U.S. patent application number 14/298037 was filed with the patent office on 2014-09-25 for monitoring transport of materials in containers.
The applicant listed for this patent is Accenture Global Services Limited. Invention is credited to John M. Schullian, David St. Leger-Andrews, Christopher J. Weseloh.
Application Number | 20140289020 14/298037 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35744669 |
Filed Date | 2014-09-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140289020 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Schullian; John M. ; et
al. |
September 25, 2014 |
MONITORING TRANSPORT OF MATERIALS IN CONTAINERS
Abstract
A railcar asset management system proactively issues an alert or
task when a pre-determined event occurs. The system may receive
information regarding the location and status of a railcar from
sensors on the railcar that may include a telematics sensing unit.
A database in the railway telematics system stores the data
regarding the railcar location and status information. The system
determines whether an event has occurred and issues the proactive
alerts and/or task. The system may communicate the proactive alert
via e-mail, paging, PDAs or by cell phone and may provide
interactive preconfigured web pages.
Inventors: |
Schullian; John M.; (Tower
Lakes, IL) ; St. Leger-Andrews; David; (San Carlos,
CA) ; Weseloh; Christopher J.; (Mt. Prospect,
IL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Accenture Global Services Limited |
Dublin |
|
IE |
|
|
Family ID: |
35744669 |
Appl. No.: |
14/298037 |
Filed: |
June 6, 2014 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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13238738 |
Sep 21, 2011 |
8751290 |
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14298037 |
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11208039 |
Aug 19, 2005 |
8045962 |
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13238738 |
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60610368 |
Sep 16, 2004 |
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60605218 |
Aug 27, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
705/7.35 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G01N 33/00 20130101;
G06Q 30/0206 20130101; B61L 27/0077 20130101; G06Q 20/20 20130101;
G06Q 30/0283 20130101; G06Q 10/08 20130101; G06Q 30/04 20130101;
G06Q 10/0833 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/7.35 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 30/02 20060101
G06Q030/02; G06Q 10/08 20060101 G06Q010/08; G06Q 30/04 20060101
G06Q030/04; B61L 27/00 20060101 B61L027/00 |
Claims
1. (canceled)
2. A method of monitoring transport of materials in containers, the
method comprising: receiving, from a sensor unit, data associated
with a container; based on the received data associated with the
container, determining, by at least one computer processor, that
the container is located at a customer site; based on determining
that the container is located at the customer site, detecting a
time at which the customer unloads material from the container;
determining a price for the material at the detected time at which
the customer unloads material from the container; determining an
amount of material unloaded from the container by the customer
proximate the detected time; and processing, by at least one
computer processor, a transaction with the customer based on (i)
the determined price for the material at the detected time at which
the customer unloads material from the container, and (ii) the
determined amount of material unloaded from the container by the
customer proximate the detected time.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: reviewing a business
rule for a sale condition for the customer; and generating a bill
detailing the transaction for the customer in accordance with the
business rule.
4. The method of claim 2, further comprising: determining, based on
the received data associated with the container, a location, load,
status and identity of the container; associating the identity of
the container with one of a customer, a customer service
representative, a bill of lading, a product and a facility, a
business instruction and a proactive alert; retrieving historical
data of the location, load and time for a plurality of containers;
and displaying the retrieved data for at least two of a plurality
of aggregations consisting of: an individual container, a
historical location and time report or a historical load and time
report; a plurality of containers associated with a plant, an
indication of the real-time location of each container inbound to
the plant, at the plant and outbound from the plant; a plurality of
containers associated with a customer, an indication of the load of
material in transit and categorized by the location and the
estimated delivery time to the customer, the containers at the
customer, the containers outbound from the customer, and the
containers scheduled to load and loading; a plurality of containers
associated with a sales representative, an indication of the load
of materials in transit, containers at customer locations,
containers waiting for loading categorized by an estimated shipment
time, loading time and estimated delivery time; a plurality of
containers associated with a bill of lading, an indication of the
location, load, destination and an estimated time of arrival at the
destination; and a plurality of containers associated with a
product, an indication of the location, load, destination and
estimated time of arrival at the destination.
5. The method of claim 2 further comprising: comparing received
data with a set of stored business rules containing metric
conditions for comparison with the data; determining whether a
metric condition is satisfied by the data for a container, and if
so automatically displaying select data associated with the
container in accordance with the business rule and an indication
that the condition is satisfied.
6. The method of claim 5, further comprising issuing a proactive
alert when the metric condition is satisfied.
7. The method of claim 2, further comprising: evaluating the data
to determine a heel amount of product remaining in the container;
determining that the heel amount of product remaining in the
container violates a threshold condition; and issuing a proactive
alert based on determining that the heel amount of product
remaining in the container violates the threshold condition.
8. The method of claim 2, further comprising evaluating the data to
determine whether the container has been contaminated by the
customer, wherein evaluating the data to determine whether the
container has been contaminated by the customer comprises
determining that a weight of the container has increased while the
customer unloads material from the container.
9. The method of claim 3, wherein generating a bill to the customer
comprises issuing an alert to prepare and send a bill to the
customer based on the price for the material at the detected time
at which the customer unloads material from the container.
10. The method of claim 3, wherein generating a bill to the
customer comprises implementing a control to automatically prepare
and send a bill to the customer based on the price for the material
at the detected time at which the customer unloads material from
the container.
11. The method of claim 9, further comprising: determining that a
previously issued alert was not resolved or acknowledged;
determining another responsible party to be notified; and issuing
an alert to the another responsible party.
12. The method of claim 2, further comprising: detecting a
repetitive pattern or a trend in the data related to environmental
conditions near the containers, delays in unloading material from
containers, or heel amounts of product remaining in containers; and
issuing a proactive alert related to the repetitive pattern or the
trend.
