Watch your stop

Qualcomm will add a module for its OmniTRACS satellite-based two-way communication system and CDMA-based OmniExpress product that monitors planned and unplanned stops. The company calls its product a driver productivity module, and it will automatically detect stops en route as well as arrivals and departures from shipper and consignee locations.

By June, the driver productivity module will be available to most QTRACS/400 customers, typically without mobile hardware upgrades, and will soon be available on Qualcomm’s certified software providers’ platforms.

“Fleets need more accurate and granular visibility of driver activity information to reduce detention and unplanned stops, and this solution satisfies that requirement while offering complete integration to back-office systems typically without mobile hardware upgrades,” said Glynn Spangenberg, vice-president and general manager of Qualcomm Wireless Business Solutions.

The product integrates with most leading enterprise software. The Qualcomm announcement specifically noted truckload software providers McLeod Software, Innovative Computing, and Maddocks Systems.

Qualcomm’s announcement comes at a time when carriers are trying to deal with the impact of new hours-of-service rules in the United States that subtract time spent on non-driving tasks from the number of allowable hours a driver has during a 24-hour period.

Qualcomm joins a growing group of technology providers who have either developed new products or repositioned existing ones to note pickup and delivery stops without any action on the part of the driver. Some of these produce documentation for detention charges, which are intended to encourage quicker loading and unloading to save available driver hours. Details are available online at www.qualcomm.com/qwbs.