Tracking trucks: with these high-tech systems, your trucks are always within range.

Becki Fredrick and Peter McDaniel work for concrete producers of different sizes, but they have one thing in common: They're both using wireless truck tracking systems to improve efficiency and save money.

Sometimes called telematics, these systems rely on computer software and a communications

The communications medium can be a low band two-way radio, a Global Positioning System (GPS) using satellites, or cellular telephone technology. Several manufacturers, including Mack Trucks, Trimble Navigation Limited, Qualcomm, International Truck and Engine, and Caterpillar, recently have begun marketing new truck and equipment tracking systems or have upgraded their existing offerings.

McDaniel, who is distribution technology manager for Chandler Concrete Co., of Burlington, N.C., oversees more than 200 ready mix trucks from 22 plants. All use some type of truck tracking system. Twelve of the plants and 90 trucks are outfitted with a communications system and software from Distributed Networks Inc. (Dinet), of Oceanside, Calif.

Using a keypad and terminal in the truck, drivers enter truck activity status, such as "Loading" or "To Job." That information flows via two-way radio to a central Diner server, then moves into Command Series dispatching software that places the trucks in the proper place on the truck tracking system.

A dispatcher can tell where all trucks are at any time because the software contains map zones with all possible destinations for concrete pours. Based on the time intervals a customer wants between trucks, the dispatcher can calculate cycle times.

As each truck feeds the status information to central dispatch, Command Series software creates a truck demand graph that charts the number of trucks available on the vertical axis versus time on the horizontal axis. A dispatcher can calculate his available trucks versus demand and tell if he has extra trucks, or not enough, and can deploy trucks accordingly.

More efficient

"Before these systems, when a truck left a plant, the dispatcher for the most part didn't know where it was, and he didn't know how many trucks were on the way back to the plant," says McDaniel. "All they knew was the truck was on the way.

"Now, we know where the trucks are all the time," says McDaniel. "We shift trucks from plant to plant constantly. We can move trucks, or move the order to another plant. We plan orders, and we know days ahead of time when we're going to be overbooked. Our dispatch manager looks two, three, or four days down the road and can tell what we can handle."

McDaniel and Fredrick credit tracking systems with improving trucking efficiency. "We're probably conservatively getting 30% more utilization out of our trucks than we were before," says McDaniel.

"We've improved truck utilization by 9%," says Fredrick, who uses a Dinet truck tracking system for three plants and 32 ready mix trucks at Garrett, Ind.-based Speedway Redi Mix, which has a total of seven plants and 55 ready mix trucks.

"We're still babies on this system. I hope to do a lot better than 9%," adds Fredrick, Speedway's vice president of business operations. "She expects a two and a half year return on investment on the $85,000 cost for hardware and software.

Fredrick has networked together three northeast Indiana batch plants in Fort Wayne, Garrett, and Angola so they all work together as a team. Information flows to six computers at Fort Wayne, eight at Garrett, and two at Angola. "It's a difference of night and day," says Fredrick.

New systems

For equipment, Qualcomm offers GlobalTRACS, a wireless communications system that transmits engine hours and location to a back-end server the company provides as a Web-based application. Using the system's GPS information, an end-user determines where each piece of equipment is and sends that information to a service or delivery truck.

GlobalTRACS also monitors and reports digital sensor information. If a piece of equipment has digital sensors, such as one for high coolant temperature, the system can monitor those sensors and report to a user through a Web interface when any of those sensor thresholds have been breached.

Qualcomm offers OmniTRACS and OmniEXPRESS for trucks. OmniTRACS relies on a two-way satellite wireless link to quickly locate your truckloads and contact vehicles at any time, regardless of location. This system features Automated Arrival and Departure that automatically monitors on-time delivery schedules, provides accurate status updates, and measures excessive delays at loading or delivery appointments. OmniExpress supports continuous, two-way communication using a digital wireless network and GPS-powered vehicle positioning.

SAE standards

Driven originally by diesel emissions standards, the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) has developed engine standards that allow electronic subsystems, such as engines, brakes, transmissions, and dashboards, to communicate with each other.

The most recent such standard is J1939, a faster, more robust standard than earlier versions, J1708 or J1587. With J1939, a transmission can temporarily take control of the engine for smoother shifting, says Dusan Janic, engineering manager for information products at Cummins, a major engine manufacturer.

While Cummins does not offer wireless telematics, it has provided the J1587/ J1939 data links to allow third party wireless systems providers, such as Qualcomm, and original equipment manufacturers to extract the information, says Janic.

"Large, over-the-road truck fleets tend to use comprehensive (wireless) systems from third-party suppliers, such as Qualcomm," says Janic. "Truck OEMs, such as International, have also been introducing their own telematics packages as an option. Smaller fleets usually use some sort of simpler system."

Wireless systems that extract electronic engine information became available shortly electronic engines were introduced more than 10 years ago.

Many of these telematics systems report their information automatically, with no driver intervention. This enables dispatchers to monitor engine performance, bill accurately, and verify and inform customers of detention events or other unforeseen delays. The technology providing accurate status and location updates during a trip.

"Fleet managers can identify drivers that make unplanned stops, accrue excessive idle time, or accumulate out-of-route mileage," says Brian Niznik, Qualcomm's director of business development for the construction market. "It can also provide detailed fuel consumption information."

