Omnitracs Outlook 2016: Nice setup, good reception

DALLAS. It's a technology conference where fleets of all kinds have come to learn about ways they can save money, cut waste and improve safety and uptime. Omnitracs Outlook 2016 got rolling with a reception Sunday evening, Jan. 31 in the just-assembled exhibit hall, dubbed the Partner Pavilion and Solutions Center.

Some are here to refine and advance their skills in using Omnitracs technology and solutions, and others are looking to explore what's possible — including with the products on display from exhibitors and vendors.

You'll find a good example of the latter with attendee Premal Shah, chief investment officer for specialty waste hauler Sprint Waste Services, L.P. Shah says he's here to check out different ways to streamline operations by employing more fleet management technology for the Houston-based, 400-truck company, which handles things like used chemicals and other hazmat items.

And no doubt with Dallas' 68 degrees and clear skies on Sunday, many attendees are also finding a pleasant change of pace climate-wise than the wintry cold and snow piles in many areas across the country.

Omnitracs set up a number of special booths and kiosks in the Partner Pavilion, including: 

• Driver Workflow: Features in-cab Omnitracs Driver Workflow 2.0 interaction with Sylectus TMS on the Mobile Computing Platform 50

• Mobile Data Capture: Demonstrates out-of-cab data capture on a handheld device, combined with integration to existing Scanning and Driver Workflow MCP apps

• Fleet Business Intelligence on the XRS platform: Provides advanced reporting concepts on the XRS platform using Jaspersoft technology, and the discovery of reporting needs for Enterprise Services customers

• Critical Event Video (CEV): A product overview and live demonstration of Omnitracs Critical Event Video on both Enterprise Services and XRS platforms

• Virtual Load View (VLV): Concept demonstration of this application that enables load tracking when the freight is hauled by equipment a carrier does not own

• Trailer Tracking for the Enterprise Services platform: An overview of TT150, Omnitracs' new trailer track-and-trace product          

• Narrative Summaries: Customers will have the opportunity to share feedback on a potential reporting mechanism that creates text-based summary of large amounts of data

• Cell Phone Lock Out for the Enterprise Services platform: Proof-of-concept demo for a cell-blocking application that responds to driver duty status; if the driver is currently logged into a vehicle and driving, cellphone usage will be disabled

• Engine Updates: Delivers overview of the engine Over-the-Air Programming Process and how drivers and fleet managers interact with the application

• Omnitracs Innovation Process: An overview of Omnitracs' conceptualization and new product ideation process that informs customers how the company determines what technology to target for future development efforts

• Envision Route Optimizations for the Roadnet Platform: Demonstration of Envision, the Roadnet Anywhere proprietary optimization algorithms that allow users to run multiple scenarios so strategy makers can visualize the range of possibilities that various route optimizations would deliver

• Insight for the Roadnet Platform: A data discovery and exploration tool that allows executives, managers, drivers and data analysts to quickly mine data; trends, performance summaries and advanced graphics come together on dashboards for one stop monitoring of company performance

• Internet of Things Mobility and Productivity for the Roadnet Platform: A presentation of next generation mobile Smartwatch integration for anywhere, anytime manager and driver connectivity interaction

• OEM Integrated Telematics: With factory-installed Volvo integrated hardware, customers can leverage the combined Volvo and Omnitracs technology to receive near real-time location information on drivers and Volvo and Mack vehicles

• Omnitracs Analytics Accident Severity Model: The ability to leverage Hours of Service data to predict the drivers most at risk for a severe accident as well as advanced use of Natural Language Process and text analytics in remediation

• Omnitracs LATAM Innovations: How Omnitracs' telematics, theft prevention (Advanced Fuel Control) analysis and financial control (Fuel Management) solutions give carries a path for improving fuel efficiency;  attendees will also have an opportunity to peek in-progress features, including a panic button, ignition disability and de-rate

• Omnitracs Sylectus TMS Innovations: Preview new features for on-demand tracking and receiving trip event updates from other carriers’ drivers using smart mobile devices, in addition to other enhancements to the Sylectus application with a focus on truckload operations

• Omnitracs Dossier Integration: A first-look at a soon-to-launch partnership wherein Omnitracs will be a new data provider for Dossier On-Board