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Apart from the middle of a tunnel or the hold of a ferry, there are few hiding places for a truck fitted with a satellite tracking system. But does the technology justify the expense? We look at the systems and ask the users.
THE SYSTEMS
Let's be clear about this forget the
plethora of brand names adopted by marketing agents. There are just two systems of satellite messaging that provide two-way communication between trucks and their bases: Inmarsat and Euteltracs.
lnmarsat is a global system. As its name implies, Euteltracs, covers Europe and some adjoining territories. Both systems are operated by feeding information to an onboard computer—no voice contact is made with the driver but keyboard displays take up to 1,900 characters. The computer screens back at base can track vehicles to within 50m. The systems overcome obstacles such as mountains that often defeat land based telephones. For this reason, the British Army in Bosnia uses an Inmarsat satellite as its main form of communication with its transport.
In addition to simple communication between driver and base, systems can offer more sophisticated facilities adapted to the needs of the user. A reefer operator can test the temperature of the produce from the other side of the world. A driver's panic button can provide security for high-value loads and for the driver. Loads can be weighed, a receipt printed and the traffic controller at base can check that the driver has picked up the correct load—all without a word being exchanged. Inmarsat is developing hand-held telephone communications systems as well, but they will not be available much before 2000.
Another contender in this field, Global System for Mobile Communications, is developing a pan-European telephone network but this is also some way off.
So how do the systems work? The sender bounces a message in data packets to a satellite which bounces it back to earth. A land station reassembles and transcribes the message for forwarding to the vehicle by conventional national and international telecommunications networks. Replying to the message uses the same process in reverse, and f no reply is required, a receipt is provided.
Accuracy is assured by using more than one satellite to pinpoint the position of the vehicle in both the Inmarsat and Euteltracs systems. The first satellite receives the message; the second fixes on the vehicle. Inmarsat has a partnership with the US forces' Global Positioning System, which was used in the Gulf conflict.
Inmarsat A is used for ordinary data transmission such as telephone and fax; Inmarsat B sends TV pictures. Inmarsat C is the option used to provide communication with road transport. The four Inmarsat satellites are owned by 73 countries which each have a nominated shareholder who provides the service. In Britain this is British Telecom; in France it is France Telecom (which also offers Euteltracs). In some countries the shareholder will be a government ministry. A further three Inmarsat satellites are being developed for launch from this year.
THE USERS
SERVICE EUROPE SYSTEME Located on development land in PleneeJugon among Brittany's verdant countryside, Service Europe Systeme runs a 30-vehicle reefer operation, transporting fresh meat all over Europe but specialising in serving countries in the former Eastern Europe.
Its boss is Marc Verre, a man who believes so strongly in the principles of just rewards that his five top drivers earned more than he did last year. He is also an accomplished musician (fiddle, guitar, bodhran) in the Celtic tradition indigenous to the Breton culture.
It is important to Verre that the business, set up in 1990 with five trucks, has a philosophy based on equality and sharing. Equally important is making the business a success in a developing Europe. For this reason the fleet—which includes 17 Renault Magnums—has recently been kitted out with the Euteltracs satellite system.
Since the satellite was introduced, says Verre, the business has won customers and increased vehicle utilisation. With prices changing on a daily basis, freshproduce customers get nervous if the load is delayed. With the satellite, they can be informed exactly how far away the delivery is.
Verre cites the company's regular trips to Warsaw as an example. "In the past it would take a day to clear the documents. Now we can inform customers the vehicle is 200km from the border and they will prepare paperwork ahead of its arrival. We win half a day." As a result SES upped its weekly runs to Poland frOIll three to four.
The reluctance of customers to prepare paperwork without confirmation of arrival time is bemuse the EC subsidises fresh meat exports to Eastern Europe—but only based on correctly dated documents. "We can even tell which side of the road the truck is on," says Verre.
Drivers were at first suspicious of the spy in the sky but have learned how comforting it can be. When a vehicle was stuck in Smollensk for 10 days, the satellite kept the driver sane through hourly contact with Brittany.
