When I think about the stereo-types of “technophobia” andenvironmental unfriendliness

the public has hung on our industry,I’m reminded of Michael Crichton’sThe Andromeda Strain. One of a groupof scientists analyzing a mysteriouspathogen from space figures out howthe awful thing grows and remarks,“Andromeda consumes everything,wastes nothing.” With those wordshe might as well have described ourindustry, which routinely recycles flyash, slag, and wastewater.

Now comes the informationalcounterpart to material reuse. Justimagine how powerful the ability totrack operating data from severalcomponents of a concrete deliverytruck would be. The data have al-ways existed; the question has beenhow to capture and put them togood use.

Such uses of otherwise wastedinformation byproducts must have

inspired the developers of Tracer-NET Corp.’s Intelligent MobileAsset Tracking (IMAT) platform. Igot a glimpse of the informationrecycling future at the company’sWorld of Concrete booth in LasVegas last March.

Unique to the system is aMobile Data Unit (MDU) equippedwith a Global Positioning System(GPS) receiver and a wireless Inter-net Protocol (IP) modem. TheMDU can interface with up toabout 20 truck components, such asthe engine in a mixer truck orflatbed truck or a truck-mounted

mixer. This system provides two-way text messaging as well as auto-matic vehicle location (AVL) with-out driver intervention like severalothers, but the similarities endthere. A traditional limitation ofAVL systems is their inability topinpoint truck waiting time, sinceGPS can’t provide real-time statusby itself. This system overcomesthis limitation by processing operat-ing data. The large company canintegrate the system with an exist-ing network, and the small compa-ny can use the Internet to send datathrough TracerNET’s servers.

The MDU senses drum direc-tion and uses mathematical algo-rithms to sense whether a truck ischarging or discharging, and it sendsthis data back to the dispatch com-puter via modem. The “begin pour”time stamp is determined easilyenough. “End pour” is a little tricki-er to determine when the contrac-tor wants a few yards of concretehere and more over there. In thiscase, the system can be adjusted toreport several begin-pour and end-pour readings per truck.

The dispatcher can draw appro-priate location “hot zones” on thecomputer screen with a mouse or byentering a street address. The systemcan report “leave job” and “back atplant” time stamps automatically bymeasuring time interval against

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Byproducts� Web-enabled on-board intelligence reveals justhow efficiently a fleet is operating.

The In te l l igent Mobi le Asset Tracking ( IMAT) p la t form converts operat iona ldata from truck components—an engine or truck-mounted mixer, for example—to usefu l d ispatch ing and maintenance in format ion .

Using InformationTr

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engine rpm and by taking vehicle “hotzone” location into account.

Sales and accounting can formatthe data from the system’s databases andput them into spreadsheets. When quot-ing a job, sales can use these data forpricing so that—imagine this—a com-pany can recover its operating costs.Also, the dispatcher can use the data toschedule trucks with reasonable accura-cy for similar jobs.

Another unique feature is the sys-tem’s ability to capture data for the fleetmanager. Using the software, the systemcan notify the fleet manager automati-cally when oil pressure or engine tem-perature sensors detect problems, forexample. The fleet manager then candecide which trucks to take out of therevenue stream for service. If a criticalfault occurs, e-mail or a page from theMDU indicates to the fleet managerwhich part is failing. He can grab areplacement, jump in the pickup, alertthe driver by e-mail or two-way radio topull off the road, and fix the problem—maybe even in time to save a hot load.Contrast this with the traditional sce-nario of the fleet manager receiving acall from a stalled driver through dis-patch, jumping in the pickup, plugginga laptop into a stalled truck engine’scomputer, determining the problem,driving back to the plant, getting theappropriate replacement part, and thendriving back to the stalled truck.

If necessary, the system can requestmore concrete for a given job with fixedmessages. Also, it can alert either dis-patch or the fleet manager or both,depending on managerial preference,when a truck records a critical faultcode. The dispatcher might rerouteanother truck by using fixed or free-formtext messaging. Imagine the job superin-tendent’s surprise if a truck appeared inthe distance just moments after an orderwas placed.

Theoretically, customer accountscould be made accessible to drivers iforder tickets were no longer necessary,and drivers would know whether to ac-cept COD credit card orders only. With

Congress having passed a law allowingelectronic signatures a year ago, the sys-tem can suit a module for this purposeand a paperless operation. The systemalso suits credit card swipe modules.Also, the producer can have on-boardprinters installed in trucks to print jobtickets on the spot.

If this information recycling thingcatches on, our industry will get the“technophobic” monkey off its back.Improved customer service just mightturn concrete into more of a worldwideepidemic than it already is, somethingthe bacter ia threatened to do inCrichton’s book.

— DON TALEND

For more information about the TracerNETsystem, circle 1 on the reader service card.

Publication #J01H016 Copyright ©2001 Hanley-Wood, LLC All rightsreserved