Keep taking the tablets
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The handheld computer’s days are numbered — the tablet is taking over, but do you need a dedicated device or a readily available consumer product?
Words: Toby Clark A All ETS Distribution
vehicles are fitted with Fleet Manager
The past couple of years have seen transport irms embrace the handheld device – whether it’s a dedicated terminal or just a smartphone — to take PoDs, record daily checks and working hours or relay job orders and scheduling information to the driver. However, Apple’s iPad has shown that a large touchscreen tablet is an attractive proposition for the consumer. Could the tablet also make inroads into the transport market — and is it worth going for a dedicated industrial device or a readily available consumer product?
Getac
Getac builds rugged portable computers for everyone from the military to warehouse operators. It is not a high-proile irm because its products are often supplied through software companies.
“We are unique in that we are a specialist in the design and manufacture of laptops, handhelds and tablets,” says Peter Molyneux, vice president of Getac UK. “As far as design is concerned, we’ll take it right from the beginning through to inal production. The word ‘rugged’ is misused in some areas — even the motherboard [of our laptops] is designed as rugged.
“The deinition of ‘fully rugged’ for us is IP65 for ingress [meaning the enclosure is proof against dust and water jets] and the MIL-STD-810F speciication for shock, drop and vibration.” Some customers demand even higher standards: utilities irm Western Power Distribution, for instance, speciies IP67 handhelds, which must withstand total immersion for 30 minutes.
“Our expertise is in mechanical design and heat dissipation — we don’t it fans,” adds Molyneux.
“We have our own manufacturing, which allows us to make customised technology, and we do quite a lot of bespoke work.” Markets for handhelds, tablets and notebooks are all growing, but Molyneux admits that few PCs are used onboard commercial vehicles. “It’s very much a handheld market,” he says.
But with consumer smartphones becoming cheaper, is it worth paying more for a specialist device? “Always go for the device that meets your needs,” says Molyneux. He doesn’t think a ‘bring your own device’ approach will work — even if the operator’s applications run on a driver’s own phone, there are security considerations — but he does admit that a consumer phone or tablet might work inside a truck cab.
And this ‘consumerisation’ can be useful. “A utility company told me, ‘we don’t mind if an engineer downloads a couple of apps for himself, because he’s using the device’ — and that means that he values it.
“But outside, if you need barcode reading, do you give them a separate reader? And if you’re in a working environment where there’s a risk of drop, the TCO [Total Cost of Ownership] could be greater with a consumer device.” For instance, if the device breaks, how do you get another one to the employee? Getac offers a standard three-year warranty with options such as a pickup service and a buffer stock of spare devices.
Molyneux is convinced tablets will become much more common in transport. “Customers feel that with a seven-inch tablet screen they can give their drivers more information than they can with a handheld — not just more information, but more interaction, and perhaps approved applications for their own use.” Tablets also include features such as accelerometers, which make it possible to monitor driving behaviour.
The cost difference between a seven-inch tablet and a handheld device with a 3.5-inch screen is not much, he says, but the beneit is considerable.
Which operating system will be dominant? Industrial and commercial handhelds tend to use Windows CE, but tablets are different: Apple’s iPad uses its own iOS, while most other tablets use a version of Google’s Android OS, and Microsoft has Windows 8 coming later this year.
However, the operating system might not matter. “Many customers are committed to the Microsoft enterprise system or to Oracle,” says Molyneux. This data can be accessed via the HTML5 web protocol. “If you’re running web-based apps, you can run them on Android or Microsoft2” — and also on Apple’s iOS.
“Microsoft’s mobile strategy isn’t clear,” says Molyneux. “Android as a cost base starts to look beneicial, and Android and Java are easier to develop [applications] for than the Microsoft platform. We are seeing projects built on the Android platform at large enterprise level. We’re seeing Android as being on the move.” ■
THE GETAC Z710 RUGGED TABLET
The newly launched Getac Z710 is an Android tablet with a seven-inch screen, which features a 3G wireless data connection as well as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It weighs around 800g, has a 10-hour battery life and is fitted with GPS, an electronic compass, altimeter, accelerometer, and cameras front and rear. Unlike consumer tablets, the Z710 is rated to IP65 for water ingress and MIL-STD-810G — it can handle a five-foot drop — and has a 1D/2D barcode reader, the option of a high-frequency RFID reader and a full-size USB port. The Z710’s capacitive touchscreen can be used with gloves on, but Getac claims that it feels as responsive as a consumer device — “it only needs a very light touch,” says Peter Molyneux — and unlike most touchscreens it works even when it is wet, oily or dirty.
ETS DISTRIBUTION AND MIX TELEMATICS
Loughborough-based ETS Distribution was looking for a vehicle tracking system to improve its fleet’s utilisation and give real-time information on loads and delivery times. Operations director Paul Wreaves says ETS chose MiX Telematics’ Fleet Manager because “in addition to tracking it would enable us to measure and report on aspects of driving behaviour”. Fleet Manager can also be used with a personal digital assistant to manage daily safety checks and delivery/collection confirmation.
The system uses the FM Communicator onboard computer to gather information about vehicle performance, which is delivered to the fleet manager via the internet-based FM Web reporting suite. MiX Telematics’ optional RIBAS display gives the driver instant feedback, with lights that indicate: R over-revving I excessive idling B harsh braking A harsh acceleration S speeding “We decided to test the system in conjunction with a planned programme of driver training,” says Wreaves. “Fleet Manager automatically generates driver scores, with 100% being a perfect result. Our driver trainer would focus on working with the lowest-scoring drivers.
“We began by piloting the system on six vehicles. The benefits immediately became apparent and convinced us to roll out Fleet Manager across our entire fleet of 24 trucks.” The results have been impressive, with a 10.3% improvement in fuel efficiency across the fleet.