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Choose wisely: How AVL vs IVMS impacts your fleet?

Choose wisely: How AVL vs IVMS impacts your fleet?

When you are in the fleet industry, you often come across numerous fleet solutions based on different technologies. The fleet solutions are either using automatic vehicle location (AVL) system or In-Vehicle Monitoring Systems (IVMS) as a tool in their fleet management solution. But do you understand what is core difference between them?

Automatic vehicle location (AVL)

Automatic vehicle location (AVL) is a technology which combines a vehicle’s on-board diagnostics data with satellite-based GPS data to provide the exact location of an asset. The most widespread use of AVL systems is vehicle tracking, which is frequently provided by a GPS-based or cellular-based system. Vehicle movement, speed, and direction can be monitored using GPS via both terrestrial and satellite navigation methods. Although satellite communication is expensive, it may be highly useful in determining the precise location during an emergency. Automatic vehicle location (AVL) is also known as GPS system

  • Real-time tracking of assets
  • Plan optimal routes for each asset.
  • Mileage, engine hours.
  • Idle time status
  • Scheduling maintenance of vehicles to avoid breakdown.
 

Pay as you drive insurance focuses on the monitoring of precise mileage driven and calculating premium based on that mileage. This model is based on the assumption that the less time a driver spends on the road, the less likely it is for an accident to occur. Insurers verify time, mileage, and location by using telematics to ensure the transparency of purchased protection and combat mileage reporting fraud.

IVMS

In-Vehicle Monitoring System (IVMS) is a GPS-based system with the integration of advanced telematics devices on vehicles to enhance the safety of assets and the workforce. All GPS systems are not IVMS systems. In-Vehicle Monitoring System IVMS is GPS plus with following add-on features.

  • Real-time tracking of vehicle location
  • Over Speed detection
  • Distance travelled
  • Idling Hour Status
  • Route optimization
  • Seat belts, doors and other vehicle control status
  • Identify the misplaced or wrongly deployed assets by assigning geofence
  • CAN bus, error codes detection
  • Detect harsh driving (harsh braking, harsh acceleration, harsh turning)
  • Driver Identification
  • Preventive maintenance of vehicles to avoid breakdown.
  • Driver behaviour Monitoring
  • Scheduled Reports to improve your fleet management
  • Hours of Service Control (HoS) of your drivers in compliance with established regulations

A comprehensive In-Vehicle Monitoring System offers useful insight data for fleets to develop key performance indicators (KPI) for comparison and help them in identifying negative or positive trends in their fleet.

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Australia raised $10.8 million by planning a network of nanosatellites for IoT applications.

Australia raised $10.8 million by planning a network of nanosatellites for IoT applications.

Fleet space technologies located in Adelaide, capital of Southern Australia, recently raised $10.8 million by planning a network of nanosatellites for IoT applications. It is reported the company has several global investors including Horizon Ventures, Momenta Ventures, Grok Ventures, existing investor Blackbird Ventures and the Kennard family, whose equipment hire company Kennards Hire, is already a fleet customer.

It says the latest funding round introduces “strategic investors specifically chosen by Fleet to help develop its solutions to become even more powerful and deploy it (sic) with the right network and technology partners.”

Fleet provides IoT connectivity via its satellites and a ground-based hub with edge computing capabilities that communicates with IoT endpoints using LoRaWAN.
According to Fleet the contribution from Momenta Ventures is the first from its LPWAN Ecosystem Fund, billed as “the only Internet of Things-focused fund, established to accelerate industry solutions powered by low power wide area networks with a focus on open standards and ecosystems such as LoRaWAN.”

The Momenta web site says Momenta is investing in LPWAN because the global LPWAN market is forecast to grow to $US24b in 2021, a CAGR of 90 percent and because “LoRaWAN is the de facto standard complementing emerging 5G offerings.”
The web site also shows one other investment by the LPWAN fund, in Kolmostar, billed as a positioning technology company that is reinventing the industry’s GNSS (GPS, Beidou, etc) positioning approach to achieve ultra-low-power (sub-mW) and high-precision (centimetre level) positioning in harsh metropolitan environments for Internet-of-Things devices and autonomous vehicles.”

