News
December 2006
New Low Cost Trailer Tracking System Will Appeal To Operators Seeking A Simple But Effective Solution To Improving Security And Productivity
CMS Global Technologies has launched a new trailer tracking system that enables owners and operators monitor, control and record all their trailer movements, whether on the road or in depots around the country.
The Swindon-based company’s Trailer Tracker comes with a number of options that give operators the ultimate flexibility and ability to control operating costs. It has already generated a great deal of interest from several of the UK’s leading trailer companies.
Simple to use and easy to install, the basic system uses ZigBee technology that sends the unique identification of the device fitted in each trailer to a black box receiver installed in the vehicle cab or depot. It thus provides a low cost tracking solution that does not require costly GPRS communications.
When the black box is fitted in the vehicle cab it is possible to record when a particular trailer is picked up, when it is dropped off and where it has been in transit. If the same black box unit is installed at a depot users can quickly determine which trailers are on site at any given time, together with a record of when they arrived and left.
Both options therefore give the operator much greater control over trailer movements and an ability to plan their usage more effectively, ensuring greater overall productivity, less downtime and greater visibility of all available resources.
To give even greater operational flexibility, the CMS Trailer Tracker can also be fully integrated with the company’s SupaTrak and/or Mobile Worker systems, which offers the added benefits of a fully featured UK and European mapping interface that allows the exact location of every trailer to be seen on screen in real time and enables much higher levels of in-the-field task management.
Not only is the CMS Trailer Tracker system wireless, the Mesh technology of ZigBee allows many sensors to communicate over large distances. And once fitted very little else is required as the sensors have a one year battery life. Importantly, the system is fully managed by CMS, leaving the customer free to use the information it provides to manage and control their business more efficiently, whilst also generating an accurate record of all trailer movements for future review or referral.
The database on the web server is a permanent record and is available for viewing online for at least one year. Archives of older data are retained indefinitely. The data cannot be modified.
Launching the new CMS Trailer Tracker, Managing Director Jason Airey said it provided one of the most simple, yet practical and flexible solutions yet devised to help trailer owners and operators manage and manoeuvre this type of mobile asset more efficiently.
“We appreciate that trailer operators want to know where their units are and what they are doing at any given time so they can plan their use and make sure the units are where they should be. Using this system they can now do this whether the trailer is mobile or stationary,” he says.
“Apart from the obvious improved security and consequent peace of mind it provides, the system’s low cost also means all its commercial benefits are now well within the reach of all trailer operators. They now have the flexibility to select the basic system or choose from the wide range of options that offer additional opportunities to increase resource visibility and hence management control and productivity.
“Several leading trailer operators are currently evaluating the CMS Trailer Tracker and their feedback has proved invaluable in refining the system and its costs. As a result, I am confident that we can deliver exactly what the market wants and expect it to generate a great deal of interest from companies that have identified their need for an improved tracking capability,” he adds.
