Zebra helps trucking firms pack things up tight

As any fan of the game Tetris can tell you, there's no better feeling than having all those different shapes packed together so tightly there is no space between them.

That scenario could also be considered the holy grail for the trucking industry, where efficiency comes in the form of trailers packed full of products.

It's an area that Zebra Technologies is applying its multifaceted Enterprise Asset Intelligence system to improve speed and efficiency. The Lincolnshire-based company's new SmartPack Trailer system brings technology to the loading docks, measuring and collecting data and providing real-time information for dock supervisors to make decisions that result in more efficient loading of trailers and facility operations.

The key to SmartPack is a sensor unit that mounts to the loading dock door. The sensor uses three cameras — one of them a 3-D camera — that measures and monitors the size of the trailer and how it is being loaded, according to Mike Maris, Zebra's senior director of transportation and logistics. The information coming from the units, along with information scanned from the packages and other data, are fed to a central server that processes the data and provides real-time information to workers through a computer dashboard. The information allows loading dock managers to see how the process is going and manage changes that can be made to improve speed and efficiency.

“We're taking slices of time based on user metrics, pictures of how the product is being loaded and a camera taking pictures of the trailer in 3-D,“ Maris said. “(The manager is) actually watching the trailer being loaded and will know, based on the data, when the trailer should be released, or if there is a truck at the door, or how many people are working on it.

In addition to making the loading process faster, SmartPack provides a number of additional benefits, such as package monitoring and employee safety. For the former, Zebra's tracking software is used with the system to keep an eye on where packages are, even on the truck. The cameras also monitor if it has been loaded properly, reducing the risk of damage to the package.

As for safety, SmartPack cameras can watch employees as they work, which can then be used as a training tool to help supervisors show employees how to avoid potential injuries.

“Many of these companies spend a lot of time training people how to load properly. The video can provide personalized training,” Maris said.

SmartPack is already in operation on more than 5,000 loading docks in North America, according to Maris, being used by a major global logistics company. But while it was developed with the big haulers in mind, Maris said the technology can easily be scaled down to help small and mid-sized logistics and delivery companies manage and improve their operations.

“Having this knowledge for a dock supervisor is very important,” he said. “For mid-sized companies, its optimal use could be for certain runs and customers.”

While SmartPack may not be able to pack a trailer as tight as the perfect Tetris screen, Maris said that could be a reality be down the road as Zebra incorporates other technologies such as the cloud, internet of things and head-up displays.

“Tetris is a great thing if you can make it work,” he said. “With some of the newer technologies we're working on, it could well enable us to do that.”

News Bytes

• Motorola Solutions will acquire Kodiak Networks, a Texas-based provider of broadband push-to-talk for commercial customers.

Terms of the acquisition were not announced.

Kodiak partners with mobile network operators globally to offer its cloud-based PTT solution and management platform, which delivers clear, reliable, instant performance over 4G LTE, Wi-Fi, and 3G networks.

The acquisition of privately-held Kodiak adds a complementary, carrier-integrated PTT-over-cellular solution to Chicago-based Motorola's existing WAVE PTT portfolio. WAVE enables communication between smartphones, radios and computers via wireless or wireline broadband.

The acquisition is expected to close later this year.

• Good news for Tesla owners — the exclusive electric automaker is eyeing Rolling Meadows for a “Supercharger” station.

The station, planned for the Meijer shopping center at Golf and Algonquin roads, will give Tesla owners a place to charge their cars in 30-45 minutes. It will be the fourth Supercharger station in the Chicago area and among 848 in the nation.

Tesla already has nearly 20 “Destination Charging” sites at restaurants, hotels and shopping centers in the Chicago area, but cars take longer to charge there, and the charges don't last as long.

The Rolling Meadows City Council is currently considering the proposal, and Tesla officials hope to have the station up and running before the summer travel season.

• RBA, a national digital and technology consultancy, and Lisle-based Navistar were recognized with two Gold Horizon Interactive Awards in the “corporate and B2B” and “responsive/mobile design” categories for the website for International Trucks, the flagship brand of Navistar.

The Horizon Interactive Awards is an international media competition offering awards for the best interactive media solutions including websites, mobile applications, print media, interactive displays, public exhibits, online advertising, video, email and more. The award winners highlight the “best of the best” in interactive media production from 2016.

Minneapolis-based RBA led technical implementation and served as developer and project manager for the website. The new International Trucks website was built with a responsive mobile experience for all features, including inventory listings and live chat. Easy navigation was developed to allow content throughout the site to be just “one click away.”

Tesla has proposed installation of 10 charging stations for its electric cars in the Meijer parking lot in Rolling Meadows.