13. A system comprising: at least one sensor unit; at least one
processor; and at least one computer-readable storage medium
encoded with executable instructions that, when executed by the at
least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform
operations comprising: receiving, from the at least one sensor
unit, data associated with a container; based on the received data
associated with the container, determining, by at least one
computer processor, that the container is located at a customer
site; based on determining that the container is located at the
customer site, detecting a time at which the customer unloads
material from the container; determining a price for the material
at the detected time at which the customer unloads material from
the container; determining an amount of material unloaded from the
container by the customer and at the detected time; and processing,
by at least one computer processor, a payment transaction for the
customer unloading material at the detected time based on (i) the
determined price for the material at the detected time at which the
customer unloads material from the container, and (ii) the
determined amount of material unloaded from the container by the
customer and at the detected time.
14. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further
comprise: reviewing a business rule for a sale condition for the
customer; and generating a bill detailing the transaction for the
customer in accordance with the business rule.
15. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further
comprise: determining, based on the received data associated with
the container, a location, load, status and identity of the
container; associating the identity of the container with one of a
customer, a customer service representative, a bill of lading, a
product and a facility, a business instruction and a proactive
alert; retrieving historical data of the location, load and time
for a plurality of containers; and displaying the retrieved data
for at least two of a plurality of aggregations consisting of: an
individual container, a historical location and time report or a
historical load and time report; a plurality of containers
associated with a plant, an indication of the real-time location of
each container inbound to the plant, at the plant and outbound from
the plant; a plurality of containers associated with a customer, an
indication of the load of material in transit and categorized by
the location and the estimated delivery time to the customer, the
containers at the customer, the containers outbound from the
customer, and the containers scheduled to load and loading; a
plurality of containers associated with a sales representative, an
indication of the load of materials in transit, containers at
customer locations, containers waiting for loading categorized by
an estimated shipment time, loading time and estimated delivery
time; a plurality of containers associated with a bill of lading,
an indication of the location, load, destination and an estimated
time of arrival at the destination; and a plurality of containers
associated with a product, an indication of the location, load,
destination and estimated time of arrival at the destination.
16. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further
comprise: comparing received data with a set of stored business
rules containing metric conditions for comparison with the data;
determining whether a metric condition is satisfied by the data for
a container, and if so automatically displaying select data
associated with the container in accordance with the business rule
and an indication that the condition is satisfied.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the operations further comprise
issuing a proactive alert when the metric condition is
satisfied.
18. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further
comprise: evaluating the data to determine a heel amount of product
remaining in the container; determining that the heel amount of
product remaining in the container violates a threshold condition;
and issuing a proactive alert based on determining that the heel
amount of product remaining in the container violates the threshold
condition.
19. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise
evaluating the data to determine whether the container has been
contaminated by the customer, wherein evaluating the data to
determine whether the container has been contaminated by the
customer comprises determining that a weight of the container has
increased while the customer unloads material from the
container.
20. The system of claim 14, wherein generating a bill to the
customer comprises issuing an alert to prepare and send a bill to
the customer based on the price for the material at the detected
time at which the customer unloads material from the container.
21. The system of claim 14, wherein generating a bill to the
customer comprises implementing a control to automatically prepare
and send a bill to the customer based on the price for the material
at the detected time at which the customer unloads material from
the container.
22. The system of claim 20, wherein the operations further
comprise: determining that a previously issued alert was not
resolved or acknowledged; determining another responsible party to
be notified; and issuing an alert to the another responsible
party.
23. The system of claim 13, wherein the operations further
comprise: detecting a repetitive pattern or a trend in the data
related to environmental conditions near the containers, delays in
unloading material from containers, or heel amounts of product
remaining in containers; and issuing a proactive alert related to
the repetitive pattern or the trend.
24. The system of claim 13, wherein a location of the at least one
sensor unit represents a geographical boundary, and determining
that the container is located at a customer site comprises
determining that the container has passed the geographical boundary
represented by the at least one sensor unit.
25. A computer storage medium encoded with a computer program, the
program comprising instructions that when executed by one or more
computers cause the one or more computers to perform operations
comprising: receiving, from a sensor unit, data associated with a
container; based on the received data associated with the
container, determining, by at least one computer processor, that
the container is located at a customer site; based on determining
that the container is located at the customer site, detecting a
time at which the customer unloads material from the container;
determining a price for the material at the detected time at which
the customer unloads material from the container; determining an
amount of material unloaded from the container by the customer
proximate the detected time; and processing, by at least one
computer processor, a transaction with the customer based on (i)
the determined price for the material at the detected time at which
the customer unloads material from the container, and (ii) the
determined amount of material unloaded from the container by the
customer proximate the detected time.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation (and claims the benefit
of priority under 35 USC 120) of U.S. application Ser. No.
13/238,738, filed Sep. 21, 2011, now allowed, which is a
continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/208,039, filed Aug.
19, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,045,962, issued Oct. 25, 2011, which
claims the benefit to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No.
60/605,218, filed Aug. 27, 2004 and U.S. Provisional Application
Ser. No. 60/610,368, filed Sep. 16, 2004. All of these prior
applications are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] This invention relates to a Telematics system that tracks
the movement, loading and unloading of railcars throughout a rail
system.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Just-in-time manufacturing is a popular method of
controlling inventory costs. Just-in-time manufacturing delivers a
product from a product manufacturer to a customer just at the time
the customer needs the product. This technique is applied across a
wide range of products and can be applied against bulk materials as
well as specialty items. These products may be produced at one
location and transported to a distant location.
[0004] In the case of bulk materials, a shipment is tailored for
the most efficient mode of travel, making the use of a railcar or
multiple railcars a likely option. A railcar is not only a suitable
container for shipment, but the railcar also satisfies the
requirement for storage since the railcar approximates the size of
a suitable storage vessel capable of holding a vast amount of
product. Customers often take delivery of a railcar and hold the
railcar on their site for storage purposes, tapping the railcar and
removing the product only when required for manufacture.
[0005] Such use of railcars causes logistical problems for the
product manufacturer. The customer may hold empty or partially
empty railcars and return the railcars at the customer's
convenience. The product manufacturer will not realize that the
railcars are partially empty until the railcars are returned,
incurring further costs by taking the railcar off-line for emptying
and cleaning when contamination may be an issue. Since the
manufacturer must anticipate these situations, the manufacturer
will ensure that there are an inflated number of railcars at its
disposal resulting in extra capital costs.