Up till date the Fleet space technologies has successfully deployed its first four nanosatellites by using SpaceX, Rocket Lab, and Indian Space Research Organization satellites. The first commercial satellite of Fleet space technologies was named Centauri I, which was launched by ISRO and Centauri II by Space X in December 2016. Other two experimental satellites, Proxima I & II were launched a month earlier by Rocket Labs. According to the Fleet, they are now building the next generation of satellites for launch in the coming year.

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A new customized approach to insurance: telematics-based insurance

A new customized approach to insurance: telematics-based insurance

The ecosystem of connected car technology has cultivated another growing trend of telematics-based insurance, which promises to create a boom for the automotive insurance industry. In our previous articles, we have already explained what is telematics-based insurance or usage-based insurance or pay as you drive. These terms define the tailored insurance program depending on an individual’s driving pattern providing the financial incentive for driving safely. Generally, telematics-based insurance products are categorized into two models: pay how you drive (PHYD) insurance and pay as you drive (PAYD) insurance.

Pay how you drive insurance

Pay how you drive insurance focuses on the driving behavior/pattern of an individual to assess the possible risk and calculate the annual premium. Insurers monitor driving behavior and adjust premiums based on observed risky behaviors. This program is designed specifically for low-risk drivers providing them better premium discount rates.

Pay as you drive insurance

Pay as you drive insurance focuses on the monitoring of precise mileage driven and calculating premium based on that mileage. This model is based on the assumption that the less time a driver spends on the road, the less likely it is for an accident to occur. Insurers verify time, mileage, and location by using telematics to ensure the transparency of purchased protection and combat mileage reporting fraud.

According to the survey conducted by a private insurance firm, today the number of telematics-based car insurance products are more precedent than ever before. As per the survey, in the last three years, the number of these products have been doubled which suggests that the old trend of targeting the young drivers have been changed and low mileage drivers are also targeted now.

Most of the insurance policies allow access to an online dashboard which can help the driver in reviewing their driving pattern and improve it. Moreover, some of the telematics-based insurance also provides you the insight of theft assets and accident alert systems.

What are the data elements in telematics?

Have you wondered what are those elements that are monitored in telematics-based insurance but not in traditional one, we have mentioned some of the elements in the list below

Traditional insurance Telematics based insurance

  • Insurance credit score Fast lane change
  • Age Miles drove
  • Gender Harsh acceleration
  • Marital status Harsh braking
  • Use of the auto Harsh cornering
  • Territorial information Airbag deployment
  • Past driving records When the vehicle is driven
  • Driver education Weather condition
  • Traffic condition

With the right kind of feedback and coaching, demand for telematics will continue to accelerate as added safety and lower premium costs offer tangible proof of its benefits.

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How data normalization improves the efficiency of fleet operation?

How data normalization improves the efficiency of fleet operation?

When it comes to the automotive industry, telematics is the latest buzz word we all know about. This technology can be used for monitoring and managing your mobile assets and fleet operations with GPS technology and onboard diagnostics while producing a bulk of fast-moving stream of data that did not even exist a few years ago.

What is data normalization?

The process of filtering and standardizing the data is known as data normalization and is of significant importance for the fleet management industry. Without normalizing the data, accessing the fleet information would be much complicated and time-consuming. According to the one estimate by Hitachi, there will be 116 million connected cars in the U.S by 2025 with the capability of uploading 25 gigabytes of data per connected vehicle to the cloud per hour. The calculation indicates it will be 219 terabytes each year and around 25 billion terabytes of total connected car data each year. It’s a tsunami of data that needs to be filtered to be benefited from.

