Commercial vehicle operation
Encyclopedia
Commercial Vehicle Operations is an application of Intelligent Transportation Systems for truck
s.
A typical system would be purchased by the managers of a trucking company. It would have a satellite navigation system, a small computer
and a digital radio in each truck. Every fifteen minutes the computer transmits where the truck has been. The digital radio service forwards the data to the central office of the trucking company. A computer system in the central office manages the fleet
in real time under control of a team of dispatchers.
In this way, the central office knows where its trucks are. The company tracks individual loads by using barcode
d containers
and pallet
s to track loads combined into a larger container. To minimize handling-expense, damage and waste of vehicle capacity, optimal-sized pallets are often constructed at distribution points to go to particular destinations.
A good load-tracking system will help deliver more than 95% of its loads via truck, on planned schedules. If a truck gets off its route, or is delayed, the truck can be diverted to a better route, or urgent loads that are likely to be late can be diverted to air freight. This allows a trucking company to deliver a true premium service at only slightly higher cost. The best proprietary systems, such as the one operated by FedEx, achieve better than 99.999% on-time delivery.
Load-tracking systems use queuing theory, linear programming
and minimum spanning tree
logic to predict and improve arrival times. The exact means of combining these are usually secret recipes deeply hidden in the software. The basic scheme is that hypothetical routes are constructed by combining road segments, and then poor ones are eliminated using linear programming.
The controlled routes allow a truck to avoid heavy traffic caused by rush-hour, accidents or road-work. Increasingly, governments are providing digital notification when roadways are known to have reduced capacity.
A good system lets the computer, dispatcher and driver collaborate on finding a good route, or a method to move the load. One special value is that the computer can automatically eliminate routes over roads that cannot take the weight of the truck, or that have overhead obstructions.
Usually, the drivers log into the system. The system helps remind a driver to rest. Rested drivers operate the truck more skillfully and safely.
When these systems were first introduced, some drivers resisted them, viewing them as a way for management to spy on the driver.
A well-managed intelligent transportation system provides drivers with huge amounts of help. It gives them a view of their own load and the network of roadways.
Components of CVO include:
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s.
A typical system would be purchased by the managers of a trucking company. It would have a satellite navigation system, a small computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
and a digital radio in each truck. Every fifteen minutes the computer transmits where the truck has been. The digital radio service forwards the data to the central office of the trucking company. A computer system in the central office manages the fleet
Fleet vehicles
Fleet vehicles are groups of motor vehicles owned or leased by a business or government agency, rather than by an individual or family. Typical examples are vehicles operated by car rental companies, taxicab companies, public utilities, public bus companies, and police departments...
in real time under control of a team of dispatchers.
In this way, the central office knows where its trucks are. The company tracks individual loads by using barcode
Barcode
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows data about the object to which it attaches. Originally barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1 dimensional . Later they evolved into rectangles,...
d containers
Containerization
Containerization is a system of freight transport based on a range of steel intermodal containers...
and pallet
Pallet
A pallet , sometimes called a skid, is a flat transport structure that supports goods in a stable fashion while being lifted by a forklift, pallet jack, front loader or other jacking device. A pallet is the structural foundation of a unit load which allows handling and storage efficiencies...
s to track loads combined into a larger container. To minimize handling-expense, damage and waste of vehicle capacity, optimal-sized pallets are often constructed at distribution points to go to particular destinations.
A good load-tracking system will help deliver more than 95% of its loads via truck, on planned schedules. If a truck gets off its route, or is delayed, the truck can be diverted to a better route, or urgent loads that are likely to be late can be diverted to air freight. This allows a trucking company to deliver a true premium service at only slightly higher cost. The best proprietary systems, such as the one operated by FedEx, achieve better than 99.999% on-time delivery.
Load-tracking systems use queuing theory, linear programming
Linear programming
Linear programming is a mathematical method for determining a way to achieve the best outcome in a given mathematical model for some list of requirements represented as linear relationships...
and minimum spanning tree
Minimum spanning tree
Given a connected, undirected graph, a spanning tree of that graph is a subgraph that is a tree and connects all the vertices together. A single graph can have many different spanning trees...
logic to predict and improve arrival times. The exact means of combining these are usually secret recipes deeply hidden in the software. The basic scheme is that hypothetical routes are constructed by combining road segments, and then poor ones are eliminated using linear programming.
The controlled routes allow a truck to avoid heavy traffic caused by rush-hour, accidents or road-work. Increasingly, governments are providing digital notification when roadways are known to have reduced capacity.
A good system lets the computer, dispatcher and driver collaborate on finding a good route, or a method to move the load. One special value is that the computer can automatically eliminate routes over roads that cannot take the weight of the truck, or that have overhead obstructions.
Usually, the drivers log into the system. The system helps remind a driver to rest. Rested drivers operate the truck more skillfully and safely.
When these systems were first introduced, some drivers resisted them, viewing them as a way for management to spy on the driver.
A well-managed intelligent transportation system provides drivers with huge amounts of help. It gives them a view of their own load and the network of roadways.
Components of CVO include:
- Fleet Administration
- Freight Administration
- Electronic Clearance
- Commercial Vehicle Administrative Processes
- International BorderBorderBorders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
Crossing Clearance - Weigh-In-Motion (WIM)
- Roadside CVO Safety
- On-Board Safety Monitoring
- CVO Fleet Maintenance
- Hazardous Material Planning and Incident Response
- Freight In-Transit Monitoring
- Freight Terminal Management
See also
- LogisticsLogisticsLogistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
- Owner–Operator Independent Drivers Association