San Diego, Calif., 13 July 2009 – Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) has implemented a Mobile Resource Management (MRM) solution from CompassCom Software Corp. to manage its maintenance, emergency services and command vehicles. The automatic vehicle location (AVL) system is being used to improve service to SPU customers by reducing response time to utility service calls.
CompassCom Software made the announcement today from the ESRI International User Conference in San Diego where it is exhibiting in booth 1804.
CompassCom’s CompassLDE is a universal mobile resource management server that receives wireless GPS-based location and status information from vehicles in multiple fleets over different communications networks simultaneously. Compatible with CompassTrac and ESRI-based GIS software, CompassLDE serves location-based data in real time via the Internet or intranet for display on computer-aided dispatch, mobile data terminals or third party software.
SPU, which manages Seattle’s water, waste water, and solid waste disposal services, selected the CompassLDE GPS based tracking solution due to the system’s open architecture. This enabled SPU to integrate the AVL server with an existing Maximo ticket assignment and asset management system. With an Oracle database on the back end, SPU developed a Field Operations Mapping System to serve as the interface between Maximo and the CompassLDE MRM server.
“The integration allows SPU to combine the capabilities of its CompassLDE vehicle tracking with its asset management solution to ensure the crew with the right skills and equipment are dispatched to a service call,” said J.D. Main, CompassCom Software CTO.
The open API of the CompassLDE server also gave SPU the option of using in-vehicle GPS/modem hardware purchased from a third-party vendor, Sierra Wireless. In addition, the universal nature of the server ensures compatibility with any commercial wireless carrier. SPU uses the Sprint network. The system integrates directly with digital maps in SPU’s existing ESRI ArcGIS.
“The CompassCom solution has been very reliable,” said Steve Monsey, Infrastructure Engineer in the SPU IT Department. “The system keeps working with minimal system administration.”
In a typical application, an SPU call-taker responds to an incoming call reporting a drainage system back-up by referring to the work management solution to see which crews have the right equipment and skills to handle it. The same interface displays real-time location and status of each vehicle through the CompassTrac client software. From this information, the dispatcher sends the right crew to the call. Crews view the same AVL map screen in their vehicles and can self-dispatch as necessary using the digital map to find the location quickly.
“The AVL helps us to get more jobs completed in a day,” said Bob Bleiler, Manager of the SPU Work Management Data Systems Group. “The AVL reduces the city’s exposure to risk…because it gets the right vehicle to the site of a drainage system back-up in time to avoid property damage.”
In addition to tracking vehicles with the CompassLDE and CompassTrac solution, SPU has purchased the CompassTrac Mobile software to run on handheld, GPS-equipped devices. Used in conjunction with SPU’s Storm Observer program, these devices report the location of SPU storm observers who are assigned inspection routes in some of Seattle’s most flood-prone areas.
About CompassCom Software
CompassCom Software Corporation is the premier provider of mobile resource management solutions integrating GPS, Geographic Information System (GIS) and wireless technology. CompassCom offers the most flexible end-to-end solutions in the industry for commercial and public sector markets. Working with business partners such as ESRI Inc., CompassCom Software is managing more than 100,000 mobile assets, enabling customers to get the right resource to the right place at the right time. For more information, visit CompassCom Software at www.compasscom.com.
About Seattle Public Utilities
In addition to providing more than 1.4 million customers in the Seattle metropolitan area with a reliable water supply, Seattle Public Utilities provides essential sewer, drainage, solid waste and engineering services that safeguard public health, maintain the City’s infrastructure and protect, conserve and enhance the region’s environmental resources.