The latest release of Air-Trak software (v. 7.0) has taken a quantum leap forward with several powerful and innovative enhancements for mobile resource management.

Advanced Geofencing

Geofencing—the ability to define a specific geographic area, with alerts when assets enter or exit that area—is one of the most powerful MRM tools available. But most systems only allow users to define a "point/radius" area, and since very few routes, service yards or customer destinations are perfectly round in shape, these geofences aren't always as accurate as they should be.

Air-Trak has added the ability to define arbitrary shapes using not just circular boundaries but also buffered lines (e.g., 500 feet on either side of a highway), freeform polygons, zip codes and other elements. Users can easily define a geofence area by tracing an area or clicking upon map elements (including map data imported from other applications such ArcGIS).

GPS Odometers

Using the Air-Trak® In-Vehicle Unit, GPS odometer reports can now provide more accurate distance measurements than ever. By constantly polling for location data (versus less frequent, intermittent location readings), the Air-Trak GPS odometer provides exceptionally reliable point-to-point distance calculations. Maintenance chiefs can monitor the exact number of engine hours, miles traveled, or, for example, how much distance a snowplow or sand spreader has covered. Fuel tax reporting and other functions are also greatly enhanced.

Onboard Telemetry

The In-Vehicle Units also provides onboard telemetry to remotely monitor and control conditions such as a door opening, an alarm being activated, an arm being lowered or a pump turning on. All telemetry messages are recorded into an event log for later analysis.

Located in Northern Virginia, the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC) provides a bus service that connects commuters with several Virginia Metrorail Stations as well as destinations in the District of Columbia such as the Pentagon, Capitol Hill and the Washington Navy Yard. This fleet includes over 80 vehicles that travel over some of the nation's most congested roads during the heaviest traffic times.

Better Route Planning, Dispatch and Security

"With Air-Trak, the route planning benefits are huge," says PRTC Director of Planning and Operations Eric Marx. "Now we have accurate historical data that helps us improve our on-time performance. We can see why a certain bus is always running late, whether it's because of traffic patterns or a need for more operator training or some other factor."

Dispatchers also rely on Air-Trak location data to monitor the status of buses in real time and react quickly. "When we have an incident, whether it's a traffic problem or inclement weather, we're able to look at the general area, see what other buses are nearby and recover quickly. In the past, we had to call each individual bus," says Doris Lookabill, PRTC manager of dispatch and customer service.

"Air-Trak also gives us a greater sense of security," she explains. "When a trouble code is issued, we can see exactly where the vehicle is - on-route or off-route. If it's not where it's supposed to be, we can communicate with the police department to tell them where it is and where it's going."

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Sometimes it's a phone book. Sometimes it's a special newspaper promo. Whatever ACI is delivering, the company's clients can always be certain of one thing: It HAS been delivered, when and where it should be. That's not always the case in the specialty delivery market, where abuses such as "dumping" are often suspected.

ACI has partnered with Air-Trak to provide a new "Verification Plus" service that not only provides proof of delivery, but also automates the auditing process and improves route efficiency. The service is working so well that ACI is now making it available to others specialty delivery businesses.

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Total accountability. It's one of the biggest challenges in managing mobile workers. Whether intentionally or inadvertently, handheld applications can easily be exited, leaving dispatchers and others "in the dark" as to a worker's whereabouts.

Now, using Air-Trak® on Nextel® phones from Sprint®, users and managers can be certain that applications are powered up and tracking when they should be. The persistent re-launch feature detects when users exit the application and re-launches Air-Trak service automatically.

Contact Air-Trak technical support for assistance setting up persistent relaunch on your phones.

Some of you will always remember it fondly as "Cloudberry," but we've recently changed the name of our location, tracking and communications solution to Air-Trak® —just like the name of our company (Air-Trak, Inc.). Along with our new name, we've updated our logo, web site and other materials. Please visit the site at www.air-trak.com to see how it looks and functions. We hope you like it.

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