Tracking Assets

A wise man once said that being rich is really all about having options. And that’s the name of the game when you’re talking about the array of technologies you use to track equipment. Whether you choose satellite, cellular, or FM subcarrier to monitor your fleet’s trailers, current technology is going to get the job done. That’s good news. The ability to select a technology that fits your business needs and operating budget means that the other kind of rich-money in the bank-is going to follow.

In the past six months, suppliers have introduced more products to choose from. Essentially, they all can provide location reports, remote monitoring of vehicle condtions (door open/door closed, etc.), and a tetherless tracking. But they each use different technologies to do the job. In today’s market, there are three ways to send and receive message: via satellite, cellular network, or an FM subcarrier.

The limitations and advantages of any given product are defined by the limitations and advantages of the technology it’s based on.

What’s not in doubt is that tracking technology is becoming a necessity. “In today’s marketplace, carriers have to get into technology to compete,” says Mike Ham, vice-president, tracking solutions, for Mississauga, Ont.-based Cancom Tracking Solutions. “Trucking companies are increasingly becoming mobile warehouses. Shippers expect to know customers are looking for business.”

SATELLITES

Cancom is the exclusive Canadian distributor of San Diego, Calif.-based Qualcomm Inc.’s tracking solution. It serves 1500 trucking companies (using approximately 300,000 units) across Canada. The largest of those carriers has about 800 units, the smallest about four.

Qualcomm’s OmniTRACS satellite-based product for trucks is a turnkey solution-a complete package, including hardware, software, implementation, and airtime. The software to help you manage the data the system generates about your fleet is available for Windows-, UNIX-, and AS/400-based operating systems. “Data flow and back office support are important to our customers,” says Ham, “so a turnkey solution is often the best answer.”

For trailers, Qualcomm is integrating OmniTRACS and the Vantage Tracking Solutions satellite-based trailer-tracking product (which, incidentally, also will be distributed in Canada by Cancom).

With satellite-based tracking systems, coverage is hardly an issue, which is why the truckload market has embraced it. Another reason is that Qualcomm has done a fine job of integrating fleet management data into back office functions (such as complex databases).

Indeed, satellite tracking, unlike cellular-based systems, is data only. “Voice is convenient,” says Mike Ham, “but you can’t integrate voice. Data flow to the back office can be automated for ease of operation, but there’s no way you can automate voice.”

Not that Cancom-or its Qualcomm partner-is saying no to voice connectivity. Qualcomm cellular-based solutions cover the whole of North America, and its CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) standard is the most commonly used across the continent. CDMA is less costly to implement, and requires fewer cell sites than the competing GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) and TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access) systems, and provides three to five times the calling capacity. It provides more than 10 times the capacity of the older analogue standard. CDMA is expected to become the third-generation technology used in the GSM system.

CELLULAR

A major difference between satellite- and cellular-based tracking systems is how costs work out for a particular application. Cellular offers high-quality throughput for regional and local carriers, who always have easy access to cellular relay towers. And capital outlay is cheaper for cellular solutions. But the per-call cost, according to Ham, works out about the same. “At $175 per month per unit for our satellite-based system,” he says, “it works out to about five cents a message.”

Cost effectiveness is a big part of the argument for cellular, according to Mike Evans, market segment director, mobile asset tracking, with Dallas-based Highwaymaster Communications Inc. Trackware, Highwaymaster’s trailer tracking product, combines the capabilities of Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites and cellular-based technologies to communicate location and event reports between trailers and dispatch operations.

“It’s a cost-effective solution,” says Evans. “The product itself goes for $495 US, there’s a small activation fee, and installation can be done by our trained staff or by the customer. After that, costs are $4.99 US per unit per month for a service that provides one location report per week, or $14.99 per unit per month for four location reports per day.”

The legacy behind Trackware is Highwaymaster’s Series 5000 in-cab communications product, of which there are more than 38,000 units in Canada and the U.S. Trackware builds on Series 5000’s strengths, connecting to an enhanced cellular network that uses the systems of more than 70 cellular providers in North America. The network is what’s known as a cellemetry data service, a cellular overhead control network which eliminates the limitations associated with roaming in traditional cellular service. “Cellular products work where trucking companies go,” says Evans. “We cover Canada via Bell Mobility’s cellular corridors, and cover upwards of 90% of the U.S. cell footprint.”

