Magellan® today encouraged fleet utility companies to prepare for extreme winter conditions by outfitting their fleet with the latest GPS technology.
Climate Communication, a non-profit science and outreach project, warns that “Climate change is fueling an increase in the intensity and snowfall of winter storms. The atmosphere now holds more moisture, and that in turns drives heavier than normal precipitation, including heavier snowfall in the appropriate conditions.”
It may seem illogical but heavier-than-normal snowfalls are consistent with climate model projections. Warmer ocean temperatures produce stronger nor’easters and larger snowfall totals, according to Michael Mann, a climatologist and director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University.
Despite expectations to the contrary, winter can still roar in. Two back-to-back blizzards called Snowmageddon hit the Northeast in early 2010 and Denver received 19.5 inches on a single day in March of 2016.
Nationwide, nine of the top 10 years for extreme one-day precipitation events have occurred since 1990, according to the EPA.
“Magellan created its “Return to Route” solution, a segment-based routing and navigation tool, as a way to help municipal fleets navigate through adverse winter weather efficiently,” said Ted Lee, Director of Product Management, Magellan.
Return to Route enables immediate communication between dispatcher and driver. A real-time backend portal seamlessly connects the two ends of a fleet business, while a GPS-device, mounted on the dashboard, keeps the driver on his or her route. All routes can be updated dynamically and over the air from the back-office Web portal or directly from the device itself – making it easy for administrators to track and adjust schedules, as needed.
“I think it was Mark Twain who said, ‘Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.’ We like to think that’s changed now with our GPS-driven Return to Route technology,” added Lee. “Our goal is to empower fleet drivers to safely, efficiently, and accurately make their rounds, even under extreme winter conditions.”
Fleet administrators interested in outfitting their fleet with Return to Route before winter hits, are invited to visit www.magellangps.com.
