Trailer Tracking Tips and Buying Advice The advice found on this page relates to the unique issues relating to trailer tracking solutions. When you are sourcing a trailer tracking solution, it is always worth checking with potential suppliers, what their thoughts are on the points raised in this section. WILL THE system SURVIVE THE OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT? A major challenge for system developers, a Trailer Tracking system will be exposed to extreme environmental conditions. It is not enough to simply place a standard vehicle tracking system into an environmentally rated enclosure such as IP67 (submersible in water up to 1m). Temperature variations and extremes will have a huge impact upon any system or device, rendering it potentially useless or even hazardous. The standard temperature range for the Automotive Industry is, –40oC to +85oC. This standard has been set as the ideal through many years of experience of developing reliable components that are widely distributed. You should be very cautious of the battery chemistry selected by the system developer. Alkaline, NiMH, NiCad and Lithium Ion all suffer serious capacity issues at extremes temperatures. Some totally freeze, and become useless. Some actually have the potential to catch fire at high extremes. It is exceedingly difficult to design and manufacture a radio that maintains operability over the environmental temperature range. Radio designers must employ advanced temperature compensation circuitry to stabilise devices such as crystals, filters and synthesisers. Many Trailer Tracking devices on the market today employ a GSM / GPRS radio board. On the whole these devices have been designed to be worn on the body and not used within heavy industry such as commercial transport. Your Trailer Tracking system will be exposed to many other environmental conditions, Dust, Shock, Sand, Vibration and Water to name but a few. A system supplier should be able to demonstrate that these areas have been addressed, ideally with some evidence of professional testing to industry standards such as: SAE-J1455 is the standard set by Society of Automobile Engineers (a organisation funded by companies such as Ford and GM) for "Environmental Practices for Electronic Equipment (Heavy-duty Trucks), see www.sae.org for more information. WILL THE system PROVIDE A LONG, RELIABLE AND UNATTENDED SERVICE LIFE? To ensure maximum return on investment a Trailer Tracking system should offer multiyear operation in the field without attendance. Any advantage gained in improved Trailer management and utilisation will soon be lost if the Trailer Tracking device itself requires a lot of management resource. A long battery life cycle is crucial to a long service life. Any quotations made for “predicted battery life” must be calculated using “real-world” metrics, all devices will use varying amounts of power depending upon the environmental conditions or by operational demands. Electronic circuits consume more power in hot environments, often as much as 50% more at industrial temperature limits. Equally battery capacity can be affected at extreme low temperatures. Multiple variable drains on available battery power will also make battery life calculations difficult to predict, the fewer variables may limit functionality, it is important to determine the best “trade-off” between battery life and system functionality for your specific application. No single Trailer Tracking technology has been adopted widely enough to be able to prove undisputed product reliability. As a general rule when seeking a system, normal rules should be applied - generally the simpler the system the more reliable it should be. You should seek evidence that the system or device been in widespread use in other similar industrial applications. Regular battery changes and maintenance will mean that the system needs attendance. Some Trailer operators have expressed concern over the security of SIM cards, These issues should be addressed, as ultimately they boil down to hidden costs. WHAT IS THE AREA OF OPERATION? Any tracking system must use a mobile data network in order to send its location to a central server, so that you can view the data (positions of your Trailers). Many systems utilise the GSM (mobile phone networks). GSM coverage can become marginalised in sparsely populated areas. Data-interconnect problems (roaming) into other counties along with the associated variations in operating costs when abroad can also be problematic. Satellite communications is an alternative to terrestrial networks (GSM); generally these will offer a wider geographic area of operation and fall into two categories, “Geostationary” and “Non Geostationary”. Trailer Tracking systems that utilise Geostationary satellites systems typically require a large amount of power due to the “high-orbit” of the satellite, also these systems can suffer a “shadowing” effect from stationary objects (tall buildings). Devices that use Non Geostationary networks for communication tend not to suffer with shadowing and require much far less power due to the fact they are in a Low Earth Orbit (LEO), some have limited functionality as a “trade-off” for low power consumption. IS THE system SIMPLE TO INSTALL AND OPERATE? Some systems may need professional installation that can take up to 6 hours. You should consider the logistical implications of co-ordinating trailers and engineers, as well as the cost of having trailers off the road. Typically this type of system will provide a high level of functionality, however there could be ongoing call out charges due to the complex nature of the install. Using a solar panel to recharge a battery has been introduced by some system developers. This will make installation much simpler, however you need to ensure that the solar panels and recharging circuitry will survive the operational environment - for example if a solar panel becomes covered in a layer of dirt, will it still operate effectively? Even within optimum operating temperatures, rechargeable battery technology can suffer from capacity degradation over time and therefore require replacement in the field after a number of months. Physical security of a device is also crucial to long-term unattended operation; does the device or SIM card have a real or perceived value to petty criminals? Your Trailer Tracing system will require attendance if it, or one of its components is stolen. Any Trailer Tracking system needs to be simple to operate, busy traffic managers cannot afford to sacrifice time attending hours of training or having to continually call support centres for assistance. Web-based “browser” interface solutions provide the simplest and most cost effective method of data distribution, data can be collected at any internet enabled PC, providing a globally available data portal without the costs associated with software distribution and support. Client based software can provide a higher level of functionally: this would be important in a data rich environment where there is intensive “data input” by a system operator. WHAT WILL BE THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF THE system? Industry is coming under increasing pressure to effectively dispose of batteries and other electronic equipment under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive. Regular disposal of a large number of batteries is not environmentally friendly, As current Government policy now financially penalises polluters, this is a hidden cost of system ownership. There has been notable press coverage where telematics systems have interfered with on-board electronics, such as engine management systems. Some manufacturers have also expressed concerns over potential interference with ABS systems. Consider how your mobile phone interferes with a television - you should be confident that your potential system supplier has addressed this issue. CONCLUSION Trailer Tracking is a compromise of three elements, Power, Functionality and Operating Range (geographic). Any organisation looking to implement a Trailer Tracking solution should decide what is essential and what it can afford to “trade off” against these three factors. Trade-offs should be exercised with great caution, as too much “Trade off” could be an extremely costly error. Credits and Acknowledgements: Tim Steer, Managing Director, Axscend Ltd
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