GPS World

Tag: OnlineAVL2

  • Navman Wireless Expands Construction/Mining Fleet Tracking Coverage with Satellite Communications Option

    Navman Wireless Expands Construction/Mining Fleet Tracking Coverage with Satellite Communications Option

    Photo: Navman Wireless USANavman Wireless USA today announced a new satellite communications option for its OnlineAVL2 fleet tracking platform, enabling continuous visibility of both heavy equipment and on-road vehicles even when assets are out of cellular coverage. Designed for construction, surface mining, mining and oil and gas exploration, and other environments with remote location work, the new solution includes the ability to minimize data charges by transmitting only the most critical event information via satellite.

    Satellite connectivity is provided via a small modem that plugs into the serial port on Navman Wireless’ Qube on-highway or ruggedized Qtanium off-highway GPS tracking devices. The system automatically switches between cellular and satellite transmission with intelligent least-cost routing, using the global Iridium satellite network when fleet assets move out of cellular range. Benefits include:

    • Uninterrupted real-time fleet tracking without losing visibility of equipment location and other status information when assets are beyond the reach of cell towers.
    • Increased employee safety because equipment and vehicles are never out of sight of the fleet tracking system, even if they are working in cellular dead zones.
    • No missed engine alerts, potentially preventing costly machine repairs and downtime by ensuring that job supervisors are promptly informed when engine, coolant, transmission or air filter sensors connected to GPS tracking devices exceed pre-defined thresholds.
    • Cost-saving configurability, with the option to limit satellite transmissions to priority events (panic messages, rollover alerts, engine overheating, speed or geofence violations, etc.) and delay the transfer of low-priority event data until cellular coverage is restored.

    “If a machine or vehicle in your fleet is operating outside of cell coverage and you have critical communications that need to take place for safety or operations reasons, it can be a problem to wait until the asset gets back into cell range,” said Davis Gammage, VP Product Management, Navman Wireless. “Temporarily switching to satellite communication solves the problem and ensures 100% visibility of your equipment as well as your field staff.”

    The new satellite communications option marks the latest expansion of Navman Wireless’ fleet tracking portfolio for the construction, mining, and oil and gas industries. The company’s OnlineAVL2 fleet tracking platform provides location, operations and performance data for both on-highway vehicles and construction heavy equipment from a single interface. The back-end OnlineAVL2 application — delivered under the software-as-a-service model — includes industry-specific reporting such as jobsite utilization reports that break down equipment use by project, facilitate proper cost accounting, reduce writeoffs for unallocated asset hours, and aid in the development of future job bids for construction customers.

  • Navman Wireless Debuts Professional Services for Fleet Tracking

    Navman Wireless today announced the availability of two professional services packages designed to expedite, optimize and provide problem resolution for 100+-vehicle implementations of its OnlineAVL2 fleet management platform. Going beyond basic customer support, the new services can reduce rollout and configuration time by up to 80 percent, produce a 50 percent faster return on investment, and help corporate and construction fleet managers derive maximum value from the system by doubling the number of features used.

    “Most fleet tracking vendors say they provide support services, but usually those services are limited to basic phone assistance and coordination of system installation with a third-party vendor. Through our work with customers who track hundreds of on- and/or off-road vehicles, we recognized that large installations need substantially more assistance for timely deployment as well as to take full advantage of system capabilities to reduce costs and streamline operations,” said Nels Erickson, field services manager at Navman Wireless. “We launched our professional services packages specifically to meet these needs.”

    Both the Standard and Turnkey professional services bundles entitle customers to a dedicated project and account team, including a field services engineer serving as a single point of contact and project manager, plus the use of a dedicated phone line staffed with support specialists assigned exclusively to handle larger accounts.

    The Standard package includes installation support, basic OnlineAVL2 configuration, a training website and weekly group training webinars, priority issue escalation, and a yearly account review to evaluate the customer’s use of the system and identify opportunities to realize greater benefits from the deployment.

    The Turnkey package includes all Standard features plus 80 hours of project management time for on-site project planning and user training as well as weekly update calls and advanced OnlineAVL2 configuration for features such as geofences, maintenance module setup, report scheduling, and email and text alerts. This premium package also includes ongoing best practice guidance, regular on-site business reviews, API-based integration into backend systems, and guaranteed 45-day implementation with appropriate advanced notice and asset availability.

    Optional add-on services include custom training and documentation, installation and training at additional depots or terminals, and advanced project management for complex implementations.