Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/795447
40 commercial carrier journal | march 2017 technology Pulling big data As equipment eyeballs evolve, fleets look for more value BY AARON HUFF T railer tracking and management systems have been around for nearly as long as in-cab mobile communi- cations and telematics. As is the case with any technol- ogy, they have gotten better with time. Early generations of trailer tracking have evolved to over- come significant roadblocks and deliver more value. Today, these systems are more affordable and have added more report- ing and analytical capabilities to help fleets respond to new market conditions and shipper requirements. Creating value from data Trailer tracking systems have migrated from satellite to cellular networks, a trend that has increased the speed and volume of data capture compared to previous versions. Fleets are able to view data for time, location, mileage, mo- tion (start/stop), temperature, cargo status (loaded/unload) and door status (open/closed). Besides providing fleets with the detailed status of their trailer assets, the technology also can analyze historical data to help make strategic decisions, such as reducing trailer counts by dis- posing of underused assets and transferring them to locations where they will be put to work. e companies that supply these systems continue to seek ways to unlock additional value by analyzing data from their collective user community. Spireon provides the FleetLocate trailer management system, a platform that now processes about 17 million sensor events daily and peaks at 500 events per second, says Roni Taylor, vice president of industry relations. e company recently hired Dean Croke, formerly of Omnitracs Analytics, to oversee the development of new data products that will include predictive analytics. Croke is analyzing the history of trailer maintenance viola- tions in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Compliance Safety Accountability program. He is looking for violation trends based on the number of miles driven by state. Croke also is studying possible trends in trailer tire violations that could help Spireon's customers identify underperforming tire products in terms of tread wear. Trailer utilization is another opportunity. Spireon also is using its database to find ways to provide customers with analysis that shows the number of days their trailers sat idle in a particular state per month as compared to industry averages, Taylor says. Food safety compliance Besides using analysis to unlock more value from trailer data, some fleets are looking at trailer tracking systems to help them comply with new regulations for transporting food-grade products. Shippers now are asking refrigerated carriers for detailed re- cords of temperature history and other chain-of-custody infor- mation to help them comply with the Food Safety Moderniza- tion Act. Many trailer tracking systems are designed to monitor and relay trailer temperatures and operating conditions. C.R. England (CCJ Top 250, No. 19) uses Orbcomm's trailer tracking and monitoring system that provides 24/7 visibility us- ing cellular and satellite networks for a two-way connection. Orbcomm alerts management when equipment is not op- erating compared to its configuration. An integration between Orbcomm and C.R. England's back-office soware also helps minimize human error by comparing trailer temperatures against the temperatures specified in the order, says Ron Hall, vice president of equipment and fuel for the Salt Lake City- based fleet. Smaller carriers, including those with a mixed fleet of dry vans and reefers, are looking for more economical alternatives for basic temperature tracking to comply with FSMA regula- tions, says Spireon's Taylor. Spireon's FleetLocate tracking device can be installed inside the reefer housing and connected to a temperature probe that reads the trailer's ambient temperature every five minutes to capture information for a chain-of-custody report. In the past, fleets may have been satisfied knowing the loca- tion of their trailers once or twice per day. To maximize the value of trailer tracking and management systems and to meet more stringent shipper requirements, additional and richer data is becoming more critical. in focus: TRAILER TRACKING Shippers are asking reefer fleets for detailed records of tem- perature history and other chain-of-custody information to comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act.