Orbcomm, a machine-to-machine (M2M) communications company based in Rochelle Park, N.J., announced last month that it had signed trucking firm Werner as a customer for its cold chain monitoring services.
The Werner deal, says Orbcomm CEO Marc Eisenberg, gives his company “a lion’s share of the large fleets out there.” Besides Werner, which is one of the largest trucking businesses in the United States, Orbcomm also counts among its customers such refrigerated trucking giants as J.B. Hunt, Marten, Prime Inc., C.R. England and Walmart.
Orbcomm’s refrigerated truck-tracking service consists of its RT 6000+ communications device, which monitors temperature levels, locations and other variables, such as fuel levels, and ReeferTrak, a Web-based application that trucking dispatch teams can use to monitor vehicles outfitted with Orbcomm’s technology. The device will be installed in all of Werner’s approximately 1,000 refrigerated trucks, bringing the total number of refrigerated trucks monitored by Orbcomm to approximately 90,000 worldwide.
Back at their home offices, dispatchers working for Werner or other Orbcomm customers can log into the ReeferTrak application to view data about their fleets that is updated as often as once a minute. The system alerts dispatchers to temperature swings in the trucks that might damage cargo, such as ice cream or fish, and helps them keep tabs on the vehicles’ locations, as well as spot unexpected drops in fuel levels that might indicate theft—all without drivers having to exit their vehicles. Since the RT 6000+ plugs directly into each refrigerated trailer’s central processing unit, it also enables dispatchers to turn refrigeration units on and off, and to change temperature settings remotely, via the cellular modem. In addition, dispatchers can alert drivers by phone to any issues that cannot be addressed remotely.
“What it can do for Werner,” Eisenberg says of the monitoring system, “is that it can absolutely save loads. If it’s at the wrong [refrigeration] setting, you can lose your load. If you run out of fuel, you can lose your load.” The solution also allows Werner and other Orbcomm customers to monitor driver behavior that contributes to fuel waste, such as excessive idling.
The RT 6000+ unit is a 4.5-inch by 6.25-inch by 3.25-inch box that can transmit and receive data via a cellular network or through Orbcomm’s satellite constellation. Werner has chosen a cell-network-only communications service for the devices installed within its trucks. Other customers—Walmart, for example—subscribe to dual cellular and satellite communications services for its installed RT 6000+ units. The telematics unit draws power and temperature data from the refrigeration unit, while a separate fuel sensor extends from the RT 6000+ into the truck’s fuel tank.
Last month, Orbcomm announced its acquisition of InSync Software, which offers an asset-tracking solution that employs RFID technology. The acquisition will add InSync’s customer base to Orbcomm’s, Eisenberg says, and expand Orbcomm’s engineering staff.
Eisenberg sees such acquisitions as a major factor in his company’s success. “The number-one asset that Orbcomm has,” Eisenberg states, “is 220 engineers that can build and customize anything. We got that from a number of acquisitions.” Expanding its services across fleet sizes that average 14,000 units, he adds, requires “a high degree of customization” to meet varying customer needs—which, in turn, requires a top-quality team of engineers.
Orbcomm owns and operates a constellation of monitoring satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO), located about 400 miles above the planet. Positioned in low orbit, satellites “see” terrestrial antennas from different angles as they pass overhead, as opposed to geosynchronous satellites that always appear in the same place in the sky and are thus more often blocked by overhead obstacles. There are 26 Orbcomm OG1 satellites already in use, but the company has launched six of its new OG2 satellites, which can process six times more data than the OG1, and plans to launch 11 more by midyear.