roadmap monthly newsletter - march 2011

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Roadmap monthly newsletter

Editorial

n the Carnival holidays, the office of a company

nearby was assaulted. Apart from a few

laptops, it seems, the gang robbed a vehicle of

that company, which was parked in the garage.

The vehicle was gone and – fortunately – was already found by the police. But

not thanks to any GPS system installed in the vehicle. The vehicle did not have

one. So, for a series of days, it was not possible to recover the vehicle. Nor the

other robbed stuff. If it weren’t for other clues the police obviously had, it would

probably be gone forever.

I am, of course, biased in saying this: it does not

make any sense anymore for companies not to

have their entire fleet equipped with a vehicle

tracking system. Allow me to explain why.

The simple fact that a vehicle may be stolen, as happened with this company,

pays off. You may think that’s not a problem as long as insurance covers theft of

the vehicle. But that insurance adds an extra cost to the company, and this cost

could be a lot lower if the vehicle were traceable by GPS. Some insurance

companies already give discounts in the case of GPS equipped vehicles, and

rightly so. Besides, in the case where the vehicle transports goods, tools or

values, the insurance is not enough, is it? And just because the vehicle is insured

against theft doesn’t mean that a new vehicle will be immediately available. This

often means a disruption in the service provided to customers

But any justification for not having a GPS tracking system on board becomes

even harder to understand when you think of the great benefits such a system

generates in terms of productivity, cost control and customer satisfaction. That

is usually the primary reason why our customers adopt Frotcom. And vehicle

security is simply a great side effect.

Valério Marques CEO - Frotcom International

A note from the editor – If you would like to have your own say in the next edition of this newsletter please do

not hesitate to get in touch at [email protected].

O

March

2011

In this issue

New features

Alarm sounds, useful links

and many others

Case study

Fibnet

Reducing travel times

and costs

News and events

Indian adventure

about to end

This and much more…

mailto:[email protected]


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New Features

“My Profile” and “Company profile” have changed

As more options are becoming available for users to

customize their user experience, the My Profile and

Company Profile sections in Frotcom’s Administration

area needed to be redesigned. Users now have a

stronger visual aid helping them select the appropriate

options.

Start page choice expanded

Users can now select from a total of 19 different start pages (landing pages)

when they login. Choices are available in the My profile section.

Sounds and popups

for messages and

alarms

It is now possible to specify popup warnings and sounds when alarms are

triggered or new messages are received.

CANBus report extended

The CANBus report has been extended to a

maximum time period of 31 days. This will

allow users to calculate the total and average

consumption of a vehicle, among other data,

for a complete month.

Requesting support

Users can now request direct support from their Frotcom Certified Partner

(FCP) by simply clicking on the Feedback/Support link in Frotcom. The

message entered will be immediately received by the FCP and support will be

quickly provided.

Useful links

A quick button for a list of links to useful web sites has been added to Frotcom. Users can edit the list and add their own list of preferred sites.

Did you know?

Source: CNN.com

Japan may have shifted

more than 2 meters

The powerful earthquake that

unleashed a devastating tsunami

Friday appears to have moved the

main island of Japan by 8 feet (2.4

meters) and shifted the Earth on its

axis.

"At this point, we know that one GPS

station moved (8 feet), and we have

seen a map from GSI (Geospatial

Information Authority) in Japan

showing the pattern of shift over a large

area is consistent with about that much

shift of the land mass," said Kenneth

Hudnut, a geophysicist with the U.S.

Geological Survey (USGS).

Reports from the National Institute of

Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy

estimated the 8.9-magnitude quake

shifted the planet on its axis by nearly 4

inches (10 centimeters).

The temblor, which struck Friday

afternoon near the east coast of Japan,

killed hundreds of people, caused the

formation of 30-foot walls of water that

swept across rice fields, engulfed entire

towns, dragged houses onto highways,

and tossed cars and boats like toys.

Some waves reached six miles (10

kilometers) inland in Miyagi Prefecture

on Japan's east coast.

Source: CNN.com


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Case Study

FibNet

Reducing travel times and costs in telecommunication projects

FibNet - Engineering and Telecommunications, S.A. emerged in the Portuguese

telecommunications market in 2000 as a provider of integrated solutions,

dedicated to the design, implementation and construction management of

telecommunication networks.

With a recognized team of excellent professionals, FibNet guarantees its

customers an efficient management of all resources, focusing on the quality of

their services.

FibNet started its activity with the design and construction of a

fiber optic ring on a national scale. Later, the company

expanded its work to other areas of engineering, such as

building telecommunication networks. Currently, FibNet offers

turn-key solutions, covering such diverse areas as GSM, FWA

and UMTS networks, cable TV and fiber optics.

To control its fleet, FibNet adopted Frotcom. According to

Susana Dias, Administrator of FibNet "The use of Frotcom has

enabled FibNet a more precise knowledge of the work of field

staff and thus to better be able to respond to customer

requests. As an additional advantage, we are now able to

manage the vehicles that are allocated to projects abroad“.

FibNet also noticed “a decrease in travel times and mileage, as

well as a reduction in fuel cost.”

Tip of the month

Useful Links

Frotcom has just launched the new

Useful links feature, a quick access to

your preferred web sites.

The idea is that you can have a list of

those useful sites where you normally

find information which is important for

the management of your fleet’s activity.

Here are some examples:

Traffic status report

Emergency phone numbers

Weather forecast

Fuel price comparison and location

of the corresponding gas stations

Currency conversion

Freight exchange

News

To help you start, Frotcom already

includes a couple of links. You can add

your own links by pressing the Edit

button and inserting your own choices.

When you select a link, you will open a

new page with the selected website.

Apart from having all fleet

management useful sites together, this

feature in Frotcom allows you to have

access to this preferred list from any

computer connect to the internet. In

that sense, it is a better solution than

simply using the favourites in your web

browser.


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News and events

The Indian adventure is about to end

Do you remember the Frotcom sponsored adventure of a couple in a sidecar

motorbike in India? Well, after almost 5 months interacting with the Indian

culture, this epic adventure is close to its end. Leninha and Inácio started on

November 2, 2010, in Delhi, India, and will finish in the same place, after

8000km in the roads of this fabulous country.

The sidecar motorcycle, a 1966 Royal Enfield Bullet 350cc, was equipped with a

Frotcom tracking device, which made it possible to follow up the entire journey.

Today, as these words are being written, the couple has left Varanasi and is

resting halfway to Allahabad, in the north of India and on the way back to Delhi.

For further information and great pictures and videos about this adventure, visit

www.daravolta.com or www.facebook.com/daravolta.

According to their logbook, the couple is

already considering another trip in another

exotic place. Frotcom, of course, will be

available to track and trace their vehicle again

(whatever that might be!...)

Roadmap contratulates Lenhinha and Inácio for this great initiative and wishes

both a safe journey back home.

Next, on Roadmap

News and events,

more new Frotcom features

and tips will be presented.

This and more, so don’t miss

the next issue of Roadmap.

http://www.daravolta.com/

http://www.facebook.com/daravolta

roadmap monthly newsletter - march 2011

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