GPS Cleans Up Fleet Operations

By Brian Albright, Field Technologies magazine

GPS fleet monitoring is helping this dry cleaner save $9,000 per year in fuel costs.

Fleet management solutions aren’t always deployed to solve a specific problem. In some cases, real-time fleet monitoring winds up solving problems you weren’t even sure you had. When Joe Runyan, owner of Kansas City dry cleaning company Hangers Cleaners, installed a fleet monitoring solution for his delivery vans, he initially wanted to make sure his drivers were running assigned routes in a safe and professional manner. In the process, he uncovered thousands of dollars in fuel savings.

Hangers Cleaners employs a fleet of six vans to provide at-your-door laundry pickup and delivery to customers.

“When I first began considering fleet management, I was curious about how they were driving,” Runyan says. “I had no suspicion that they were going places they shouldn’t, but I did have concerns about the quality of their driving. It seemed like our brakes and tires were wearing out too fast. Some of the guys were idling a lot in the parking lot in the morning, and that was bothering me, as well.” Runyan also wanted to explore route optimization. “I wanted to split the routes evenly, understand the work geographically, and make sure all the drivers get a fair shake, since they get a commission,” Runyan says.