The 12-pound, externally mounted unit is currently installed on 220,000 trailers, according to Evans. Its lead-acid battery provides power for 30 to 60 days between recharges, depending on usage, and will accept up to 2000 recharges approximately three years at one charge a day. Part of that longevity comes from Trackware’s ability to “sleep” between its event and schedule modes. It also has what Evans calls a “stolen” mode, where it will report its location every five minutes for up to six hours.

The Trackware unit communicates with its host at an operations centre, sending location data gathered via GPS satellites on a schedule or event-driven basis, up to four times a day. It can also transmit information about low battery levels, trailer connects/disconnects, and-available this summer-load and door sensor capabilities.

Industry veteran AirIQ is another entrant in the cellular tracking market. AirIQ, based in Pickering, Ont., is currently involved in what Miguel Gonsalves, the company’s director of commercial transportation, calls a limited “friendly launch” with test fleets for a new trailer tracking product. A full commercial launch is planned “as soon as possible,” he says.

The product, called AirIQ OnBoard, has been in field tests since late 1999. It mounts externally on the trailer (“We consider space inside the trailer to be ‘sacred space,’ ” says Gonsalves), which optimizes ease of installation. The high-impact PVC case holds the tracking unit itself, plus a self-contained “stealth” antenna, and sealed batteries.

The lead acid batteries have a life of up to 60 days of untethered usage, and can be powered from the unit’s marker lights. A solar-powered recharger option will be available, developed in partnership with Bell Mobility and Lenbrook Inc.

AirIQ OnBoard, which combines an intelligent on-board computer with an integrated GPS unit and wireless transceiver, is an analogue, not digital, cellular solution. “Analogue gives the customer the widest possible footprint,” says Gonsalves, “covering 95% of North America. It’s control channel ready, and extremely cost-effective.”

AirIQ has designed OnBoard to be as automated as possible. It provides data about vehicle location, direction, speed, as well as recording and reporting information about boundary crossings, power management, and inventory. Customers can choose the circumstances under which a vehicle will report.

The OnBoard unit forwards data to AirIQ OnLine (the back-office utility), where it is routed to a location selected by the user. Customers can then view and access their own fleet information on digitized maps by using AirIQ’s Fleet Operator Software. In addition, the user can carry out certain control functions directly (for example, a vehicle can be disabled or enabled and the doors can be unlocked).

In its present format, AirIQ OnBoard is a data-only product. “Asset information is primary, and voice is really redundant,” says Gonsalves. “At the same time we’re leaving the door open-voice configuration is a possibility.”

FM SUBCARRIER

Terion Inc.’s Fleetview trailer monitoring system uses a three-watt analogue cellular transmit/receive module and a GPS unit. It features over-the-air software download capability, which means users can do system upgrades without having to modify the installed hardware. The unit is mounted inside the trailer wall, typically between the inner plywood layer and the trailer’s outer skin (what Terion calls a “covert install”).

“It’s a very quick install,” says Edward Mushill, Fleetview product manager for Terion, “typically under half an hour.” The small control unit-measuring only 5.5 by 7.25 by 1 inch-is powered by a sealed lead-acid battery, and weighs only three pounds. Battery life is typically 20 to 60 days untethered.

Fleetview’s user-defined reporting enables scheduled or event-generated reports, with location and motion sensor an integral function (door open/closed and trailer loaded/unloaded sensors are optional). A trailer tethered/untethered sensor is tagged for future development.

“Fleetview works by actually placing a cellular call,” says Mushill, “and sends data as event records. Up to five event-records at a time can be sent and stored. And analogue cellular-unlike digital-offers very complete coverage. There’s no need to rely on cell towers.”

Options? They’re there, waiting for you in terms of coverage, battery life, installation, and-most of all-costs. Even if being rich is a matter of having options, we all know that it’s choosing the right option that really matters.