Qualcomm Announces New Critical Event Reporting Application for Improved Driver Performance and Commercial Vehicle Safety
Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), a leading provider of business-to-business wireless enterprise applications and services, today announced a new vehicle data recording application for use with the OmniTRACS® mobile communications system that will be commercially available this summer. The new Critical Event Reporting (CER) application can help truckload carriers and private fleets improve driver performance and operational efficiency, and help effectively manage liability exposure. The CER application provides an automatic, accurate critical incident record, initiated by either an automatic or manual trigger. Immediately following an incident, the record is automatically sent over the air.
“Qualcomm is always looking for ways to help improve our customers' businesses. The CER application allows transportation companies to track and be alerted to critical incidents that can help improve driver performance and reduce liability,” said Norm Ellis, vice president and general manager of Qualcomm Wireless Business Solutions. “Because good drivers may be more conscious of their driving practices when they know that their actions are being recorded, the CER application can help fleets reward and further improve good driving behavior.”
CER records, retrieves and analyzes truck and driver performance information in order to reconstruct and review critical events. After an incident, the application generates a report for further analysis. Fleet managers can use the information to immediately contact the driver to check for emergency situations or to make the driver aware of unsafe behavior and discuss safe driving practices to improve operations and help limit future liability.
“New applications such as CER have great potential to generate further return on our investment in mobile communications,” said John Rakoczy, chief operating officer of Distribution Technologies, recent winner of the 2005 Outstanding Performance Trophy in the National Tank Truck Carriers' Tank Truck Safety Contest. “Traditional event reconstruction tools are somewhat limited in their usefulness. But tools that support a more proactive, preventative approach to safety will help improve driver performance and reduce truck accidents.”
CER features include protection of recorded data integrity even in the event of power loss; customizable recipient lists for alerts when incident data is sent to dispatchers; graphical, printable reports for management analysis and driver feedback; and searchable driver performance logs with the capability to save searches for more efficient operations.
Qualcomm has helped the transportation industry become more efficient since 1988 when the introduction of the OmniTRACS mobile communications system began providing transportation companies with an innovative and effective way of managing fleet logistics. Today, Qualcomm is the industry's global leader in providing high-value wireless data platforms, applications and services. Qualcomm has shipped more than 694,000 mobile systems to businesses in 39 countries on four continents. Processing more than 12.5 million data transactions daily, Qualcomm's Network Operations Centers are staffed by trained professionals 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Qualcomm Incorporated (www.qualcomm.com) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on CDMA and other advanced technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Qualcomm is included in the S&P 500 Index and is a 2006 FORTUNE 500® company traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market® under the ticker symbol QCOM.
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