Fleet Management: Dart Transit Selects TransCore's 3sixty Fleet Management Integrated Trailer Tracking And Sensor System
Minn.-based Dart Transit Co., the 14th largest truckload dry van fleet in North America, selects TransCore's 3sixty Fleet Management, powered by GlobalWave, to add the all-satellite Sense & Track trailer tracking system with integrated sensor suite to its dry van and reefer fleets. The Sense & Track system features the third-generation core modem and onboard GPS technology needed for enhanced functionality such as true geofencing, fast response times and extended battery life of up to six years.
"One of the essential factors for selecting TransCore was its reliability in long-term tests, and TransCore has shown us their ability to utilize high technology in a semi-trailer environment," explained Dave Oren, president of Dart Transit Co. "Expanding tracking capabilities with cargo sensors and fast response times strengthens our ability to protect our customers' cargo and inform them of its exact location and health, as well as service our fleet of trailers and more precisely manage these assets."
TransCore's Sense & Track system utilizes the core modem and GPS chip sets, specifically designed to maintain power efficiency and comprehensive functionality, unlike other trailer tracking technologies that today must sacrifice sensor functionality to maintain battery life.
"Our R & D continues to focus on the most cost-effective platform to deliver the industry's big three: fast response time, power efficiency, and enhanced functionality such as true geofencing," said David Sward, general manager of TransCore's GlobalWave satellite asset tracking and communications unit.
Dart's full-featured installation includes all-satellite communication and a customized sensor suite comprised of infrared cargo sensors, tire inflation, and power detection (whether tethered or untethered). Installation on all new Dart trailers began in July at Wabash National, one of the leading manufacturers of semi trailers in North America, and retrofits on existing trailers will be completed at the Dart Network's Pro Stop Truck Service Centers. Dart currently has several hundred TransCore trailer tracking units installed.
About the GlobalWave Sense & Track Terminals
TransCore's Sense & Track mobile terminal is one of the
GlobalWave family of compact all-satellite communications devices. Using a two-way protocol, it sends reports, receives commands, and can be polled from anywhere in North America. With full sensor suite capability it is able to show loaded/empty status and provide data from other monitored systems such as tire inflation and temperature. The location accuracy provided by TransCore's integrated global positioning system (GPS) technology and the ability to change reporting characteristics "over-the-air" in minutes provides customers with a new level of control over their fleets. Use of the Sense & Track mobile terminal can reduce trailer-to-tractor ratio, prevent and reduce cargo theft, help recover misplaced or stolen equipment quickly, and reduce insurance costs. In addition, users of Sense & Track have the means to provide a superior level of service to their customers thus providing a competitive advantage in acquiring new business.
The low-profile device is inconspicuous on the top of the trailer, out of sight from thieves or others who might tamper with equipment. With software integration already complete for most major dispatch software packages, customers can easily poll and retrieve data from the Sense & Track mobile terminal into their existing enterprise dispatch software. Customers can locate equipment anywhere in North America within minutes and access trailer data without leaving their familiar computer screens.
TransCore's GlobalWave data communication terminal was awarded the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) 913 Intrinsically Safe Apparatus and Associated Apparatus Certification, Class 1 Division 1 rating (C1D1), the highest qualification necessary for tracking dangerous shipments over road, rail or barge that have ignitable concentrations of flammable gases, vapors or liquids like those found in the transport of gasoline and ethanol fuel. The GlobalWave terminals have also received the Department of Defense HERO or hazards of electromagnetic radiation to ordnance certification making it available to fleets responsible for transporting DoD freight.
In 2007, TransCore's trailer tracking and communications unit reached distribution milestones exceeding 150,000 satellite communications transceivers worldwide. With three ground control stations providing service to five continents, the GlobalWave network supports customers worldwide including more than 600 commercial transportation companies in North America, the U.S. Department of Defense, and powers TransCore's 3sixty fleet management services.
About Dart Transit Company
Dart Transit Co., a truckload dry van carrier serving the continental United States, Canada and Mexico, hauls general commodities including retail merchandise, paper products, beverage containers, packaging materials, food products, and general merchandise. Built on the entrepreneurial spirit of independent owner-operators, Dart has a fleet capacity of more than 2,700 tractors and 7,000 trailers available to serve customer needs.
As a full service carrier, Dart provides high cube vans, one way trucking, dedicated service, and regional and local cartage under Dave Oren, president. In addition, the Dart network of companies provides: intermodal, drayage, logistics, brokerage, warehousing, tractor and trailer maintenance, truck leasing, and portable storage.
Established in 1934, Dart is family owned and operating under third-generation leadership.
For more information visit www.dart.net.
About TransCore
TransCore operates as a unit of Roper Industries, a market-driven, diversified growth company with 2006 revenues of $1.7B, a market capitalization of over $4B, and is a component of the S&P Mid-Cap 400, Fortune 1000 and Russell 1000 Indexes.
With products and installations in 46 countries, more than 100 patents worldwide, and pioneering applications of radio frequency identification (RFID) and satellite communications technologies, TransCore's expertise is unparalleled in the markets it serves. TransCore's GlobalWave Satellite Communications Technology Center, the hub for the company's SatCom research and development, is based in Ottawa, Canada, while manufacturing for both RFID and satellite communications is based at TransCore's Amtech Technology Center in Albuquerque, N. M.
For more information, visit www.transcore.com.
SOURCE: Dart Transit Co.