Why are my notifications late? [FAQs]

A handful of customers and resellers have been asking about how Geotab logs and notifies exceptions and how that has changed. A quick FAQ is needed to address this.

Q: Why did I see a delay in my live vehicle rules and GO TALK notifications starting five months ago?

A: Geotab recognized the need to create an offering that is capable of processing complex rules in near real-time and send messages to the GO TALK. In order to achieve this, a way of transmitting data more frequently was developed. This enhanced algorithm was implemented and launched as part of ProPlus.

The reality was that without this new ProPlus plan, real-time notifications would only get through from time to time. In some cases, you would get as little as 25% of actual exception notifications - since our software has safeguards to prevent GO TALK to notify drivers of exceptions that have long past. We were not satisfied with this!

With the introduction of ProPlus, the algorithm for Pro mode was also optimized to ensure you get the best mileage accuracies and trip views. However, it does this by analyzing more data before transmission and to pick the best possible locations.

To summarize, the new Pro plan offers more accurate trip logging and the ProPlus plan does this (and much more) in near real-time.

Q: Why is there sometimes a delay in seeing vehicles on a map or receiving a notification in the first place?

A: The reason for the delay is that the GO device stores some information before it sends it to the cloud — it requires too much data to send every log. Additionally, the processing can be backlogged depending on the number and complexity of rules in your system.

Related: Don’t Delay: How Late Notifications Work

Q: Help! The notifications went missing. How do I reliably alert the driver?

A: Geotab introduced a new feature in January 2016 that allows you to choose whether or not to send notifications that are slightly late. Sometimes you don’t want late rules, but most often you do. A rule that you would want even if it is slightly late could be when a driver leaves the state. One where you don't want it late could be a rule that triggers if the driver was speeding. You may want him to get the notification only on the road they were speeding on.

Q: Why should I use ProPlus?

A: The GO device stores logs and decides later which ones to send. In some cases, such as fleets with emergency vehicles or customers requiring very accurate speeding rules, it needs to send more logs more frequently. In our testing of the use of Pro with speeding rules, we found that often times notifications for speeding were being sent but only after the driver was already on a different road, so a solution was needed. Typically with ProPlus, we will send more than three times the number of GPS records than under Pro. This raises the price of data, so Geotab introduced ProPlus for fleets that need this feature.

Q: What else does ProPlus offer?

A: ProPlus offers numerous benefits to customers, including:

• Limited lifetime device warranty
• Active Tracking premium quality tracking solution with three times the amount of GPS data
• Expandability with Geotab GO7 Add-Ons IOX-RS232 and IOX-CAN (which supports Mobileye, Valor and others)
• Geotab Drive, Garmin Messaging, and Garmin Hours of Service for HOS and DVIR compliance, and the ability to scale.

To see a full comparison of Base, Pro, and ProPlus, visit www.geotab.com.

Q: I heard that Geotab changed the logging frequency in Pro mode. Is this true?

A: Yes, with the introduction of ProPlus, the algorithm for Pro mode was also optimized to ensure you get the best mileage accuracies and trip views. However, it does this by analysing more data before transmission and pick the best possible locations.

Q: I noticed that the rules stopped working. Is this the reason?

A: The reality was that without ProPlus, real-time notifications would only get through from time to time. In some cases, you would get as little as 25% of actual exception notifications - since our software has safeguards to prevent GO TALK to notify drivers of exceptions that have long past.

As a result of optimizing Pro mode and the strict rules that the software had in place for disallowing late notifications, some customers experienced even less notifications. You now have the option to allow late notifications or upgrade to ProPlus.

Q: My rules are not reliably triggering. What should I do?

A: Geotab recommends editing your rule and setting it to Allow late notifications.

Q: Where can I find more information on setting up rules?

A: To learn more about allowing late notifications, please read this blog post.

For more general information on rules setting, visit the Geotab Webinars and Training pages on our website for tutorials on using MyGeotab. Information on exception rules can also be found here: Top FAQs and Training Questions.

Questions or comments? Please add a comment below.

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Read More by Neil Cawse: 

Are You Getting the Most out of Your Data? 

Advancing The Use of Technology in Telematics 

About Neil Cawse:

Neil Cawse is CEO of Geotab Inc., a global leader in telematics technology and open platform fleet management solutions. Neil speaks and publishes articles regularly on IoT, Big Data, and technology innovation. Neil Cawse was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Ontario in 2015. Read more about Neil on our Leadership page.