Every auto manufacturer has its own set of codes, data formatting, and order of data for every model. We at Eagle-I acts as a data language library and translator for the fleet industry by providing the data access to the fleet industry for almost every manufacturer and every model of vehicle. However keeping this simple for our clients, this whole process of data normalization is done in the background while our clients can access all their fleet vehicles at a single click on our dashboard without confining themselves to apply different rules for different protocol languages.

With the data normalization at the Eagle-I platform, one can easily compare the performance of their vehicle directly. Moreover, fleet managers can make a single rule or create a single alert for all idling or over speeding for all the fleet assets, which would not be possible without data normalization. Although data normalization is not a highly visible process, it plays a significant role in helping fleets achieve their goals for increasing driver safety and improving efficiency, sustainability, and profitability.

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Cold-Chain Monitoring in Healthcare Industry

COLD-CHAIN MONITORING IN HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY

Have you ever wondered, why is it crucial to keep biotechnology and pharmaceutical products under the right ambient conditions?

While we are well aware of the fact that pharmaceutical products have potential life-saving and invigorating capabilities yet the complexity of the products and vulnerability to a wider range of circumstances such as sensitivity to heat, humidity, and even light during research, development, transportation, and storage demands the products to be well taken care of in order to avoid potentially fatal side effects. Besides this, another interesting research shows that many of these chemicals are also vulnerable to vibrations and shocks.

According to the research conducted about the effectiveness of vaccines during logistics and supply stages, approximately 30% of the medications worldwide are damaged and become unusable. Besides the great financial losses, it is also a significant moral loss due to the inability to deliver the medications to those who need them. To avoid the degradation of the products when the storage environment exceeds the safe ranges of temperature; thermal mapping is done so variations can be mapped, analyzed, and corrected to ensure the effectiveness of controlled temperature units. Eagle-IoT also offers thermal mapping studies to ensure even the slightest change in environmental conditions does not go unnoticed.
Considering the fact, we are living in post Covid era where the necessity of transporting Pfizer / BionTech vaccine at -70 degrees Celsius and Moderna at -20 degrees Celsius has emerged as a logistical problem, Eagle-IoT cold chain monitoring solution provides end-to-end ability to monitor, and data log the temperature of products in real time.

Damage can result from a wide range of circumstances:

  • Mishandling during packing, shipping, and receiving packages.
  • Incorrect humidity settings in the freight compartment.
  • Exposure to temperatures outside the safe range.
  • Exposure to light.
Eagle-IoT cold store monitoring solution can be fully or partially deployed as per the operational needs. A variety of sensors are installed (e.g.; temperature, humidity, magnetic door, proximity, beacons etc.) which connect and transmits the data to a gateway at regular intervals. The gateway connects to the Eagle-I cloud server and transmits the data which is then translated to appropriate graphical views for the end-user on the Eagle-I IoT platform.

Eagle-IoT cold store monitoring solution offers proactive management for compliance by generating automated custom alerts when temperature breaches predefined optimal settings, refrigeration units are turned off, or hardware failure alarms are received, Instant alerts are generated through emails, Eagle-I mobile & web applications and phone calls. Custom reports can be generated as proof of compliance.

To learn more about how Eagle-I can help improve your cold chain operations contact us at +966533085658 or write us at info@dms-ksa.com

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Ford Motors under the influence of telematics

Ford Motors under the influence of telematics

A global trend of using telematics in cars seems to have an effect on Ford Motors as they are planning to offer connectivity on all its cars from 2020 in Europe.

Besides this, the car manufacturer had already announced last September about the launch of two products in the European region for first half of 2019: Ford Telematics, which would connect Ford brand vehicles to a web-based portal that can be operated by fleet managers; and Ford Data Services, providing the similar access to vehicle data but allows customers to plug that data into their own or third-party telematics systems. According to an estimate, more than 50,000 vehicles will be participating in this test.

