The ACM-ICPC proved that future fleet management software development is in good hands

I’ve always been led to believe that our sharpest minds were being snapped up by wealthy arms manufacturers. Some time ago London’s Guardian Newspaper claimed that ‘more than half the world’s best scientists and engineers [were] employed in the arms race’. So it’s refreshing to know that some of the brightest brains in the world of computer programming are working hard to develop solutions that benefit the environment instead of coming up with new ways of killing people.

Joey Scarr and Edwin Flores are employed by Telogis, a developer of fleet management software programs that assist fleet owners to operate with a much smaller carbon footprint, reducing their fuel usage and encouraging operators to drive more economically. Joey and Edwin, who are also both working towards honors in Bachelors of Computer Science, make up two-thirds of Team J.E.T. (they are the J and E of J.E.T.), with Thomas Steinke as the third team member.

Team J.E.T recently proved how sharp they were by winning a mentally demanding contest against some of the best and brightest in the business, beating out more than 80 other university teams to win the pacific ACM- ICPC (Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest). Sponsored by IBM, the competition, which has been running since 1970, requires a team of three to share one computer and solve as many problems as possible from a challenging set of about ten, within just five hours.

However, more than just a win is to be celebrated here. The old adage that ‘it’s not what you’ve got, it’s how you use it’ is the real story here. With the likes of Team J.E.T using their obvious talents for good and not evil, we can look forward to better conditions for all. GPS tracking solutions can offer so much to both commercial and non-profit organizations.

Consider for a moment what GPS tracking and fleet management applications are currently benefiting society:

• Reduced fuel usage and worker overtime, keeping businesses profitable, the economy positive and redundancies down
• Minimized carbon footprint helping reduce the impact of climate change
• Faster response times for disaster relief, such as getting utility trucks to restore power to affected areas
• More efficient handling of civilian evacuations with smart route planning software
• Increased safety of isolated workers or people in dangerous and remote locations
• Effective recovery of stolen assets, alerting authorities to crime rings operating in the area
• Faster, safer routing for time-critical deliveries by emergency workers

And while the technology has boomed in the last few years, in many ways it is still in its infancy. But with network speeds improving, improved satellite imagery, better infrastructure and more vehicles being fitted with GPS devices, not to mention smart programmers like Joey and Edwin building intelligent GPS fleet tracking applications, the future is full of possibilities.

Barak Obama’s campaign slogan “Yes we can” holds just as true for improving the way we manage vehicle fleets as it does for political change. To know that young, sharp minds are focused on building solutions rather than creating problems is reassuring and good news for the fleet owners and drivers everywhere.

We’ll be keeping a close on exciting developments in GPS fleet tracking and related GPS systems as they come to light. Congratulations and thank you Team J.E.T for being a part of that.

“The big carriers are going to get bigger and fewer,” confirms Duff Swain, president of consulting firm Trincon Group, “while the smaller carriers need to get smarter and more niche-driven.”

Swain delivered this news at a recent conference, where he pointed out what most of us already know: the global economic downturn has not only forced us to rethink the way we do business today, but it’s also forced us to re-evaluate how we’ll operate in the future.

According to American Trucking Association (ATA) President Bill Graves, the main concern carriers face today is the increasing influence of the federal Government.

“The policy and regulatory reach of federal government into your businesses will surely increase over the next 5 to 10 years,” Graves said at the ATA’s Annual Management Conference & Exhibition in Las Vegas in October.

“The list of government agencies that now have a role in regulating your business reads like alphabet soup.”

To survive and thrive in the challenging and evolving freight market, he recommends that carriers initiate a strategic overhaul of their operating procedures – pronto.

“Whether you were running one truck or 10,000 trucks, figuring out how to manage almost $5 [per gallon] fuel was the difference between staying in or going out of business. Now that prices have subsided and are holding reasonably steady, the application of those lessons learned should continue to produce tangible financial benefits,” he explains.

For instance, carriers should consider investing in specialized software such as Telogis GPS Fleet Management Software, which assists with fuel management. The average OnTrack (now Telogis Fleet) customer reports a 10-15% reduction of their annual fuel bill, as well as savings and higher efficiency across areas such as insurance, safety compliance, risk management and customer service.

Truckers also need to figure out how to cope with rising costs across critical areas such as equipment and technology, by working out a way to run fewer vehicles in a more productive and profitable way.

“Change is difficult at any moment, but it will be especially challenging for this industry in this transformational time,” Graves says.

“The question is not whether you’re able to adapt to this ever-more-complicated, increasingly intrusive operating environment. Your failure to do so simply means you cease to exist as a transportation enterprise.

“The question is how you’re able to deal with these myriad government mandates – and still find some enjoyment in running your business, provide quality service to your customers and, heaven forbid, make enough profit to make it worth your while.”