If you or your company has implemented a Webtech Wireless solution, you have access to a wealth of information that’s probably worth a review. I met with Webtech Wireless Technical Writer, Andrew D’éstrubé, and he gave me a tour of what resources you can expect to find on the Go Resources site (resources.webtechwireless.com). So, if you’ve forgotten to check out your Go Resources portal lately, here’s an overview of what’s available.

The Go Resources portal has four sections, although you’ll only see one. Each section is designed for a different type of user login. The four user logins are Installer, Partner, Employee, and Quadrant. “Employee” is for Webtech Wireless employees, so I’ll describe the other three.

• The Installer section, as its name suggests, is designed for anyone who is tasked with installing Webtech Wireless hardware components (such as Locators or MDTs) on vehicles. If you’re an installer, you’ll get a link to this login along with hardware that’s shipped to you. The Installer section provides you with access to all the documentation you’ll need to install WebTech products, as well as information about certified training programs, news (upgrades), and contact information for installers if they need help.
• The Partner section is designed for third-party providers who develop solutions with Webtech Wireless. It includes news (describing resource updates), training (information the partners selling Webtech Wireless training courses), documentation (release notes, installation guides, compliance guides, and other resources), a sales toolkit (Tips & Tools for sales), contact information, and an FAQ (your resource for fundamental questions about wireless technologies).
• The Quadrant section is similar to the Partner section except that instead of the focus being on sales, it’s on professional services, “WebTech Wireless’ Professional Services is committed to driving the specific needs and goals of our customers’ projects to success”. It provides solution-oriented information on topics such as ROI, and how Quadrant saves companies money as well as information on Track & Trace Services, Transportation Services, Enterprise Services, and Services Brochures.

Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI), the second largest wood producer in the United States, is headquartered in the shadow of Mount Shasta in the Cascade Range in Northern California. SPI manages forests with a hundred year time frame in one of the most environmentally protected states in the US.

Steve Gaston, SPI Information Services Manager, has led efforts to improve business results for SPI by introducing, managing, and leveraging our Quadrant solution for their truck fleet. One area of improvement has been for their logging truck operations.

Due to weather constraints, logging in the Cascade Range can only operate for eight months of the year. SPI mills run twelve months of the year, so twelve month’s worth of log supply has to be moved out of the mountains in eight months.

Steve has seen numerous benefits from deploying Quadrant. He, his IT team, and operations have coordinated to make Quadrant part of a complete business solution to drive better results at SPI.

One improvement has been the elimination of daily cell phone calls with dispatch, a time consuming part of every day that has been eliminated by automated messaging directly to the drivers using our MDT3100 in cab solution.

By automating all the business paperwork, using geofences, and training the logging drivers to provide information via our MDT, twenty to thirty minutes of driver overtime has been saved every day. While this cost saving has been significant, dispatch and operations now have a continuously updated view of what every truck is doing, in addition to knowing where it is.

The bottom line is that SPI have used Quadrant to improve their bottom line. They were able to pull the same log volume out of their logging operations with 15% fewer loads at the end of their last season. Significantly lower costs and SPI’s mills have enough logs to keep them running all winter.

Webtech Wireless’ NextBus solution is now the transit technology that municipalities (from Montreal’s Société de transport de Laval to the Los Angeles Metro) rely on to provide accurate real-time public transportation information to millions of riders. Like other AVL solutions, NextBus uses global positioning system (GPS) tracking satellites to display transit vehicle locations in real-time. So what makes Nextbus’ particular solution so helpful?

Tackling the Problem

There is something of a perfect storm closing in on public transit systems these days. Rising fuel costs are driving many commuters to use public transit as their primary method of transportation, and with traffic variations, breakdowns, and other day-to-day problems leaving riders waiting at bus stops and train platforms, they’re increasingly turning to instant wireless communications (such as cellphones, PDAs, text messaging, etc.), to manage their lives. These riders rely on and expect reliable location-based services.

“The need for a predictive transit solution became apparent as a means to encourage ridership and streamline bus routing.”

Designing the Solution

To address these problems, NextBus was designed to “keep your customers on schedule even if their bus isn’t”. Using GPS tracking, NextBus estimates vehicle location information with a high degree of accuracy. Using PCs, landline phones, cell phones, or SMS (Text) messaging, riders get real-time travel information, which helps them decide whether catching the next bus is a sprint or leisurely stroll.

Viewed through a web browser, NextBus uses Google maps to show highly accurate route maps

“NextBus helps riders make the best use of public and university transit.”

From the standpoint of transit authorities, deploying a transit AVL solution helps transit companies improve customer service, reduce accidents, reduce fuel and labor costs, improve operator performance, and improve street-level visibility for transit supervisors and planners.

In the New York Times writer, Joshua Brustein praises the recent deployment of NextBus to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority. “Los Angeles began using NextBus for its entire bus system in May, the largest transit agency to do so.” Or, according to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority itself, the NextBus solution is “designed to help take the guesswork out of bus arrival and help you to get to your stop at the same time as your bus”.

Using NextBus on Your Smartphone

Just as the adoption of the cell phone became universal a decade and a half ago, the smartphone is now a ubiquitous part of life for most urbanites. According to New York Times writer, Damon Darlin, “historians will remember the advent of the smartphone as something as important as the elevator, air conditioner and automobile.”