[0006] Although the railway companies monitor and know the location
of the railcars through proprietary systems such as the
Lat-Lon.RTM. tracking system, there is no affirmative system, for
example, that alerts the railway company, the product manufacturer
or the customer, that a railcar is sitting in one location for an
extended period of time, even when that railcar is empty at a
customer's site.
[0007] Therefore, a need exists for an integrated Telematics system
to provide the information technology to assist in monitoring and
managing the railcars to provide an optimum flow of product from
the manufacturer to the customer.
BRIEF SUMMARY
[0008] The Railcar Telematics System ("System") controls product
flow in railcars between a product manufacturer and a customer. The
System may identify business events and issue proactive alerts and
tasks to affected business users. The users may then resolve any
problems and perform any business task that is impeding or delaying
the railcar during its roundtrip cycle to the customer and back to
the product manufacturer.
[0009] In an embodiment, the System may receive transmitted data
regarding the railcar weight, indicating the amount of product on
the railcar, the product temperature, the ambient temperature
surrounding the railcar, the product pressure, the condition of
seals on the valves or hatches, and other pertinent information to
the customer or manufacturer. The System stores the sensor
information or data in a database that may be available to the
user.
[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the business alert engine
processes the sensor information stored in the database for
comparison to the metrics of the business rules. The business alert
engine optionally supplements the sensor data with information
regarding the ordering information and stores the supplemental data
in the database as well. The business alert engine then compares
the supplemented data against the metrics in the business rules.
When a threshold of a metric is exceeded, a proactive alert
regarding that metric is issued. Further, a metric for a business
rule might indicate a task needs to be performed. This may result
from a business event such as the delivery of a railcar to a
customer. In such a case, the business alert engine determines that
the metric regarding the event has been satisfied and issues a
proactive alert or task to a business user or a business enterprise
resource planning ("ERP") system. The business user will then take
appropriate measures in response.
[0011] In one embodiment, the business alert engine may react to
data associated representative of a business event, such as idle
railcars, by issuing proactive alerts to an individual business
user for acknowledgement and resolution of this event. The
proactive alert makes the business user aware of an impending event
or otherwise issues a task for the user to perform. Once alerted,
the user may take action, to resolve the alert or perform the task,
increasing the efficient use of the railcar and provide a quality
service for both the user and supplier. Further, the system may be
configured to report the real-time location and status of a
particular railcar or group of railcars without waiting for the
system to provide a batch/timed updated status. A batch/timed
update may be a railcar information update, such as a status
update, that occurs at predetermined times or intervals.
[0012] In another embodiment, the business alert engine may
generate proactive alerts to the business user. The business user
may be the product manufacturer, shipper or the customer. The user
may proactively implement any corrective step upon receipt of the
alert, ensuring that the railcar and product arrive at the
destination on-time. Proactive alerts may be generated because any
of the following events or conditions have occurred: the railcar is
damaged; the railcar is diverted to another destination; the
railcar has been subjected to extreme temperatures; the seal on the
railcar is damaged; the railcar has impacted another railcar at an
unacceptable speed; the railcar is sitting idle for too long a
period; or for any other reason.
[0013] In another aspect, the Railcar Telematics System may be
tailored to the responsibilities of the individual business user.
In one embodiment, a website, configured and tailored to a
particular user, is made available to a customer, a customer
representative, and others who may be closely associated with a
railcar. The business user can include maintenance personnel,
railcar schedulers and product manufacturers. Each business user
sees the data, metrics, tasks and proactive alerts in views that
have a varying level of detail and that may be configured in views
tailored to the business user's responsibilities. If the
information displayed on the web page does not provide enough
detail, the user will be able to drill down on the linked data to
obtain more detailed information in another view. For example, the
user may first view a summary sheet regarding the round trip of a
railcar between the product manufacturer and the customer. The
website view may allow the user to link to more specific and
detailed information regarding the roundtrip.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a Railcar Telematics
System.
[0015] FIG. 2 depicts different communication environments for a
Railcar Telematics System.
[0016] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of another embodiment of the
Railcar Telematics System.
[0017] FIG. 4 is a web page view of a business user interface.
[0018] FIG. 5 is a web page summary view for Product Status.
[0019] FIG. 6 is a web page view of a Bill of Lading.
[0020] FIG. 7 is a web page view of a roundtrip cycle of a
railcar.
[0021] FIG. 8 is a web page view of a different roundtrip cycle of
a railcar.
[0022] FIG. 9 is a web page view of a Weight Trip Report.
[0023] FIG. 10 is a web page view of an In-Transit Detail
Report.
[0024] FIG. 11 is a web page view of an Impact Detail Report.
[0025] FIG. 12 is a Large Screened User Interface.
[0026] FIG. 13 is a Large Screen User Interface displaying a
satellite view.
[0027] FIG. 14 is a Large Screen User Interface displaying multiple
web page views.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0028] The elements that are illustrated in the above figures will
be explained in more detail in the following discussion. However,
it is noted that the following discussion is exemplary and is not
limited to the embodiments that are described. For example,
although selected aspects, features or components of the
implementations are depicted as stored in program, data, or
multipurpose system memories, all or parts of the system and
methods consistent with the Railcar Telematics System may be stored
on or read from other machine-readable media, for example,
secondary storage devices such as hard disks, floppy disks, and
CD-ROMs; electromagnetic signals; or other forms of machine
readable media either currently known or later developed.
[0029] Although this specification describes specific components of
a Railcar Telematics System, methods, systems and articles of
manufacture consistent with the Railcar Telematics System may
include additional or different components. For example, a
processor may be implemented as a microprocessor, microcontroller,
application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), discrete logic, or
a combination of other types of circuits acting as explained above.
The communication system may be a private data network or a
cellular telephone system and may include the Internet or any
future communication system that might provide the communications
for voice and/or data. The databases, tables, business rules and
other data structures may be separately stored and managed,
incorporated into a single memory or database, or generally
logically and physically organized in many different ways. The
programs, such as the proactive business across several memories
and processors.