Ford’s telematics operations are part of the Ford Smart Mobility division, with a company’s vision to expand carmaker’s traditional business beyond the building and selling of cars, to offer software and mobility services. Ford is offering its connectivity and is allowing the third-party telematics service providers to access its vehicle data. According to the director of Ford Commercial Solutions Europe, Phatak: “If they (customers) want to use Ford Telematics, we connect them with that, but if they want to use a third-party telematics provider, we offer a high-grade clean data API.”

Ford is claiming to provide more data from the Ford-engineered system than through the modems connected to cars’ OBD 2 ports. “Our device is installed slightly upstream of the OBD 2 port,” said Phatak.

“If you obtain the data that way, you get 100s or 1,000s of signals you wouldn’t get through the OBD 2port.” An example is seatbelt usage but there is a wealth of other car information that isn’t available through OBD 2. “That’s a win-win for both the service provider and the customer,” Phatak said.

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How does mobile vehicle load sensor works?

How does mobile vehicle load sensor works?

We see with the dynamic development of road infrastructure and the expansion of the transportation systems, the provision of transport services for the masses has been dynamically increased. Heavy vehicles play a significant role in transportation. Taking into account, heavy vehicles being the popular mode of transportation also demands the precise calculation of vehicle weight along with the location, movement data of vehicles, information about movement, speed and time, traveled path, the weight sensors and fuel for the quick and timely decisions.

In the first international electronic conference on remote sensing revealed a finding of illegally overweighted vehicles causing the road damage up to 4 times the axle weight. The damage caused by the overweighed vehicles not only affects the cost for the pavement maintenance and repair but also shortens the service life of the pavement, besides affecting the traffic safety and capability. Initially, weight stations were built to overcome this problem. But with its traditional weight measuring techniques only determine the static weight (i.e. when the vehicle is at rest). Moreover, this conventional method does not have the capacity to measure the weight of each axle separately.

How weight sensors work?

With the advanced technology, now we can measure the weight of each axle separately by integrating the vehicle weight sensor device with an AVL system through a wired connection or wireless connection.

Weight sensors are attached at the base of the vehicle from one side and can measure the spring pressure from the other side placed on the flat spring of the vehicle. With the increase in weight, jammed spring produces the power in weight sensors, hence changing the resistance.

This change in resistance results in voltage change. In case of no load on chassis, the voltage will be 1 while the voltage will be 10 if there is a maximum weight on chassis. The vehicle load data and the location of the vehicle are generated simultaneously.

The load carried by heavy vehicles and the precisely calculated load has always been a matter of concern for managing an efficient transportation system. However, Eagle-I is proud to present its technologically advanced load sensors capable of precisely monitoring and calculating the amount of load on the vehicles at a reasonable price.

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Headlights glares accounts 300 collisions, are you the one causing them?

Headlights glares accounts 300 collisions, are you the one causing them?

According to the latest research conducted by RAC glare caused by the beam of headlight produces a dazzling effect for oncoming traffic. According to the official statistics, dazzling headlights played their role in 300 collisions.

The survey results revealed that 9 out of 10 drivers believe that the majority of the headlights are gleaming while 54% claimed that they are more dazzled now than a year ago. When asked how they are affected by glare, 60% responded that they were often dazzled by oncoming headlights even when they’re dipped.

A similar proportion also claimed that they were not able to distinguish between full-beam and dipped lights.

Moreover, 45% of the surveyors complained that they’d been dazzled by lights in their rear-view mirror and 70% felt lights could be so bright as to present an accident risk.

When drivers were interrogated about the likely causes of glare, 51% blamed vehicles that sit higher on the road such as SUVs are responsible for this while 41% assumes the problem is not related to any particular vehicle. When drivers were questioned about any particular technology causing this glare, then 55% responded that bluer’ xenon or the most modern LED headlights are causing this dazzling but 51% were not sure about this. However, headlight bulb manufacturers such as Philips refuted this opinion by claiming that 90% of instances of headlight glare are caused by drivers with their misaligned halogen bulbs, not overbright xenons or LEDs. But another aftermarket bulb maker Ring blamed cheap bulbs that do not comply with EU standards.