The implication for transit companies is clear: adopt an AVL solution or face irritation and disinterest from your ridership. Fortunately, transit authorities are reading the writing on the wall and many of them are choosing NextBus—for its reliability and simplicity.

“NextBus, a wonderful Web site that monitors the arrival of city buses in many big cities, is a godsend.”

While there is no official phone application for Nextbus, the simplicity of the NextBus website makes it easy to use on most smartphones.

NextBus viewed on an iPhone

To access NextBus using a smartphone:

1. Using your smartphone’s web browser (such as Safari), access the NextBus website: www.nextbus.com.
2. Choose the mobile version or the full-featured website.
3. Select your location, your transit agency, your route, and then your stop.
   The most current prediction for the arrival time of the next vehicle is displayed.
4. You also can add your stop info to your home screen so it will be instantly available.
5. If a prediction is already displayed on your smartphone, simply push the ‘refresh’ link at the bottom of the page to get the most up to date information.

Training – “a huge leap forward”

In April, Julia Degen, Training Manager for Webtech Wireless, traveled to Oklahoma City to train a new client, Blue Knight Energy. She facilitated a three-day training session for 14 managers and IT personnel. She comments that due to the training, “they have already realized some great benefits from our system”. One enthusiastic training participant commented that the Webtech Wireless solution and the training represent a “huge leap forward” for their company’s bottom line. She continues, “By the end of our three days together, the participants were able to articulate exactly how to get their return on investment”.

Training Manager, Julia Degen, leads a Quadrant training session.

About Webtech Wireless Training Solutions

Julia has made a career of providing consulting services to high-risk industries where safety is paramount. Her experience providing training to high-risk industries, such as mining, has given her a wealth of knowledge and experience when meeting with the many fleet operators, safety staff (HOS), dispatchers and others deploying telematics solutions for their trucking fleets.

Implementing a wireless AVL solution in a fleet requires much more that installing hardware (Quadrant LOCATORS and MDT IN-CAB devices), or configuring software (Quadrant MANAGER). “Webtech Wireless training programs are not just about product training; they’re about designing a business solution and change management strategy within the company”, she asserts.

Top Three Reasons to Take Training

Training develops knowledge and skills with the objective of uncovering how learners will do their job with a new tool. To ensure an implementation goes smoothly, clients usually cite the following reasons for training:

• ROI/Cut Costs – ensure the company quickly reaps the cost-saving rewards of the new technology.
• Safety – increase awareness of safety standards using new tools and technology.
• Consistency – ensure users understand best practices according to the benchmarks for success set by the company.

How it Works

Webtech Wireless’ Professional Services Group, of which the Training department is a constituent part, works with clients to develop industry-appropriate training solutions to the company they’re working with. Webtech Wireless’ trainers collaborate with the Professional Services Group engineers to meet the same aims as the installation.

Julia describes her training strategy as a blend of formal training (gained from years of experience and customer knowledge) and hands-on experience focusing on developing real-world skills (where participants get to practice different strategies on their computers). This allows her to balance her training between planning and spontaneity—dispelling any notions that systems’ training is inherently boring. “Knowing who will be there is important”, she contends as this informs her about their pain points—what challenges they face.

Their training documentation library now includes materials appropriate for a diverse range of industries; so many documents can be adapted, although the training team often creates custom hot sheets, as required.

“Implementations are becoming more and more complex, especially as Webtech Wireless acquires larger clients”, comments Julia, “so our training continues to be in high demand too”.

After Training Support

Julia states that her post-training strategy is always to follow up with the client. “By providing support through the entire implementation process, I find out who they are and what their concerns are, which of course leads to better customer care.”

As a company grows and changes, she sometimes provides repeat training sessions to support new employees or take the company to the next level in their business development.

Blue Knight Energy: What they do

Blue Knight Energy picks up crude oil from well sites and transports it to a processing location for their many different customers. The fleet is 218 vehicles. They operate in a heavily regulated industry: the drivers must track their hours of service, the product they transport is a hazardous material, some of their jobs sites are considered high risk due to the presence of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S)—a highly poisonous and flammable component of natural gas.

Of the top industry issues in the transportation sector today, many are evident in the day-to-day operations of Blue Knight (economy, CSA (comprehensive safety analysis 2010), government regulations, Hours of Service, fuel issues, on-board truck technology) and Webtech Wireless is able to impact all of these areas for this customer.

For more information about Webtech Wireless training, visit http://webtechwireless.com/en/services/training/ or email training at training@webtechwireless.com

WebTech Wireless in the 8th Annual Vancouver Triathlon

On September 7th, WebTech Wireless participated in the 8th annual Multi Sports Canada Vancouver Triathlon, which took place in and around our city’s famous Stanley Park. The race consisted of a 1500 m swim, 37.6 km bike ride and a 10 km run, and we entered three teams:

1) Bob Koen (bike), Anwar Sukkarié (swim), Ben Zhou (run)

2) Neil Chan (run), Ian Povey (swim) and Joel Waithman (bike)

3) Thu Huynh (run), Scott Venn (bike), Michael Phelps (absent)

Our WebTech Wireless team came in a respectable 27th with a combined time of 2 hours, 39:41 minutes. Great job guys!