[Case Study] Sierra Spatial Teams with BrickHouse to Simplify Fleet Management for Real Salt Lake
![[Case Study] Sierra Spatial Teams with BrickHouse to Simplify Fleet Management for Real Salt Lake](https://cdn11.bigcommerce.com/s-ljboqq8dd6/images/stencil/1280x1280/uploaded_images/blog-banner.png?t=1734941365 "[Case Study] Sierra Spatial Teams with BrickHouse to Simplify Fleet Management for Real Salt Lake")
Major League soccer team scores with a customized, Esri-based GIS system that automates tracking of vehicle usage and streamlines maintenance demands.
About Sierra Spatial
As a consultant specialized in designing GIS-based solutions for businesses and government agencies, Corey Unger knows the importance of having the right components to build a geographic information system application tuned to his customers’ needs. Unger’s company Sierra Spatial Solutions recently faced that challenge in creating a fleet management system for the Major League Soccer team Real Salt Lake. The professional soccer team turned to Sierra Spatial when it searched the market but couldn’t find a pre-packaged option that wasn’t too complex or expensive for tracking the use of its 11 vehicles (and one large riding lawn mower) at its stadium and practice facility in Sandy, Utah. And to help equip the vehicles with the necessary GPS devices, Unger turned to BrickHouse Security — ensuring a state-of-the-art fleet management system powered by dependable, real-time geolocational data.
Throughout my career, I’ve used several types of vehicle locating devices, and BrickHouse’s technology and customer service really stood out COREY UNGER, PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT, SIERRA SPATIAL
Technology Challenge
Dan Farnes, the director of fields and grounds for Real Salt Lake, says his organization was initially looking for a digital log book that drivers could manually update to track vehicle usage. But Unger suggested that such a system could be much more effective by integrating it with GPS data for each vehicle, making it possible to automatically track routes, location, speed, miles traveled, and other telemetry details. With this design in mind, Unger searched the market for the best source of GPS vehicle trackers. Unger says he was initially attracted to BrickHouse for its variety of quality and affordable GPS devices and dash cameras. But he was sold on the products because of BrickHouse’s exceptional customer support, quality API, and data management practices (real-time updates every five seconds and 1-year data retention).
he way that BrickHouse sends data is very clear and consistent,” Unger says. “That makes integrations and analytics much easier to set up and run.” When I had questions, BrickHouse quickly scheduled a meeting with one of their developers, which made it super easy for me to understand how best to integrate their GPS data feeds into the ESRI-based fleet management system. COREY UNGER, PRINCIPAL CONSULTANT, SIERRA SPATIAL
Unger says BrickHouse also offered a hassle-free way to test out the GPS devices and the BrickHouse API before making a purchase.
“Throughout my career, I’ve used several types of vehicle locating devices, and BrickHouse’s technology and customer service really stood out,” Unger says. “When I had questions, they quickly scheduled a meeting with one of their developers, which made it super easy for me to understand how best to integrate their GPS data feeds into the Esri-based fleet management system I built for Real Salt Lake.”
How BrickHouse Security Helped
Real Salt Lake deployed Sierra Spatial’s custom fleet management solution in May 2024.
Unger installed 11 vehicles with BrickHouse’s TrackPort OBD GPS vehicle tracker and the riding mower with a Livewire Volt GPS device (attaching directly to the mower’s battery).
To check out a vehicle for a trip, drivers scan a QR code in the vehicle using a phone app, input their information, and the system automatically starts tracking the trip.
As the vehicle travels on a route, the BrickHouse GPS device sends data back to Sierra Spatial’s application, providing a clear, real-time record of vehicle usage.
Since implementing Sierra Spatial’s fleet management system with BrickHouse GPS trackers, Farnes says Real Salt Lake has been able to dramatically streamline a wide-range of tasks and gain a centralized, accurate picture of what’s going on with its vehicles.
“It provides a wealth of detailed information while taking human error and manual work out of the equation,” Farnes says.
With the fleet management system in place, Real Salt Lake can now:
- Precisely track vehicle mileage
- Map the path of each trip
- Centrally record maintenance, registration, and accident information
- Centrally record maintenance, registration, and accident information
- Schedule vehicle usage
Key Benefits
Through a digital dashboard on his desktop computer or cell phone, Farnes can see trip details and maintenance records for all vehicles at the touch of a button.
“The fleet management application from Sierra Spatial has been a life-saver for me,” Farnes says.
Farnes explains that it has greatly improved scheduling of vehicle usage, so each of the operational groups within Real Salt Lake can be sure to have the vehicle they need, when they need it.
One of his favorite features is the automated reminders for periodic vehicle upkeep. The notifications are triggered by the vehicle miles traveled tracked by the GPS devices.
“Those notifications have virtually eliminated our issue with missing oil changes or registration due dates,” Farnes says. “We are no longer paying late fees or running vehicles without the proper maintenance.”
Given the success of the project, Farnes hopes to deploy the system and BrickHouse GPS trackers to its fleet of 20 golf carts.
He thinks the system designed by Sierra Spatial would also be ideal for universities or other mid- sized organizations with a mix of vehicles and users.
“I’ve been really surprised by how easy it has been,” Farnes says. “We’ve been stoked by how it has helped us have all the information about our vehicles in one place.”
Unger sees many applications for similar asset tracking systems, such as monitoring heavy equipment, containers, toolboxes, and other large items for organizations in markets from construction and farming to real estate and outdoor recreation.
“I like to think of Sierra Spatial as an incubator for how businesses and government agencies can harness GIS technologies to automate manual tasks, gain better insights, and help improve the efficiency of their operations,” Unger says. “There’s a lot more potential in GPS-powered information systems than many people realize.”