[0030] FIG. 1 is a block diagram a Railcar Telematics System. The
Railcar Telematics System 100 may include a database server such as
a Microsoft SQL Server 110, or other Relational Database Management
System that may include a railcar database 101. The System may also
include a Business Alert Engine 120 with executable instructions
that configures a data processor in communication with the
databases on the Server 110 and communicates information for a
business user to a Web Site 130. The Web Site 130 may have access
to and overlap, either the Arial satellite, photographs 210
provided alert engine discussed below may be part of a single
program, separate programs, or distributed by a TerraServer.RTM.
system or an external mapping source 220 provided by a
MapPoint.RTM. system for displaying the locations of the railcars
300.
[0031] The server 110 may communicate unidirectionally or
bidirectionally with the railcars using the Railcar Telematics
system 100. The Railcar Telematics System 100 will query the
railcars 300 through a communication system interface such as a
Telematics web service host 150 and a Car Location Message ("CLM")
web service host 140. The CLM web service host 140 connects to CLM
Data Aggregators 230. The CLM Data Aggregators 230 assemble the
data received from an Automatic Equipment identification Reader
Network 240. This network 240 has sensors or readers (not shown)
along the railway system that sense or read the information from a
radio frequency identification ("RFID") tag (not shown) that is
attached to a passing railcar 300.
[0032] A Telematics Sensing Unit 310, shown in FIG. 2, may attach
to the railcar 300. The Sensing Unit 310 senses different
conditions relevant to the state of the railcar 300 and to the
product that the railcar 300 contains. FIG. 2 shows optional
features of equipment 200 that may be included in the Railcar
Telematics System. The optional features of the Telematics Sensing
Unit 310 may include data storage, global positioning for
determining location and a transceiver unit for communicating the
information to the Railcar Telematics System.
[0033] Communication options include satellite systems, cellular
telephone and private RF network communications. The Telematics
System may interface with Enterprise Resource Planning ("ERP
systems") thus becoming a part of the Enterprise system. Such a
system may interface with Business Support systems for Billing and
Inventory Management purposes.
[0034] The Railcar Sensor unit 310 may wirelessly transmit sensor
information to a Wireless Communication Network 250 as illustrated
in FIG. 1. The Network 250 communicates the sensor data, including
the status and location of the railcar 300, to a Telematics
Equipment Vendor 260. The Vendor 260 may communicate the data to
the Telematics Web Service Host 150 within the Railcar Telematics
System 100.
[0035] The Business Alert Engine 120 may include one or more
metrics or sets of metrics that define the Business Rules 121, the
Proactive Alert Business Logic 122, the Business Logic Center 123
and the External Device Interface 124. The External Device
Interface 124 connects to outside commercial communication systems
400 that will communicate the proactive alerts in voice or text
messaging in real-time to the business user 500 or responsible
party via paging, cell phones or PDAs.
[0036] The Web Site 130 includes a User interface Controller 131, a
Business Components Data Access 132, and Security and
Administration Instructions 133. The Business User 500 accesses the
Web Site 130 allowing the user to view the portion of the data that
has been configured for the business user 500.
[0037] The Railcar Telematics System 100 may proactively manage the
railcar asset. The business alert engine 120 processes existing
data about the status of the product and the location and status of
the railcar 300, analyzes the raw data against the product ordering
requirements received from the ERP 160 and configures the data into
potential business events. The business alert engine 120 may
compare or evaluate the events and the information received from
the sensors against pre-existing metrics defined in the business
rules. If the business alert engine determines an event has
occurred from comparison with the metrics, it may issue tasks
and/or proactive alerts.
[0038] The Railcar Telematics System 100 may receive real-time
telemetry data regarding information about the railcar from the
mobile Telematics Sensing Unit 310. The telemetry data provides
sensor readings that include the location and weight of the
railcar, temperature, and impact forces that the railcar endured
and any other information that the business user may request or
specify. The mobile Telematics Sensor Unit 310 may include a
gem-sensing unit for obtaining the location information. The mobile
Telematics Sensor Unit 310 communicates the location information
and sensor readings through the communications systems 250. The
communications system 250 may include a satellite system, a
cellular phone system, a private communication system, or other
communication system. This location information and the sensor
readings are transmitted from the communication system 250 through
a Telematics Equipment vendor 260 as shown in FIG. 1 to the Railcar
Telematics system 100.
[0039] In one implementation, the information may originate from
the RFID tag as the railcar 300 passes by a sensor and from the
mobile Telematics Unit 310 attached to the railcar 300. The RFID
tag provides informational data relating to the identity of the
railcar 300 as it passes the RFID readers located along designated
points of the railway system. This information is fed through an
Automatic Equipment Identifier Reader network and to the database
in the Railcar Telematics System. The RFID readers are also known
as RFID sensors, and the terms are used interchangeably throughout
this specification.
[0040] In FIG. 3, the CLM 140, the Telematics Web Service 150 and
the "ERP System Web Service (i.e. SAP.RTM. enterprise business
software) 160 communicate data to the Railcar database 101. Tables
in the Railcar database 101 may organize the information in the
database 101. The tables may include a tblCLM ("CLM Table") 112, a
tblTelematicsData ("Telematics Table") 113, a tblTrip ("Trip
Table") 111, a tblAlert Param ("Alert Parameter Table") 114, a
tblAlertParent ("Parent Alert Table") 115 and a tblAlertChild
("Child Alert Table") 116 table.
[0041] The data in the CLM Table 112 includes CLM information
received from sensors reading the RFID tags related to the current
trip of the railcar 300. Other information in the table may include
the estimated time of arrival ("ETA") at the destination as posted
by the rail system, the responsible party for the railcar and the
date and time each sensor was passed.
[0042] The data received from the Telematics sensor unit 310 is
stored in the Telematics Table 113. Each message received from the
Telematics Sensor unit 310 creates an entry in the Telematics Table
113. Information such as the geo-position, temperature, heading,
speed, weight and any impact-related information such as
gravitational ("G" forces) and the direction of the "G" forces are
recorded in the Telematics table 113.
