In-Vehicle Management Systems
In the past, logistics companies had little control over vehicles in the field due to the lack of communication equipment, but as technology has developed we now have IoT, Cloud Computing, and Big Data to assist us.
Fleet management systems have also undergone huge changes in both depths of technology and breadth of application, allowing companies like Austrian SPAR to introduce state of the art in-vehicle management and logistics systems.
Industrial Grade Design with Stability and Flexibility
SPAR is a world-renown logistics enterprise focused mainly on Europe. It owns several meat processing factories in Europe which deliver products throughout the European Union using its own freight dispatching fleet.
SPAR logistics vehicles have had IT devices installed for a long time. Initially, they used an in-car driving recorder similar to a flight recorder which was required in Europe by statute and these provided basic information for estimating a vehicle’s state if accidents occur.
The hardware for the driving recorder adopted by SPAR used a consumer brand product integrated with Android software.
However, the consumer product wasn’t able to take into account the entire vehicle’s usage. Conditions such as a wide temperature between summer and winter meant the lack of air conditioning put the cargo at risk of damage.
Considering the fact that equipment stability and reliability was a priority for SPAR, and that breakdowns happen frequently, SPAR had to again consider replacing the equipment with another in-vehicle system.
The main function of this replacement system was recording in-vehicle operations. Compared with the former setup, the new system performed better but still lacked networking features.
Consequently, all of the inputs for dispatching tasks and software updates needed to be uploaded and downloaded first through the company’s computers, then manually back to the devices in the vehicles. This process was not ideal and caused scheduling problems.
So eventually, SPAR approached Styletronic, an Austrian system integrator, and asked them for a third system; a new in-vehicle management and logistics system that was 100% reliable and stable, had wireless communication and had user-friendly interfaces.
Styletronic and Advantech-DLoG
SPAR’s new in-vehicle management system was a customized solution which was co-developed by Styletronic and Advantech-DLoG. Styletronic took charge of the Windows interface software and system integration, while Advantech-DLoG provided the industrial grade in-vehicle devices plus hardware in interface integration.
Before starting the design, Advantech-DLoG studied SPAR’s fleet characteristics and demands beforehand.
Due to the size of Europe, and the large amounts of cargo in transit, trailers towed by trucks caused huge vibration problems for moving vehicles. Advantech-DLoG thus adopted its PWS-770 products to solve the problem and meet SPAR’s demand for wireless transmitters and vehicle location trackers.
Along with docking stations designed by its partner, RAM Mount, Advantech-DLoG built a solution that suited SPAR’s 10-inch tablet computer for its in-vehicle system.
The new in-vehicle systems provided high stability. The vibration-proof features were particularly enhanced and designed for heavy vehicle usage authenticated to military grade MIL-STD-810G specification. This saved the devices from breakdowns caused by the persistent jolting of the vehicles.
Stability, Flexibility, Ease of Use, In-Vehicle Management & Logistics System
Considering the benefits of an all-in-one mobile vehicle terminal that is also detachable, most of today’s systems fall short of the opportunity and do not tap the potential of a re-engineering of the tablet PC to connect to valuable vehicle data.
As merely one example, this type of data functionality can enable tablet PCs to send sensor data from the engine or temperature monitors for food cargo cold chain quality monitoring.
Due to the FMCSA regulation requiring ELD devices, a popular form factor for this logging is by a detachable handheld in the cab. Whether for ELD process or considering the proliferation of mobile tablets in every stage supply chain in general, there will be an increased need for that handheld device to bridge data to the partner network to convey vehicle status.
Most of today’s systems fall short of the opportunity to turn mobile tablets into a true Internet of Things (IoT) data gateway for mobile fleets.
For wireless communication, there was GPS, 3G, Wi-Fi, and GPS that served to locate the vehicles and the received location data could then be transmitted to the backend operation control center via 3G.
And if there were any dispatching problems or accidents, the control center would have instant communication with the driver. The update of assigned tasks and operations before vehicles were dispatched was transmitted automatically through Wi-Fi.
In order to meet SPAR’s demands for an easy-to-use interface, Advantech-DLoG started with designs for common functions using a touchscreen monitor which could be operated instinctively and shortened the drivers’ learning curve.
Seamless System Fully Controls Driving Behaviors
All vans and trucks in Europe are regulated by strict laws. For example, components like engines and brakes need to be installed with in-car sensors before the vehicles leave the factory.
The data received by these sensors have to be transmitted and fully recorded by the in-vehicle system. If an accident happens, the company and the police can retrieve the data to clarify the situation and resolve any issues.
The new system needed to connect with the sensing network of the original devices so SPAR’s new version in-vehicle system was retrofitted to all existing vehicles, and the linking and integration of the new and the original components were carefully implemented.
Currently, the mainstream communication standard on the vehicles is CAN Bus. Advantech-DLoG PWS-770 also has such ports which can rapidly connect to the in-vehicle sensing system and show the recorded information on the in-vehicle display.
The data not only allows the control center and the drivers to fully control and supervise the vehicles but also produces big data which can analyze driving behaviors, thereby fulfilling the function of driving behavior management, which in turn decreases the chances of risks and accidents.
Advantech-DLoG finished the installation of all 165 in-vehicle management and logistics systems for all of SPAR’s ten-ton trucks ahead of schedule.
These have been successfully operating for over a year and they not only operate well, but they are stable and adaptable system also improves SPAR’s operating efficiency, as well as reducing fuel cost by 15%.
Next, SPAR’s fleets at their two factories in Hungary and Italy will also gradually introduce the same in-vehicle management solution established by Advantech-DLoG and Styletronic to help give SPAR a competitive advantage.
Credits: Article written by M.D. Wang with images provided by Advantech-DLoG and SPAR. Interview with Brian Hsieh, Business Development Manager of Advantech Digital Logistics and Fleet Management.
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