Another interesting fact revealed by research was that in some cases drivers themselves are responsible for causing glare either by not adjusting their lights precisely or by having badly aligned lights. The spokesman of the research organization RAC stated that: “The dazzling effect of another driver’s headlights isn’t just uncomfortable – in some cases it can be nothing short of dangerous, making us lose sight of the road for a short time. So it’s concerning to see that a greater proportion of drivers have reported problems with glare this year than last year
“Among some drivers, there is a perception that newer headlights cause more glare. But while a sizeable proportion claims it is the xenon headlights more often found in higher-end vehicles that are primarily to blame, a greater proportion either doesn’t know the difference between lights or aren’t sure.

“In reality, the issue of glare is a complex one and it’s not as straightforward as saying one type of lightbulb causes more of a dazzling effect than another – there are a range of reasons why a driver might be dazzled, from a slight misalignment of a headlight, the difference in ride height of different vehicles and even individual people’s vision. That explains why not every car headlight appears to be dazzling, with eight-in-10 drivers saying only some cause glare.”

What to do if you are constantly glaring?
Here are some useful tips that might help you, if you are constantly glaring
If you are wearing glasses, talk to your optician. A coating can be added that helps you in seeing when you are faced with car headlights.
Adjust your rear-view mirror more often. Unless your car has a self-dimming rear-view mirror, you can reduce glare from vehicles behind you by doing this While changing your car, look for one with a self-dimming rear-view mirror and even darkened glass (sometimes called ‘sunset glass’). Both can be effective in reducing the intensity of bright light.

Are you the one troubling other drivers?
Moreover, check yourself for being the cause of glaring. Can your car automatically level its headlights depending on the load you are carrying? If your car does not has automatically leveling headlights, always manually adjust them depending on the load you are carrying and according to the car’s manual. A single person driving with an empty boot needs a different setting compared to a single person plus a boot-load of luggage, or all five seats occupied and a fully-loaded boot.
Make sure to get your car’s headlights angle checked next time you have it serviced to ensure the beam is being directed properly.

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A guide to plan a successful thermal mapping study 

A guide to plan a successful thermal mapping study

As per the new guideline issued by Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA), it is mandatory for temperature-controlled facility to have Data-Driven Thermal Analysis to meet the new requirement of Storage Regulatory. In a controlled temperature environment (CTE), temperature fluctuation is far from straightforward. With the implementation of thermal mapping technique, we can stabilize the temperature and humidity in a controlled environment (such as a warehouse, refrigerator, or vehicle). It ensures that your products are kept within the certain temperature range, minimizing the chances of spoilage or damage. Besides this, the study allows to identify any potential hot or cold locations which could possibly jeopardize the temperature-sensitive items.   

Here is Eagle-IoT guide to carry out successful thermal mapping study in cold chain facility with the most accurate data possible

Data Logger selection for thermal validation 

In the past few years, technology in dataloggers has come a long way. Enhanced accuracy, improved response time, increased battery life, flexibility and software have played their part within the industry. Selection of data logger is crucial depending on the type of facility and operation. Wireless data sensors are now available with an accuracy of ±0.05°C along with interchangeable sensors for measuring humidity, pressure, conductivity and CO2 depending on client requirement.  

Quantity of Data Loggers 

The quantity of data loggers depends on the measurement of the area to be monitored. The area under monitoring is defined as all quadrants and possible spot location areas in which the product can be exposed. Besides this, number of data loggers also depends on the number of measurement points inside the area of monitoring in a particular equipment chamber, cleanroom, or product pallet.  

