To assess GPS tracking devices and associated software suitable for real time monitoring of timber haulage trucks.

Transcription

1 To assess GPS tracking devices and associated software suitable for real time monitoring of timber haulage trucks. Dr. Ger Devlin Bioresources Research Centre (BRC) Biosystems Engineering University College Dublin Belfield Dublin 4 Ireland ger.devlin@ucd.ie

2 INTRODUCTION Background to Irish Forestry Brief Overview of GPS technology. Providers of real-time GPS asset tracking in Ireland. BlueTree Vs Fleetmatics Incorporating and implementing technology into timber haulage sector.

3 ...Introduction Forest cover in Ireland increasing steadily since 1980 s. This accounts for approx. 650,000 hectares (9.09%) of Ireland s land. Potential production of roundwood from Irish forests will reach 5 million m 3 by the year Department of Biosystems Engineering, UCD.

4 Introduction Afforestation Level (ha) State Private Total 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5, Year Variation of afforestation level in Ireland in the period 1969 to 2001.

5 Introduction Roundwood production forecasts for the forests of Ireland (Coford, 2001).

6 Introduction The rising amount of timber transported on public road network will present major challenges. Total volume of timber sold in 2003 = 2.66 million m 3 = 100,000 truckloads on Irish roads!! Road transport will remain the most important part of timber transport in Ireland, having a major influence on the sector s overall economic performance and competitiveness.

7 Introduction New legal weights of (6 axle) and (5 axle) d.g.v.w. were introduced by the DOT to minimise excess road damage. Road damage proportional to 4 th power of truck s g.v.w. Fear of an economic downturn in timber sales forces hauliers to maximise their payload weight. 20% of all loads in excess of kg. 60% exceeding the kg dgvw.

8 Introduction Loads > 46 tonne & 2007 % of Total Loads Hauled Week Percentage of timber loads contracted by Coillte > 46 tonnes (Source: Coillte).

9 Introduction Scotland have recognised the significant impact of increased timber transport on rural roads. As a result, an Agrees Routes map has been developed to keep timber traffic off the most vulnerable forest access roads. Scotland has a forest cover of 1.33 million hectares compared to Ireland s million hectares, yet Ireland are harvesting and hauling more.

10 Introduction GIS and GPS technology can be used to; Monitor truck movements through a PC web browser adhering to agreed routes?? Monitor truck from the point of view that it is travelling to correct destination and not removing timber for personal gain!! Forest manager can divert trucks accordingly if the opportunity of backloads arises.

11 Introduction Coillte in conjunction with local county councils have also developed an Agreed Routes map. Routes do not always agree economically with hauliers in terms of journey time, journey distance, revenue per km (RPK) and cost per km (CPK). For these reasons, researching the effective use and implementation of GIS and GPS technology into the forest haulage sector has become a major concern in recent years.

12 Introduction GIS is already in use in the Irish forest sector with FIPS (Forest Inventory and Planning System). A similar type of routing model is being developed in Wales UK Timber transport forum. In Sweden, Arvidsson (1998) predicted that attempting to optimise routes travelled could reduce the empty return journeys by 22% = an annual saving of US$ 12.5 million = saving 20 million km empty journeys = reduction of 6.5 million litres of diesel = 5% reduction in C02 emissions!!

13 Introduction Forsberg (2003), also concluded that by using optimised routes in North Sweden could reduce direct costs by 5% and the number of empty return journeys by 24%. In Finland, TietoEnator (2002) developed an optimised routing system for Stora Enso Metsa using GPS, GSM and GPRS, used daily by over 600 people, 100 mills and over 550 trucks and harvesters. Stora Enso has annual sales over 1.1 billion euros!!

14 GPS OVERVIEW What What is GPS? Radio-based navigation system developed by DoD Initial operation in 1993 Fully operational in 1995 System is called NAVSTAR NAVigation with Satellite Timing And Ranging Referred to as GPS Series of 24 satellites, 6 orbital planes, 4 satellite vehicles (SV) on each plane Works anywhere in the world, 24 hours a day, in all weather conditions and provides: Location or positional fix Velocity Direction of travel Accurate time

15 Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) NAVSTAR USA GLONASS Russians Galileo Europeans

16 GPS involves 5 Basic Steps Trilateration Intersection of spheres SV Ranging Determining distance from SV Timing Why consistent, accurate clocks are required Positioning Knowing where SV is in space Correction of errors Correcting for ionospheric and tropospheric delays

17 How GPS works? Range from each satellite calculated range = time delay X speed of light Technique called trilateration is used to determine you position or fix Intersection of spheres At least 3 satellites required for 2D fix However, 4 satellites should always be used The 4 th satellite used to compensate for inaccurate clock in GPS receivers Yields much better accuracy and provides 3D fix

18 Signal Structure Each satellite transmits its own unique code Two frequencies used L1 Carrier MHz L2 Carrier MHz Codes CA Code use L1 (civilian code) P (Y) Code use L1 & L2 (military code)

19 Three SV ranges known 20,000 Km radius 22,000 Km radius Located at one of these 2 points. However, one point can easily be eliminated because it is either not on earth or moving at impossible rate of speed. 21,000 Km radius

20 Accurate Timing is the Key SVs have highly accurate atomic clocks Receivers have less accurate clocks Measurements made using nanoseconds 1 nanosecond = 1 billionth of a second 1/100 th of a second error could introduce error of 1,860 miles Discrepancy between satellite and receiver clocks must be resolved Fourth satellite is required to solve the 4 unknowns (X, Y, Z and receiver clock error)