[0043] Data regarding the product, including origin, destination,
planned time for departure and the actual departure time, may be
stored in the Trip Table 111. The data in the Trip table 111 may be
general business information regarding the product. The general
business information may specify the parameters of the trip, which
may be the end-to-end trip cycle of the railcar. As the railcar 300
progresses through the trip cycle, it may incur events. These
events may occur at the loading stage at the manufacturer's site,
through the transit cycle to the customer site, at the customer
site where the railcar 300 is unloaded and upon the trip back to
the manufacturer where the railcar 300 may be processed and loaded.
Events may include the multiple times that the RFID tags are sensed
as the railcar 300 travels to the customer site. The business alert
engine 120 may receive, derive, or configure information such as
the estimated time of arrival, date for unloading and total trip
length. The business alert engine may update the information in the
Trip table 111.
[0044] The location information data received from the CLM Web
service may be stored in the CLM Table 112. The data received from
the Telematics Web Service 150 may be stored in the Telematics
Table 113. The data regarding the business information received
from the ERP System may be stored in the Trip Table 111 in the
database 101. The Railcar Telematics system 100 analyzes this data,
categorizes it and conditions the data for viewing, for example
when the business user so requests. When categorizing, the business
alert engine may place the configured data into other tables for
further processing and for simplification of the system. The data
may be viewed when the business user makes a request through an
interactive display.
[0045] The business alert engine 120 may be a software module that
monitors multiple data streams for business events and trends. In
one implementation, the business alert engine utilizing the data
processor may analyze or evaluate the discrete telematics sensor
data stored in the database 101 to determine business impacting
events and related trends and alert the responsible user when the
events and trends exceed predetermined threshold values. During a
trip, the business alert engine 120 may sense the temperature of a
product while the railcar 300 is in transit. The business alert
engine may make a historical record of the temperature and locate
the data in a historical temperature record. This information will
be available to the business user at a later time if needed.
[0046] In an alternative implementation, the business alert engine
120 may use the historical record for any sensor to establish a
business impact trend. If a trend is established, the business
alert engine 120 notifies the responsible party or user of the
severity of the trend. The business alert engine may use a
pre-determined method for communicating the proactive alert via
e-mail, paging or phone.
[0047] The alert engine 120 operates in two processing modes. The
first mode is a real-time mode and the second mode is a batch/timed
mode. In the real-time mode, as information or events are received
from the railcar, the data is stored in the database as raw data.
The business alert engine 120 may categorize the data based upon
the business information in the Trip table 111. The business alert
engine may compare or associate the raw data and the categorized
data to the metrics of the business rules to determine if a
business impacting event exists. If the association or comparison
determines that a business impacting event exists, then the
business alert engine 120 issues a proactive alert or task. For
example, if the temperature of a product has reached or exceeded a
threshold, either a high or low temperature, then the business
alert engine 120 may issue a proactive alert for the elevated or
reduced temperature.
[0048] In the batch/timed process, the business alert engine 120
will compare selected data to the metrics of the business rules at
a particular time. The batch process may execute at one or more
pre-selected times and/or dates, regular intervals and/or irregular
intervals, or according to any other schedule. For instance, in the
preceding temperature example, the alert in a parent alert table
and a child alert table, both to be discussed later, may be checked
at a pre-configured time to determine if the alert has been
acknowledged or resolved. If not, the alert engine will update the
proactive alert. If no one has acknowledged or resolved the alert
after several or sonic pre-determined number of batch cycles, the
business alert engine 120 may continue to escalate the proactive
alert to other business users until all responsible users have been
notified.
[0049] The alert thresholds may be stored in the database 101, and
in one embodiment, they are stored in the Parameter Alert table 114
as shown in FIG. 3. In the Real-time processing mode, the business
alert engine 120 analyzes individual messages from the Telematics
Sensing Units 310 and the data is compared to the alert thresholds
in the Parameter Alert table 114. Some sensor data, such as
temperature, may cause a real-time proactive alert to be
issued.
[0050] In one embodiment, a business event such as a railcar with
an RFID tag read by a RFID sensor may give rise to the issuance of
a proactive alert and/or task requiring the appropriate business
user to respond by performing sonic function such as issuing an
invoice. The location of the RFID sensor may designate a
geo-boundary, a geographical location that when the railcar passes
that particular sensor, constitutes an entry onto the customer's
site. In another embodiment, the same business event, rather than
alerting a business user to prepare and send an invoice after a
railcar has passed the sensor, may send the invoice, or direct an
ERP System to send the invoice directly to the customer.
Alternatively, this task may be issued in the batch/timed process
rather than a real-time process. In addition, the business alert
engine 120 may determine that the sensor was crossed by comparing
the raw data that relates the trip information and determine that a
boundary was crossed. Once the boundary is crossed, the business
alert engine 120 may send an invoice.
[0051] In another embodiment, the invoice may be sent after the
railcar was tapped rather than passing a sensor bordering the
customer's property. This technique may be lucrative for either the
customer or the product manufacturer where the agreement between
them is for a spot price of the product rather than a contractual
term price. If the price rises, then the manufacturer receives more
money for the product when the customer taps the railcar. The
sensors may determine the time when the railcar was tapped. If the
price should drop, it is to the benefit of the customer.
[0052] When the business alert engine issues a proactive alert as a
result of a specific sensor reading or business impact event, it
may create a Parent Alert Table, for example, the tblParentAlert
115 in FIG. 3. The Parent Alert Table 115 may contain the
information regarding the specific alert and a record of the
status, whether the alert has been acknowledged or resolved. The
Parent Alert Table 115 may also include the asset identification,
the type and severity of the alert, the date and time the alert
occurred, and the responsible party to be contacted.
