Satellite tech tracks Cornwall's binmen
Published: 14 Nov 2008 07:30 GMT
Local authorities in south-west England are using satellite technology to keep track of their rubbish-collection fleets.
Caradon and North Cornwall District Councils have been using Masternaut Three X to monitor their fleet online since June this year.
The technology not only tracks the vehicles, including rubbish-collection lorries, street sweepers and housing-maintenance vehicles, but also helps to schedule collections and work out the most efficient routes.
Each vehicle is fitted with a telematics unit which uses a GPS satellite receiver and GPRS capability to communicate back to the council team.
The location and movements of the vehicles are then displayed using Microsoft's Virtual Earth.
Vehicles also have sensors that generate data related to their particular task: for example, a road sweeper will send information about whether it is currently sweeping or moving to a new location.
The system records arrival and departure times, as well as speed and mileage, and can also alert council managers if drivers break speed limits.
This data can then be used to show how the council is performing and where it could improve.
In addition, each vehicle depot has a large screen that shows resulting information, meaning controllers and drivers can keep track of the day-to-day movements of the fleet.
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The operations manager at Caradon District Council, Richard Isbell, said the technology has been easy to implement and use, and other council departments are now looking to use it.
Isbell told ZDNet UK sister site silicon.com: "It's just generally to make us more efficient. It's also very useful when it comes to lone working."
The system lets managers know where lone workers are when they're on duty, meaning their safety is greatly improved and they can be deployed in the most efficient way.
Isbell added that the council is looking to extend the system to work on mobile devices, as well adding the Greenerfleet application, which provides information on the carbon-footprint of vehicle fleets.
Credit: Satellite tech keeps tabs on Cornwall's rubbish from silicon.com
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