*/Typically, before the start, thermal mapping monitoring is important to prepare a specific as-built drawing representing the dimensions of the area to be measured with space to add the location number of each data logger in a particular quadrant equidistant to each other to cover the entire area./* 

External influence consideration  

Another important factor that needs to be considered during a thermal mapping study is the effect of external influences. Seasonal temperature variations play a crucial part in this study. Therefore, it is recommended by Eagle-IoT experts to carry out this study at the coldest and hottest time of the year to ensure the accuracy of the data. 

Identify critical mapping points 

Thermal mapping study will help you to identify the crucial data sensor placement for the storage envelop. Storage envelop is a term used to refer the designated area for storing the products in a warehouse. Factors needs to be considered for storage envelope include storage rack numbers, storage rack dimensions, storage rack and product spacing, and thermal mass distribution. This study also indicates the hottest, coldest and average temperature locations for continuous monitoring system. 

Data analysis  

Equipped with years of industry-leading experience there’s no task too big or too small for our dedicated teams. Eagle-IoT data logger specialist can configure data sensors for you, and can install ready-to-use data loggers in your facility for collecting data from your thermal mapping study. Besides this, at the end of thermal mapping study, Eagle-IoT offers data extraction, evaluation and detailed statistical analysis with graphical representation of average, maximum, and minimum points.  

To ensure the mapping study benefitting, it is essential to consider all the critical points deemed important by the end user. Depending on the scope of the project, factors such as study length, the temperature range acceptable for operation, the quantity of sensors, sensor locations, and storage envelope parameters, affecting the study will be different    

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Top four reasons why thermal mapping is mandatory 

Top four reasons why thermal mapping is mandatory

When you belong to the industry dealing in thermal sensitive products, maintaining a specific range of temperature is not only essential but is mandatory to ensure the effective working of your controlled storage systems. Temperature shifts can be drastic for warehouses and cold storages. Thermal mapping ensures the effectiveness of refrigeration units and fluctuations of temperature and humidity in those area, so you can make the required adjustments to assure the quality of your product. 

Besides this Eagle-IoT thermal mapping technique can help in determining door opening interval and frequency, potential role change of cold store, rack placements, placement of thermal monitors. 

Here are top 4 reasons why thermal mapping is mandatory: 

Protects Perishables 

With the expanding global market, demand of perishable products has outgrown worldwide. To ensure effective cold chain management complete visibility and traceability is incredibly important which is only possible when technology is integrated and data is exchanged. There can be several factors (such as weather, location or layout, cooling equipment, air circulation, product quantity etc) contributing to temperature fluctuation of facility. Eagle-IoT thermal mapping service ensures these variations to be mapped, analysed and corrected in the entire system as well as specific points, to ensure effective storage conditions are established, implemented, and maintained. 

Guarding against vulnerabilities 

Since maintaining temperature integrity is critical for the effective cold chain logistics, it is high time to have proper coordination in all phases of supply chain. From farmer/harvester or producer to the ultimate seller, shares responsibility and contribute towards the freshness of product. Eagle-IoT monitors and manages your cold chain shipments from door opening event to route selection and providing you weather info in advance with its weather layer to avoid jeopardize shipment stability. Eagle-IoT thermal mapping service ensures to map, analyse and maintain the temperature integrity from your controlled storage unit to logistics to assure the quality of product not to be compromised. 

Regulatory Compliance 

Beside what is best practice, temperature mapping is a regulatory compliance requirement now. The Saudi Food & Drug Administration (SFDA) requires manufacturers, processors, and packagers of pharmaceutical drugs, medical equipment, food, cosmetics and animal feed to make sure the product is safe for use, and that it has the ingredients and strength it claims to have. 

Identify Areas of Risk 

Maintaining temperature integrity is critical but identifying the possible potential risk areas are also vital. Areas such as heaters, lighting, windows and doors, loading bays, CD rooms, packing areas, returns and quarantine or high storage areas such as mezzanine floors should also be mapped  

Eagle-IoT offer temperature mapping service for Warehouses, Freezers, Trucks, Reefers, Chillers and Cold Storages. 

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