Global tracking: technology today ain’t your daddy’s GPS
The Trucker News Services
3/8/2007
Global tracking: technology today ain’t your daddy’s GPS
The story goes that several years ago, when GPS technology was less the norm than it is today, a trucker was suddenly struck with paralysis while resting in his cab at a truck stop. When his company was unable to rouse him, they located his truck via GPS and were able to get him the medical attention that saved his life.
Whether it’s true or urban legend, global tracking technology is here to stay. And, while there are some drivers still worried about “Big Brother” in the guise of technology controlling their lives, some are finding that they can’t do without it.
One driver, for example, was loathe to operate with just his cell phone when he had been used to a “highly automated, efficient link to get routing information,” said John Lewis, CEO of GeoLogic Solutions Inc.
Specifically, Lewis was talking about his company’s MobileMax, a system that includes an integrated transceiver/antenna that is able to automatically switch between cellular and satellite communications without driver or dispatcher intervention.
“We don’t hear the Big Brother thing anymore,” said Lewis. Where global tracking technology is going, he said, is toward devices that ease a driver’s administrative burden (read electronic logs) but also gives the driver other features, such as routing options, which he finds useful, even indispensable.
He said they’re rolling out on-board navigation offerings; the devices have big color touch screens with messaging and tracking plus Maptuit, truck-specific navigation. “More and more, customers see the advantages of automation of something a driver has to do anyway. Many want to make drivers’ lives easier since they’re having to assure compliance, anyway.”
And the added features are gravy. The MobilMax, for example, also can be used to view training videos and family pictures, Lewis said.
Or, take the Java-enabled phone communication devices from Prophesy Transportation Solutions Inc. “Drivers tend to like it. We do surveys and it’s most popular because it requires they make less contact with the dispatcher,” said Bill Ashburn, vice president of sales and marketing for Prophesy. Also, with the technology “we track detention time,” said Ashburn. “That’s been a real problem for companies in the past. The driver was forced to wait around [and] historically it was tough to bill for because the driver couldn’t prove he was held up artificially.”
They can communicate that through the devices, now, he said. Prophesy (click on http://www.mile.com/) released its first version in 2004, when it partnered with Nextel, now Sprint Nextel. “The product is constantly evolving and with technology evolving so fast it drives down the price of the devices. Two years ago they were twice as expensive,” Ashburn said.
Currently, the Java-enabled devices compensate for estimated time of arrivals or ETAs. “The system detects if the driver’s held up at stop No. 2 and automatically computes he will arrive later. That flags dispatch that the load is at risk of being delivered later so the dispatcher can call the customer.”
That type of flexibility is “a key component to why people like it,” Ashburn said.
Looking ahead, he said companies see the need for their technology to do more. One thing possibly down the pike is being able to tie into a J-1708 port, the same port that does engine monitoring or checks the odometer. It’s the type of capability that surpasses what can be done now with a handheld device. And, with handheld devices, a driver can turn it off or lose it, Ashburn noted. So, “some companies are looking at hard-mounted [communication] devices that are connected through [such a] port,” he said. They could monitor braking and other driver functions.
A black box? “Exactly,” he said.
That may be a little further in the future. But sooner, Ashburn said his company will be releasing software that tracks mileage breakdowns by state. It will “help drivers do fuel tax reports which are a real pain,” he said. And later in the year, “there will be a feature that because of a GPS chip in the phone, the driver can ask for directions to the next location.”
Prophesy offers dispatching software so that the dispatcher enters the data and instead of giving the driver a paper itinerary it’s sent electronically to the driver. “He doesn’t have to get to a fax machine or get paperwork; as he completes each stop, his pertinent information is linked to each stop.
“If he gets to a location to pick up 10 skids but instead there are eight, he can electronically enter in something different. It sends an alert to dispatch.”
Lewis agreed that companies are constantly looking at technologies that help “deliver driver productivity as well as life enhancement.” Admittedly, he said, efforts to retain drivers have fueled technology that provides valuable driver services.
“It wasn’t the case even five years ago; the driver shortage has had something to do with that; it provided incentives for trucking companies to demand solutions … that will aid the driver,” he said.
