Wireless Communications for Industrial Vehicle Management

Hackensack, N.J.-based I.D. Systems, Inc. has launched PowerFleet™, a new wireless vehicle management system for forklifts and other industrial trucks. The system incorporates the company's most powerful, versatile combination of software and wireless communication technology to date. The system focuses on managing the most critical safety and maintenance functions associated with industrial vehicles—access control, electronic safety checklists, and impact sensing—but also provides a unique array of system expansion modules to solve even more complex problems facing industrial fleets.

Modular options include productivity optimization; vehicle visibility, including true location tracking, historical movement analysis, and zone control; material handling resource planning, including electronic kanban part replenishment; vehicle speed management; vehicle battery management (both battery swap and fast-charge systems); advanced maintenance scheduling and control; and two-way text messaging/task dispatching.

"The beauty of the PowerFleet system is that it meets customers' basic needs at a very competitive price, yet can by highly tailored to tackle a customer's specific operational challenges-either at initial system deployment, or at any later time that suits the customer," said Peter Fausel, I.D. Systems' executive vice president of sales, marketing and customer support. "In addition, PowerFleet incorporates the most flexible software and wireless communications technology to enable customers to deploy the system with minimal effort, maximum security, and quickest speed to benefit."

The software is available in both client-server and browser-based formats, with user-friendly navigation designed to be as intuitive and flexible as the most popular office business programs. The software's licensing system enables users to view only those modules authorized for their operation. Task-oriented menus help users navigate with direct mouse clicks to accomplish their work quickly. An embedded "help" function provides instant answers to questions. The software incorporates multi-lingual features to make it user-friendly across borders.

Zone-based functions include geo-fencing (geographically based restrictions of vehicle activity) and localized speed management (by which risky driving behavior can be automatically curtailed within defined areas).

The Intelligent RF component of SecureStream™ technology enables data to be processed continually, in real time, but communicated only periodically, in compact, efficient data packets with an inherently encrypted structure. This results in ultra-low bandwidth usage in both wireless and wired network transmissions, minimal network maintenance,and, at the same time, fail safe data retention and robust network security.

For more information, visit www.id-systems.com.

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