graphics on trailers, and BlackBerry’s Radar tracking system could monitor where those trailers go. The fleet, in turn, could watch for an uptick in sales around those locations. 

Trailer tracking can also eliminate guesswork when it comes to maintenance, which is a benefit Spireon Inc. points to with its FleetLocate asset management solution. Today’s systems can attach maintenance data and records to a trailer, allowing the fleet to visualize what’s been serviced and what hasn’t and make better, more consistent maintenance and inspection plans. Fleets can also make informed equipment purchasing decisions when they have good visibility and utilization of their trailers. 

And, of course, the others in the fleet often trying to find trailers are the drivers, who may find themselves puttering around a yard trying to locate a trailer among hundreds of others. Again feeding into a fleet management system, a trailer-tracking device can streamline that process by giving the driver an easy “X marks the spot.”