Fleet/Vehicle Management

In a nutshell, AggreGate lets you control and monitor:

Vehicle Settings, such as...

List of permitted drivers/operators
Maintenance schedule, date of last/next maintenance and any grace period
Speed thresholds (speed limit, speeding alarms etc.)
As well as…
- Temperature/oil thresholds
- Shock thresholds (for forklifts)
- Fuel/battery thresholds
- And more

Current Vehicle Conditions, such as...

Location (via GPS)
Speed
Fuel/Battery level
As well as…
- Current mileage
- Oil level
- And more

Operations, such as...

Remote engine shutdown
Send message to driver/operator

Events/Alerts, such as...

Speed limit exceeded
Fuel/battery/oil level low
Maintenance overdue
As well as…
- Checkup failed/timed out
- Shock limit exceeded
- And more

And Now, For a More In-Depth Look

Consider a vehicle monitoring system managing a fleet of cars, trucks, forklifts, or other vehicles. Each vehicle in the fleet is outfitted with a hardware device that collects a variety of data on the driver’s behavior. This data includes driving speed, maximum acceleration and shocks experienced by the vehicle, driving patterns such as the amount of time spent driving vs. the amount of time spent idling.

All of this data is logged into the device’s memory for later upload to the computer, typically through some form of a wireless interface. The device also works as an access controller for the vehicle – drivers use access codes or RFID cards to “log on” to the vehicle.

A driver’s access to the vehicle can also be a subject to time limitations, such as “only within predefined shift”, “only within standard working time”, etc. Moreover, all vehicle log-ins and log-outs are recorded. In combination with vehicle driving pattern records, this creates an extensive audit trail. The system can also perform a number of additional functions such as monitoring oil and gas level, battery charge, etc. In critical situations, the vehicle can be remotely immobilized by a command sent through the wireless interface.

In fact, such systems already exist on the market, and have been operational for a number of years. So why do we need something new?

For one thing, the wireless connection to each vehicle is typically unstable. Even on a site that has blanket wireless coverage there are always some wireless “blind spots” where the connection is unstable or unavailable. Often, vehicles are not even confined to a particular site and only return to the base occasionally. This dramatically narrows the window of opportunity for communicating with any particular monitoring device.

Another sore spot in existing systems has to do with diversity: An average fleet includes many types of vehicles, requiring different configurations. Additionally, vehicles are typically outfitted with a monitoring device at different times. As a result, some carry older monitoring devices, some carry newer ones, and firmware versions are not all the same.

In a regular working environment, it is next to impossible to collect all vehicles and update their devices and firmware in one fell swoop. Very often, some monitoring devices will receive an upgrade. For this upgrade to work, the PC software collecting the data from these vehicles will have to be upgraded too. This, in turn, will make it incompatible with older versions of monitoring devices still working on some vehicles. Experience shows that this cycle of update problems can be endless.

AggreGate is built from the ground up to avoid all of these limitations. Data is synchronized between the devices and the server whenever a connection is available. You can always change the settings for a given vehicle, and as soon as that vehicle comes into range, the new settings are automatically downloaded onto it.

You could also browse the list of vehicle events (log-ins, log-outs, alerts etc) whenever you want, and not just when the vehicle is in range. You will just see the most recent data available, and as soon as the vehicle comes into range (or synchronizes again via GPRS or other long-range medium) you’d see new data.

AggreGate is smart enough to adapt to many different firmware versions. You could even manage several vehicles as one group, despite each vehicle containing a different version of the monitoring device and firmware, installed at different times. You could make a single, sweeping change for a setting (like a speed threshold, for example) that would take effect on all such vehicles at once.

Deploying AggreGate doesn’t mean you have to stop using your current system. AggreGate supports open protocols for exchanging data and executing operations. Thus, while you could use the built-in AggreGate Client as the end-user software, AggreGate is just as useful when used as middleware, with your existing enterprise-grade fleet management system serving as the front end.

With AggreGate, You Can…

Track an unlimited number of vehicles on a large area from several geographically distributed control centers
Track general fleet information (vehicle numbers, license numbers, etc.)
Track employee and driver information, licensing, certification, etc.
Store specific vehicle information (e.g. oil type)
Permit an operator to manage a specific set of vehicles, regardless of their location
Track preventive maintenance (PM) and repairs performed on your fleet
Alert operators when maintenance is due
View, search, sort and filter vehicle event/alert history.
Create and view reports (vehicle usage, checklists, accidents, alerts etc.)
Manage automatic maintenance notifications.
Set up a real-time data exchange with a stock management system.

Customize AggreGate For Your Own Fleet:

Build your own event filters, to focus on the data and parameters you care about the most.
Customized reports fit in with your current management system
Brand the interface with your own logo, to maintain corporate identity
Replace text strings all throughout the application – instead of “Data Terminal”, you could have a “Vehicle” or even a “Forklift” (for a fleet consisting entirely of forklifts).
Create only those alerts you need, and reach your personnel via email, SMS or even Twitter

Integrate AggreGate With an Existing Fleet Management System:

Manage fuel consumption history and statistics.
Analyze costs of preventive maintenance, repairs, parts, and labor.
Calculate sales tax.
Monitor accidents.
Track and monitor fluid usage (i.e. motor oil, transmission fluid, etc).
Track and record general expenses such as registration renewals, insurance payments, lease payments, etc.
Track and monitor equipment usage.
Analyze your fleet costs in bar, line, and pie charts.
Track tire inventory, assignment, and usage.
Manage, track and monitor work orders.
Calculate detailed labor charges by rates and times.