[0053] A second table, known as the Child Alert Table 116, may also
be created as shown by tblChildAlert 116 in FIG. 3. The Child Alert
Table 116 includes the specific contents of the alert such as the
value of the threshold parameter or the sensor reading at the time
of the alert. It includes the role of the user or responsible party
who receives the proactive alert and it contains the date and time
stamp of the alert. In sonic cases, when the alert has been issued
as a result of a batch process, to be discussed further, the Child
Alert Table 116 will contain the subsequent date and time stamps
and the value of the sensor at that particular time.
[0054] The business alert engine 120 may continually issue alerts
due to the non-responsiveness of the business user(s) who were sent
the initial alert. For example, when the business alert engine 120,
during the batch/timed process, determines that a previously issued
alert was not resolved or acknowledged, the business alert engine
120 may create a subsequent entry in the Child Alert Table 116
indicating the fact that there has been no response. A subsequent
entry in the Child Alert Table may be an additional row containing
the updated information concerning the alert. Should the business
alert engine continue to determine a lack of acknowledgement or
resolution as the batched/timed process cycles, the subsequent
entries will eventually include another user or responsible party
to be notified. The new responsible party may be a supervisor of
the original business user. The escalation of the alert process may
continue until either the alert is acknowledge and/or resolved or
until all responsible users have been notified. During this time,
the original alert is still valid, but it is the new piece of data
subsequently entered into the Child Alert Table 116, the
non-responsiveness to the previous alerts, that triggers the
follow-on alerts.
[0055] In another example, after a proactive alert has issued, a
condition may have worsened and another threshold may have been
exceeded. In the high temperature example above, the Parent Alert
Table 115 and the Child Alert Table 116 were issued. If the
temperature continues to rise, then the sensor reading may match or
exceed the next threshold level stored in the Alert Parameter Table
114. At that time, a subsequent entry will be issued by the
business alert engine 120 by entering a row into the Child Alert
Table 116 containing the specifics of the alert. This proactive
alert is issued during a real-time process.
[0056] By way of example, if the first responsible party does not
respond, a subsequent entry is made in the Child Alert Table 116
and the proactive alert issues to another responsible party,
preferably to the first responsible party's supervisor or
co-worker. The process of creating the subsequent entry may be the
addition of a row with the inclusion of the new responsible party
and the reason for the new proactive alert.
[0057] The new proactive alert may be further monitored by the
batch process. If no acknowledgement or resolution is registered in
the Parent Alert Table 115 for this alert at the pre-determined
time, a subsequent entry will be made in the Child Alert Table 116
as another proactive alert is issued. If there continues to be no
response, the alert status will once again escalate as before. The
responsible party contacted will escalate as well as the severity
of the alert.
[0058] When the proactive alert is acknowledged or resolved, the
status of the Child Alert Tables 116 that are issued to the
multiple business users changes. When one user or responsible party
resolves the alert, the resolved status may be set to "True" for
all of the alerts associated with that Parent Alert Table 115. All
of the users who received the alert will see the updated
status.
[0059] Further, a user does not have to resolve the alert in order
for the alert to be resolved. The condition that was responsible
for the alert may have corrected itself, may have been corrected by
a third party, or may have been resolved in other manners or by
other parties. The sensor responsible for the original alert may
now be at an acceptable level, meaning that the threshold in the
Alert Parameter Table 114 is no longer exceeded or violated. In
other words, the sensor has resolved the condition and acknowledged
the alert. By way of example, the elevated temperature of the
product in the railcar may have dropped below the threshold with no
need for the user to take any action.
[0060] In another example, the alert may be acknowledged but it is
not resolved. For example, no action has been taken to resolve the
alert condition for some period of time after an acknowledgement
was made. The lack of the action, or resolving, drives the batch
process of the business alert engine 120 to issue a subsequent
entry in the Child Alert Table 116. Again, the subsequent alert
levels may be escalated both in severity and in the level of
responsible party notified until all the users have been notified
or until the alert has been resolved.
[0061] Other information that may be matched to the sensor data in
the proactive alert messages are the upper/lower level thresholds
and the responsible party such as the Plant, Sales, Safety,
Customer Representative, etc. Also, the alert may be associated
with a home base or plant and a product type. The method of the
alert delivery mechanism may also be defined for the particular
alert such as notifying the responsible party via paging, e-mail or
telephone call. Also, when the user logs into the configured web
page, he may be notified of the proactive alert.
[0062] By way of example, when a temperature exceeds 200 degrees F.
for Product B, the telemetry unit will send the data information
via the Telematics Sensor unit 310. The message may include such
information as the GPS, weight and tank temperature. The business
alert engine 120 reads the telemetry message, and since excessive
temperature was not previously a concern, the business alert engine
120 will consider each data value as a potential alert and will
store all of the potential alerts in the database 101. The
temperature value is compared against both a lower and upper
threshold boundary in the Alert Parameter table 114. In our
example, 200 degrees F. is a recognized alert threshold, so there
is a match. Other information may be matched before the alert is
confirmed and issued such as the role of the business user to be
notified and the product type.
[0063] The temperature may drop on the next reading, resolving the
alert before anyone takes action. However, there is a potential
that the temperature may rise once again, dropping below the alert
threshold value on the very next reading. The repetitive nature of
the event may be relevant to the shipper, customer or product
manufacturer. This repetitive event may be monitored by thresholds
in the Alert Parameter table 114. If the alert reaches a particular
value of repetitiveness and the metric is matched, a proactive
alert will be issued for a repetitive alert in the same procedure
as described earlier.
[0064] At any time, a user may assign the responsibilities for an
alert to another user. When an alert becomes active, the action
will cause a new Child Alert Table 116 to be generated for the
assigned user. The user may re-assign this responsibility by
selecting a graphical icon marked, by way of example, a "Reassign
Alert" icon (not shown) in the graphical interface of the web user
interface 131.
[0065] Further, some alerts may have little significance for a
given time frame or the system may be burdened with alerts that
have a low priority when compared to an ongoing major issue. In
that case, a super-user may cancel those alerts that are deemed
inappropriate for the given set of circumstances. Alternatively,
the super-user may implement a change to the metric of the business
rules so that the number of proactive alerts corresponding to that
metric is reduced. In some cases, the business rules may implement
a change to the metric when a successful response to the proactive
alert is achieved. This process may require the approval from the
super-user before the implementation is processed.
