Geo-fences Help Identify Illegal Activity

When they think of GPS tracking, most administrators envision seeing their fleet of trucks portrayed as icons on a map. That’s what most real-time Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) systems do. But with the more advanced “real-time” vehicle tracking systems, customers have come to expect so much more.

One such customer, a regional trash hauling company, uses Geo-Fence monitoring to immediately identify Unauthorized Fuel Exchanges. As a result, they have put an end to a long-term systematic method of stealing fuel by employees.

So, what is an Unauthorized Fuel Exchange and how did the customer use a “Geo-Fence” to stop it? An Unauthorized Fuel Exchange (UFE) is a situation where a driver of a large diesel-powered commercial vehicle fuels up, then travels to a concealed location and transfers the fuel to another vehicle for a cash payment. The Geo-Fence is a virtual perimeter around a distinct geographic area which can notify the customer if a vehicle enters or exits that area. Until the introduction of GPS Vehicle Location systems with Geo-Fence capabilities, catching and proving this crime has been next to impossible. Because the customer can now track the movements of company equipment with the vehicle tracking system, he can now set up a Geo-Fence around the Unauthorized Fuel Exchange to alert him of any unusual stops or illegal activity.

There are other uses for the Geo-Fence feature.  For e mployees with take-home vehicles, the Geo-Fence can be used to place a boundary around their home to help define when the day begins and ends for more accurate payroll records. Another real life example is where a customer places a Geo-Fence around a major seaport in order to be notified if a piece of their heavy equipment has been stolen and taken to the port to be smuggled out of the country.