The Department of Public Works hired Orbital Sciences Corp. s Transportation Management Systems last month to provide automatic vehicle location systems for more than 500 trucks during the next two to three years. Motorola Corp. will provide two-way voice and data radios that link the vehicles to a central operations center. Baltimore also is expected to outfit street sweepers, water maintenance vehicles and other road maintenance vehicles with customized versions of the system, Canney said. The Orbital system also collects data such as road temperature and when and how much salt and de-icing chemicals are being applied. It then transmits that data to headquarters, along with location coordinates.
Managers can see on their computer screens a map showing exactly what each of their crews is doing.
If a customer complains that their street wasn t plowed, that can be confirmed immediately, said Dave Mathison, Orbital TMS vice president and general manager. The FCW.COM privacy policy , our link disclaimer and information about linking to us and online permissions .