[0066] There are a various number of alerts that the Alert
Parameter table 114 will monitor. A sampling of these alerts is
listed in Table 1 with a brief description of the alert. Some of
the alerts may be sensor-related indicating the status of the
product or the railcar 300. Many other alerts are business impact
events, thus driving the system to control and manage the use of
the assets to maximize delivery of the product. The list may
contain any number of proactive alerts in an implementation and the
listing is not exhaustive by any means. It is dependent upon a
number of factors such as the business unit, the fleet, the product
type, the customer, and the site.
TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Typical System Alerts 1 Alert of Idle Car
Through the application business rule capability, users are
notified immediately of car idle times outside of the maximum
tolerance. With appropriate action, this reduces trip delays, as
well as opportunity to reduce demurrage charges. 2 Alert on
Placement Create system-generated alerts notifying users of car
placement at the site (plant/customer/terminal/storage). These
alerts can be based on both CLM event placement codes and/or
configured geo-fence parameters. 3 Alert on Sensors Create
system-generated alerts on sensor readings outside of business-
outside threshold (incl. defined thresholds. These alerts can be
routed to specific users based on Derailment) their role or
customized preferences (including Emergency response personnel for
derailments). 4 Alert on Misrouted Create system-generated alerts
notifying users of misrouted cars. Initially, Cars the application
will generate these alerts based on comparison to the BOL versus
customer geo-fence and the ETA. Once the system captures route
history for multiple trips, business rule capability is used to
determine a mis- route before the railcar ventures too far from the
customer site. Additionally, misroute status information can be
received as a location update from RoadRunner .TM.. 5 Alert on
multiple taps Create system-generated alerts on multiple unload
sensor readings on cars with the same product grade/type inside a
terminal geo-fence. These alerts can be routed to specific terminal
coordinators and helps them enforce the FIFO policy within
terminals. 6 Alert on Anticipated Create system-generated alerts
for users, including Customers, Terminal Late Arrivals Coordinators
and Customer representatives, when a specific railcar's ETA occurs
after the SAP order's requested delivery date. 7 Alert on leaking/
Create system-generated alerts on unload sensor readings outside of
a vandalized cars specified geo-fence. These alerts inform Health
& Safety users that are interested in real-time notification of
significant car weight loss during the in-transit portion of the
trip. This could be an indication of a leak or vandalism. 8 Alert
on Inventory Create system-generated alerts when target product
inventory levels within a Events customer or terminal geo-fence
reach either the minimum or maximum thresholds. 9 Alert on Bad
Ordered Create system-generated alerts for notifying the users of
bad-ordered cars. Cars This information may allow users to divert
another loaded car to the customer alleviating a possible
disruption in product delivery. 10 Alert on Geographic Create
system-generated alerts notifying a user when a car enters or
leaves a Areas specific geographic area. This provides the
capability to monitor and proactively manage the movements of
specific cars. 11 Alert on Flagged Car The application alerts site
users when a car is inbound to their site that has Returning been
flagged for inspection (flag is part of car status). 12 Alert on
Response to After a user assigns a note/comment to another user for
follow-up and that Note/Comment user has responded, the first user
will receive notification. This will save time spent in checking
for a response until a response has been given.
[0067] Equally important are the proactive alerts that are issued
when trends are developing. By way of example, a customer may
suddenly increase the number of days to unload a product from a
railcar. Or in another example, the customer begins to regularly
return a heel of product in the railcar or greater amounts of a
heel are present more often than the historical data indicates. Any
trend that takes away from or detracts from a constant improvement
in the use of the railcar can be monitored by placing the
appropriate threshold metric in the Parameter Alert Table 114. Upon
comparison to the historical data, a proactive alert may be issued
should a trend be established by either the real-time or
batch/timed process of the business alert engine 120.
[0068] In one embodiment, it may be desirable to predict an
Estimated Time of Arrival ("ETA") for any of the railcars 300 that
may be in the railway system. The ETA is desirable not only for
those railcars 300 routed to a customer but for those railcars 300
that are returning to the product manufacturer. The ETA is derived
from historical data based on the same trip or from the CLM data
issued by the railroad and the ETA is routinely updated by the
business alert engine 120. The ETA is analyzed by the business
alert engine 120 to determine the proper timing for shipping
subsequent railcars 300 to the customer.
[0069] In an implementation, the business alert engine may obtain
the ETA data from the CLM table 112 and compare the ETA to the
delivery date required by the customer and stored in the Trip table
111. If the ETA extends beyond the delivery date, a proactive alert
may issue in the manner described earlier. The criticality of the
proactive alert may continually escalate as the lack of delivery
approaches a critical stage.
[0070] Information in the CLM Table 112 establishes the position of
the railcar 300. The information is received from RFID sensors
along the railway that sense the RFID tag on the railcar. The
location of some of the RFID sensors may mark a boundary that
establishes a geo-reference or geo-fence. When the railcar has
passed the sensor referencing a gem-fence, the business alert
engine 120 will take notice when the information is
communicated.
[0071] If the Telematics Monitoring Sensor 310 has a GPS system,
the embedded computer may be able to calculate the location with
respect to the geo-boundaries. The Sensor 310 may transmit the
passing of the latitude/longitude position to the System 101 where
the event will be stored in the Telematics Table 113. The business
alert engine 120 will note the event and transmit the proactive
alert/task. Alternatively, the Sensor 310 may transmit only the
present coordinates defining the position of the railcar 300. The
business alert engine 120 will calculate the location and compare
that location to the geo-boundaries stored in the Trip Table 111.
When the system evaluates the present location against the
geo-boundary and finds a match, the business alert engine may then
issue the proactive alert/task.
[0072] A geo-boundary may be defined by a series of known sensors
such as those RFID sensors surrounding a customer site. Likewise, a
geo-path is a string of sensors along a railway path to a
particular destination. The locations of these predefined sensors
or latitude/longitude coordinates are stored in the System,
preferably the Trip Table 111.