The latest over-the-road telematics technology uses GPS to provide "incredibly accurate satellite tracking" that significantly improves safety and security, Niznik adds. Tamper alerts and vehicle tracking enhance the security and safety of mobile resources and their operators. When vehicles or trailers are moved beyond a pre-defined area, geofence tamper-detection alerts give police a jump on the thieves. Panic buttons allow drivers to send out urgent calls for help during emergencies.

OEM systems

From Mack Trucks comes Road Connect, a telematic system that will fit all truck models. Introduced in October, the system initially is offered as an aftermarket solution, and can be mounted on 2006 production models, says Wayne Wissinger, Mack product strategy manager. The cost will be about $1000 per vehicle, plus an average ongoing charge of $30 per vehicle. Road Manager, a company owned by AB Volvo (which also owns Mack), sells Road Connect.

Road Connect is based on an OrbComm satellite system, not on cellular telephone service. "Digital phone service isn't reliable enough everywhere to always have contact," says Wissinger. The system is offered with either automatic reporting or with driver interaction. Users can talk to the truck through a Web interface.

In addition to offering an extensive list of mechanical fault codes delivered to a computer screen, Road Connect provides:

* Two-way communication between dispatchers and drivers.

* Point-by-point maps that show the most efficient routes.

* A mileage guide that indicates the most economical fuel purchase stops along the route. Fuel cost information and locations are updated every hour.

* Vehicle location.

* Fuel taxes online.

* A display of arrival and departure information, sent automatically from the truck.

For interstate drivers, the system tracks the number of miles driven in each state, which needs to be reported for fuel tax purposes. Every few minutes, the system logs a truck's GPS coordinates. That data goes back to the end-user, who sends it to a fuel management company, which receives the mileage information digitally, processes it, and charges a fraction of its former fees for paper input. Reports are automatically generated, and risks of an audit are reduced.

Road Connect comes in a variety of packages. For instance, with the highway version, location is reported every half-hour, and with the regional package, location is reported once a day.

Three types of assets

Trimble Navigation offers telematic tracking systems for three types of assets: mobile, which move frequently, such as trucks; portable, which may stay on a site for a long period but can move, such as generators and compressors; and personnel.

For mobile assets, Trimble markets CrossCheck, which has built-in GPS or Nextel wireless to communicate the asset's position and status. It can communicate events such as "ignition on" or "loading concrete."

"With CrossCheck, all events are recorded in real time," says Daniel Wallace, director of marketing for the construction services division. "Users get a real-time report delivered to their personal computers. We offer Trimble Construction Manager software as the platform from which users access information about their assets."

For portable assets like generators, TrimTrac uses cellular telephone technology to communicate the assets' positions in the form of text messages to the server. "TrimTrac is more appropriate where realtime reporting of assets is not necessary," says Wallace.

Trimble also can use Nextel cell phones to track people. The positions of a person's telephone can be transmitted to a central data server using Nextel's wireless data network.

Asset productivity

Trimble ties it all together with a wireless system that combines GPS and cellular wireless technology. Using Construction Manager, a user can log onto one personal computer and track all three types of assets: mobile, portable, and personnel. Tracking construction equipment in real time results in deploying those assets more efficiently.

"A lot of times a construction company has 10 skid steer loaders, and finds it needs another one, so they go rent it," says Wallace. "But with Construction Manager, they can find a skid steer that's not being used. They don't have to assume it's being used. They can find out."

Because assets and their events are tracked in real time, over a length of time, a history, or productivity record is build up. "We can record when an asset enters a construction site, and we can measure dump box up time, dump box down time, and cycle times for various construction machines. Before, they may have recorded this with a stop watch, and now it's done automatically," says Wallace.

Trimble's Construction Manager cannot yet monitor engine health and fault codes. "Our focus has been on measuring asset productivity and improving resource allocation," says Wallace. The company says it has "thousands" of wireless GPS asset management systems deployed in the field.

Enter Caterpillar

Caterpillar also offers a telematic system, combining Product Link, a black box that fits onto equipment, and Equipment Manager software. Currently, says the company's Dan Wood, Product Link and EquipmentManager are limited to delivering basic information, including service hours, GPS location, fault and event codes, time-based and geo-based "fencing," and fuel consumption.

Additional utilization information such as start and stop times, fuel consumption at idle and under load, idle time, and more are also being transmitted by the on-board Product Link system on late-model machines that support collecting that data. Those are machines with engines that meet Tier 3 or Tier 4 emission standards.

Truck health

Dinet president Bob Chase says his next generation of products will provide information on engine health. He plans to download that data using a wireless fidelity (wi-fi) network as the truck passes a concrete plant's dispatch center.

"As the truck drives by the dispatcher, the system would automatically download by wi-fi, and we would capture the truck's vital information," says Chase, who predicts that ability will be available from Dinet within a year.

With good reason, concrete producers like Becki Fredrick and Peter McDaniel are excited about their systems. When you can improve truck efficiencies by 30%, you can outmaneuver the competition and sell more concrete with the same number of trucks.

The author is a contributor to PUBLIC WORKS magazine and can be reached at danbrown4@msn.com.

For more information on the companies in this story, visit their Web sites.

Caterpillar, 800-368-6029, www.cat.com

Chandler Concrete, 336-226-1181, www.chandlerconcrete.com

Cummins, 800-343-7351, www.cummins.com

Wireless Data Solutions/Dinet, 888-345-2433, www.wdso.net

International Truck and Engine, 800-448-7825, www.internationaldelivers.com

Mack Trucks, 800-866-1177, www.macktrucks.com

Qualcomm, 800-348-7227, www.qualcomm.com

Trimble, 800-874-6253, www.trimble.com