21 Satellite Positioning Also required in the equation to solve the 4 unknowns is the actual location of the satellite. SV are in relatively stable orbits and constantly monitored on the ground SV position is broadcast in the ephemeris data streamed down to receiver

22 Sources of Errors Largest source is due to the atmosphere Atmospheric refraction Charged particles Water vapor Ionosphere (Charged Particles) Troposphere

23 Other Sources of Errors Geometry of satellite positions Satellite clock errors SV position or ephemeris errors Quality of GPS receiver Multi-path errors

24 Dilution of Precision (DOP) Geometric location of the satellites as seen by the receiver The more spread out the satellites are in the sky, the better the satellite geometry PDOP (position dilution of precision) is a combination of VDOP and HDOP The lower the PDOP value, the better the geometric strength PDOP value less than 6 is recommended

25 Selective Availability The intentional introduction of errors for civilian users is called Selective Availability SA was terminated on May 2, 2000 When SA was on, civilian users accuracy was ~100 meters Military has capability to degrade signal in certain theatres of operation this is called spoofing - will not happen with Galileo.

26 Differential Correction Technique used to correct some of these errors Referred to as differential GPS or DGPS In DGPS, two GPS receivers are used One receiver is located at an accurately surveyed point referred to as the base station A correction is calculated by comparing the known location to the location determined by the GPS satellites The correction is then applied to the other receiver s (known as the rover ) calculated position

27 DGPS Methods Post-processing Corrections performed after the data is collected Special software required such as Trimble GPS analyst extension for GIS software Real-time Corrections are performed while the data is being collected Need special equipment to receive the DGPS signal

28 Providers of real-time GPS asset tracking. 1. Bluetree 2. Fleetmatics 3. Celltrak 4. Transpoco 5. Motor Risk Management 6. SafeCom

29 Bluetree Vs Fleetmatics Depends on the level of Big Brother type of monitoring required by the user and of course the capital cost of equipment Fleetmatics & Bluetree will provide live GPS realtime tracking of vehicles with relevant road mapping plus reports for all individual vehicles; Current location Replay the trip View recent stops / idling report Daily truck route activity Hours worked

30 Vehicle position is tracked through GPS satellites and in-truck GPS receiver Data is sent through the GSM / GPRS network which can be accessed through internet browser with username and password and updated every 3 mins (or less if required). This is how the truck s location, speed, direction etc can be accessed in real-time.

31 General concept of GPS and GPRS communications

32 Scania 124 (400hp) (rigid+trailer+crane). Iveco Stralis (530HP) (6 axle artic configuration)

33 Bluetree s GPS Blackbox

34 GPS accuracy on forest roads Accuracy on public roads not a problem can define location to within approx +/- 2->5 metres. GPS signal intermittent on forest roads due to canopy cover but accuracy does not seem to be affected when position is locked. From a location point of view - We can still monitor trucks within the forests and know that they are actually in the forests. Can define no go areas and monitor if truck actually visits.

35 From a routing point of view new X and Y co-ords of all Coillte forest entry and exit pts means we can; Develop full GIS routing map Integrate this info with GPS tracking provider Can insert co-ords into in-car sat navs to optimise directions for the truck driver. In car sat navs reduce general drivng time by 15% (GPS Ireland, 2008).

36 GIS ROAD MAP

37 Costings Big difference between BlueTree and Fleetmatics is Engine Diagnostic Recordings. Bluetree connects to all truck engines to record engine and driver performance -

38 Distance Travelled Maximum Speed, RPM, Harsh Braking Fuel Consumption Engine Run and Idling Time Total Number of Stops longer than 10mins Number of Approved and Unapproved Stops Total Stop Time Number of Trips Number of Drivers Total Drive Time

39 Most importantly Bluetree system records accurate fuel data (kmpg, idling, litres used) and monitors actual fuel in the tank very handy if transport managers are suspicious about drivers syphoning diesel if drivers take truck home!!

40 BLUETREE FLEETMATICS GPS tracker unit 1,300 2,400 (all in price). Optional lease agreement of 15 / truck / wk for 4 years = 2,880 FMS engine diagnostics Truck manufactured FMS Live and Historic tracking 55 0 Live and Historic tracking PLUS engine diagnostics Monthly GPRS data charge with O Approx 10 0 TOTAL (inc 2,400 / 2,880 (inc

41 money saving example (Nolan Transport) Biggest cost to transport companies to day is DIESEL FUEL. With Bluetree can monitor discrepancies of fuel in tank make sure fuel stays in tank when truck is not been driven. Also, can effectively manage and control the kmpg of each truck and its driver to save money and increase profits by reducing running costs.

42 Switched drivers around different trucks to maximise driver s ability to optimise the truck performance in terms of kmpg based on info from Bluetree monitoring. Increases from 9/10 kmpg to 14/15 kmpg for Daf XF and Iveco Stralis models were recorded. For an average 100,000km / annum implies;

43 100,000 / 14 = 7, gallons = 32, litres = 32, * 0.8 cent/litre = 25, ,000 / 10 = 10,000 gallons = 45,000 * 0.8 cent/litre = 36,000 SAVING approx 11,000 / annum / truck on FUEL!! => New truck on lease agreement instead of spending it on fuel!!

44 KEEP ON TRUCKIN!!