SES uses the system for routeing amendments. Each Friday it sends five truckloads of chickens to UK supermarkets. It may find the Cherbourg/Poole ferry fullybooked and divert the driver to Le Havre/Portsmouth. It may be delayed delivering to a Tesco depot in Bristol and be ■ requested by the retailer to drop the load elsewhere. Then there is the ferry to Lithuania which only runs once a week and operates an open booking policy SES waits until its driver reaches Kiev before confirming its requirement.
Verre says the system has proved more reliable than mobile phones, although messages will not be received when the lorry is on a ferry or in a tunnel but the system continues to transmit for 30 minutes before assuming the vehicle "lost". Ironically, data. hopping through the stratosphere is as nothing to traversing northern France.The longest part of the message's journey is from Plenee Jugon to Paris before bouncing into space.
CURRIE EUROPEAN TRANSPORT Scottish haulier Currie of Dumfries has equipped 30 trucks with Euteltracs for its regular runs into Europe with high-value loads of computer products.
It began with a six week trial prior to installation and now intends to extend the service to its whole European fleet.It sends 200 vehicles a week into Europe including many run by owner drivers who will be invited to rent the satellite equipment.
"In the past we have relied on information being passed back by drivers which could prove sketchy," says managing director, Norman Currie. "This system removes any doubts on location of the vehicles as well as saving on expensive phone calls from Europe."
SUN VALLEY DISTRIBUTION Sun Valley Distribution is a subsidiary of chicken producer, Sun Valley Poultry, which has factories in Hereford and France.
It has fitted Euteltracs to nine vehicles on contracts which include supplying poultry to the MacDonalds chain in Europe. Trials began last September and it made a decision in six weeks. "There's nothing worse than someone asking where their delivery is and having to say you don't know," says business manager, Paul Kitching.
The company can send its driver a message while he's asleep. There's no question of wrong spellings, of the driver not finding a pen, of a rogue driver lying about his location. "I've got nothing but praise for the system," says Kitching.
ALLIED PICKFORDS International removals firm, Allied Pickfords, has installed BT's Globetrak system on four vehicles operating across Europe.
AP is the international arm of NFC company, Pickfords. Before Globetrak it says it was dependent on drivers calling from public payphones and could not accurately predict when a vehicle would deliver. Since the operation is multi-drop, with up to 20 deliveries in a run, this caused problems in offering customers arrival times. The opening of Eastern Europe has meant vehicles are away for longer periods in countries where communications are notoriously unreliable.
THE PROVIDERS
Alcatel Network Systems, The Old Malt House, St Johns Road, Banbury, Oxon, 0X16 8HX.
Phone (0295) 273114.
Alcatel is the Euteltracs agent for the UK. It says the system has been designed specifically for the transport industry with more than 60,000 vehicles equipped in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.Users pay £4,000 per truck plus £2,000 for office software.
BT Globetrak, 43 Bartholomew Close, London, EC1A 711P.
Phone 071-492 4996.
British Telecom offers Globetrak, linking the Inmarsat C satellite to BT's earth station at Goonhilly in Cornwall. Three, four or fiveyear rental contracts are available from £65 per vehicle per month for a terminal with printer. Purchase cost is £6,000 for the software and £4,000 for a terminal with printer. Text transmitted is charged at under 0.5p per character regardless of time of day. The Integrated Security Group, 5 Repton Court, Repton Close, Burnt Mills, Basildon, Essex, SS13 1LN.
Phone (0268) 527700.
ISG calls its product Tracer and is effectively limited to UK use at the moment. Although messages are sent by satellite—using the US forces GPS satellites—the driver can only respond by radio or mobile phone. ISG says this is cheaper than two-way satellite communication.
Logiq Eastern Bypass, Thame, Oxon, OX9 3FB.
Phone (0844) 261112.
Logiq provides lnmarsat C to the British Army in Bosnia with 16 Leyland Daf military trucks and eight Land Rovers fitted. It developed electronic tags for load identification, used by the army to retrieve ground dumped supplies. Although Logic is based at Leyland Daf's Thame headquarters the company is independent and offers its services to all makes of vehicle.
iJ by Patric Cunnane