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Fleet management systems have been around a while and have become so complex that it has evolved into Field Resource Management. This article explores 5 reasons why all fleets need at least a basic Field Resource Management system.
Last week an experienced prospector ventured out into a remote part of Western Australia’s Pilbara region. Several hours into the journey, the man was severely injured. After a bad fall, the 53-year old man realized he had broken his leg. He could not walk and was unable to put any weight on his leg.
Without cellphone service and very little to eat or drink, the man began crawling back to his car across the rocky terrain. Desperate to get out of the life-threatening situation, the man crawled back to his car and alerted the authorities with his cell phone, which now had a signal. He then used the GPS tracking system in his car to notify and direct rescuers to his location.
New research from Microsoft Research Asia (MRA) shows the cause of traffic jams. “Congested road segments are only the appearance—they’re not the problem,” says Yu Zheng in a report from MIT, who led the research. “We try to identify the true source of the problem in our work.”
Microsoft (MSFT) scientists used GPS tracking data from thousands of taxi cabs in beijing to determine where, when and why areas of the city became congested. MRA has shown that tracking the location of taxicabs could be a better way to identify the underlying problems with a city’s transportation network, helping officials determine how to best ease congestion.
The researchers used GPS data from more than 33,000 Beijing taxicabs. That data was collected in 2009 and 2010. The researchers were not just looking for bottlenecks—trouble spots that regular commuters may know only too well.
FieldLogix, the leader in GPS fleet tracking, is pleased to announce expansion of its services to Canada. Now fleets in can Canada can experience a reduction in costs, increased workforce productivity, customer service improvements, plus put an end to wasteful driving habits and reduce carbon dioxide emissions with the FieldLogix real-time fleet tracking system.
FieldLogix’s expanded service and the company’s ongoing success is based upon continually meeting the needs of its clients. Because a fleet management system can provide an ROI in less than six months and immediately reduce fuel consumption, plus produce ecological benefits, companies both large and small utilize FieldLogix to create profitable, sustainable fleets.
Yesterday LightSquared decided to make its side of the story public by investing in several full-page ads in newspapers such as the Washington Post and New York Times. The Coalition to Save Our GPS recently responded to the ads, saying, “Today’s expensive full-page ads repeat LightSquared’s same, tired claims that it full well knows are not accurate…”
“LightSquared’s goal of creating more broadband competition is laudable, but its initial failure to recognize the potential for interference to the GPS devices and services we all rely on every day is inexplicable, and its continuing efforts to claim that the problem has been ‘solved’ are irresponsible….It’s time for LightSquared to step forward and accept responsibility for providing fully tested, verified solutions, and for bearing the full costs associated with any transition required to implement any solution.”
This week LightSquared is pulling out all the stops in a very public attempt to gain national support for its proposed wireless network. The company purchased several ads in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Market Watch and the Washington Post.
The paid advertisements took the form of a direct letter from LightSquared’s CEO to the American public. The letter presents some compelling reasons why LightSquared’s network is good for the country and the US economy. The company also appears to be defending itself by shifting the blame onto others.
In the letter, LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja claims that LightSquared has solved the problem of rural telecommunications, successfully addressed FCC concerns that its technology interferes with GPS devices, and will create thousands of jobs in the process. “The current nationwide wireless providers have failed to innovate and in the process have failed to keep pace with consumer and technological demands,” Ahuja said in the letter’s second paragraph.
Gas prices have been declining over the last month as the peak summer driving season comes to an end. More declines are expected.
The average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in the US is $3.49, 11 cents less than 30 days ago, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report. After increasing for 14 consecutive days from August 23-September 5 — amid refinery issues, hurricane concerns, and constrained supply due to the changeover from summer- to winter-blend gasoline — the price of gas has been on the decline.
The decreased fuel prices anticipated this week are a result of lagging fuel demand and no immediate plan to stimulate U.S. and European economies.
Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com says the decline in crude oil and gasoline futures is resulting in the drop at the pump. As economic concerns and talk of a double dip recession persist, oil prices have been decreasing. The fear is that if the economy slips, so will the demand for fuel.
Fleet Management Technology Helps UPS Cut Fuel Costs 3.3% a Year
UPS recently released the latest edition of its annual Sustainability Report, which said the company had reduced the amount of fuel consumed per package in the United States by 3.3% in 2010. Meanwhile the company’s U.S. package volume rose 1.8% in 2010 compared to 2009.
UPS managed to deliver more packages for less money, and attributed the savings to routing technology, telematics, and loading optimization.
UPS has more than 100,000 vehicles on the road worldwide, with drivers logging about two billion miles per year. Fleet management technology enabled the company to avoid driving more than 63.5 million miles in 2010 with an associated emissions avoidance of 68,000 metric tonnes.
The 6 ton dead satellite that has been plunging towards earth for the past several days has finally landed. NASA scientists cannot yet determine exactly where the satellite crashed, but they did say it was somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Many are wondering where the huge pieces of supersonic debris will turn up?
Most of the satellite was expected to burn during its descent, but NASA predicted 26 large pieces of supersonic debris will survive all the way and hit the earth’s surface. NASA warned the debris could weigh up to 330 pounds a piece, and will stretch along a 500-mile path.
Scientists say the risk of damage is very small. A significant amount of debris does not survive the severe heating which occurs during re-entry. Components which do survive are most likely to fall into the oceans or other bodies of water or onto sparsely populated regions like the Canadian Tundra, the Australian Outback, or Siberia in the Russian Federation.
As of Friday Sept. 23, 2011, at 10:30a.m. EST, NASA’s Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, or UARS, is expected to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere late Friday night or early Saturday morning, EST. Tonight the 6 1/2-ton satellite could make its uncontrolled “death plunge” through Earth’s atmosphere, after the end of a productive scientific life.
NASA scientists cannot yet determine exactly where the satellite will land but earlier said it will fall over a region somewhere between the latitudes of northern Canada and southern South America. Today NASA said there is a low probability any debris that survives re-entry will land in the United States, but the possibility cannot be discounted because of this changing rate of descent
It is still too early to predict the time and location of re-entry with any certainty, but predictions will become more refined in the next 12 to 18 hours.
