This morning the Dept. of Public Works in Prince George’s County, Maryland, rolled out a fleet tracking system pilot program for the city’s snow removal vehicles. The fleet tracking system was launched at a time when residents need it the most – after a big storm.
A huge storm pounded the Northeast this weekend. It dumped over 30 inches of wet, heavy snow that snapped power lines and trees, causing widespread power outages. Over 3 million people lost power throughout the Northeast, said the Wall St Journal.
Without a fleet tracking system, there is no way to verify a snow removal vehicle’s location. Until today, residents had no idea where the snow plows were or when they were going to show up in their neighborhood. Now residents can call in to the city fleet’s command center and find out when the next snow plow will be arriving. This feature is very useful, especially in times of a big storm.
According to NBC News, “For the first time in the county, the Dept. will be able to monitor its fleet of snow emergency vehicles in real time using a fleet GPS system that doesn’t look too different from Google maps.”
The fleet tracking system is also expected to help the city’ fleet management department because they can monitor the exact time when a snow removal truck was turned on, when it arrived or left a street, and when the vehicle was shut off. By combining location- and time-based information, managers can easily verify exactly where drivers have traveled and where they are heading in real-time.