[0073] In one implementation, the Business Alert engine 120 may
apply business rules to the load sensor readings from the railcar
300 to determine the railcar unload or tapped status. If the
customer participates in a vendor inventory management ("VIM")
program, the vendor or product manufacturer will depend on the
sensors for inventory management. The sensor information may be fed
to an electronic VIM system, if available, as part of an on-site
inventory monitoring capability. The VIM is an inventory control
system that monitors the inventory levels at a customer. When
inventory levels drop to a certain point, the vendor will order
more product. A VIM system relieves the customer of that
responsibility. A VIM system reduces the manpower that is required
to go out and check each of the railcars 300 for inventory
purposes. The VIM system may be tied into or be a part of an ERP
system and/or the Railcar Telematics system.
[0074] In monitoring the inventory, the user has access to data
that indicates the number of times the customer taps the railcar.
Coupled with the constant monitoring of the weight, the customer
service representative has access to determine where the inventory
of the product resides including the railcars 300 that are
returning to the product manufacturer's site. The tapped status may
also be determined by comparing the current weight of the railcar
300 with the past weight.
[0075] By way of example, a railcar 300 may have 25% of the product
remaining on board. If this product were being returned to the
product manufacturer, the manufacturer might consider this amount,
the heel of the product. The manufacturer may also consider the
heel waste product. The business rules may have a metric that would
cause a proactive alert to issue when a large amount of heel is
contained on the railcar 300. Further, if the weight of the railcar
were steadily decreasing as the customer unloaded and then for no
apparent reason increased, the business alert engine 120 may issue
a proactive alert indicating to the product manufacturer that a
possible contamination of the railcar occurred.
[0076] By monitoring the location of the railcars and the amount of
product that is carried and/or stored in the railcars 300, a
real-time picture of the inventory assets will be available to the
business users. The Business Alert Engine 120 may apply this
information against the business rules to control and manage the
assets in a cost effective manner. The railcar telematics system
will monitor product usage by the customer in order to time future
deliveries and to adjust the product manufacturer's assets
accordingly.
[0077] Historically, much of the information regarding the product
and its usage was provided by the customer and the reliability of
the information could be questioned. For example, a product may be
delivered on consignment and the market price is determined on a
daily basis. The price of the material may depend upon the market
forces at the time the customer tapped into the railcar 300 to
withdraw the product. Knowing the exact time may be crucial for
billing purposes and sending an accurate bill. Sensors on the
valves or hatches of the railcars 300 may indicate the time that
the tapping of the railcar 300 occurred and establish a proper
time.
[0078] Account managers and Terminal Coordinators are provided
access to the amount of product inventory and the location and
status of the railcars under their control. The Business Alert
Engine 120 assembles the data in real-time and configures the data
into a view for the particular business user. For example, an
account manager or terminal coordinator would only see the views
for the product that impacts their operation.
[0079] The same is true for a customer. The customer will only see
the information for the railcars that are transporting the product
that the customer ordered. All other data regarding the shipments
not affecting the customer will not be provided.
[0080] The Business managers may have key metrics or Key
Performance Indicators ("KPI") by which they measure the efficiency
of a business. These are the KPIs that drive performance and
profitability. They may include: railcar turns, on-time deliveries,
inventory levels, on-site/in-transit car ratios and other important
parameters that drive profitability and customer satisfaction.
[0081] A listing of some of the information provided by the Railcar
Telematics System is shown in Table 2. This information includes
the function that will be provided by the system as well as an
explanation of those functions. This listing is not all
encompassing, hut may be tailored to the specific application of a
customer, a product, a manufacturer, or a transportation system
providing the business user with the elements that may be most
important to their application.
TABLE-US-00002 TABLE 2 Applications of The Railcar Telematics
System 1 Notify Car Unload The application uses the telematics load
sensor readings or electronic seal readings, along with
corresponding business rules to determine car unload or tapped
status at a vendor managed inventory (VMI) customer location. This
is information is provided to the ERP system as part of the on-site
inventory monitoring capability. 2 Receive CLM The application
receives event-based CLM data from a third party CLM Information
aggregator to supplement the telematics location information. The
CLM data provides input on railroad activity, as well as railroad
ownership of the car at any point in time (with the exception of
customer/terminal/plant sites). 3 Notify Car Load The application
uses the telematics load sensor readings, along with corresponding
business rules, to determine carload status at a plant site
location. This information is provided to the ERP system in
preparation for car shipment. 4 Send Invoice Initiation The
application uses the telematics load sensor readings, along with
corresponding business rules, to determine car unload or tapped
status at a customer location. This information is fed to the ERP
system and automatically initiates a customer invoice. 5 Create
Demurrage The application uses the telematics location/geo-fence
readings, along with Invoice corresponding business rules, to
determine the duration of idle times at customer locations. This
information is to the ERP system to initiate a customer invoice for
idle times over contractual limits. 6 Create FOB Invoice The
application uses the telematics location/geo-fence readings, along
with corresponding business rules, to determine when a car enters a
particular area of interest. This information is provided to the
ERP system to initiate a FOB (Free on Board) invoice after crossing
a geo-boundary. 7 Report on Customer Account Mangers and Customers
define product usage metrics and the Usage information that is
tracked at a customer site. The application determines customer
usage based on depletion of car inventory over time by using the
load sensor readings and corresponding application business rules.
Typically, this information is only available from the customer and
is not available as a real-time reporting capability. 8 Provide
Usage History The application uses the telematics load sensor
readings, along with corresponding application business rules, to
determine customer usage history. This information is provided to
the manufacturing enterprise systems as an input to the forecasting
models. 9 Determine Geo- A geo-boundary can be determined for
existing, new, and modified customer boundaries deliveries
automatically. The process for determining the geo-boundary can be
automated by examining the ship-to address on critical delivery
documentation, such as a BOL or invoice. Geo-boundaries can be
manually modified as necessary. 10 Send Route Transit The
application determines accurate route transit times. This
information Time may be provided to enterprise systems to
continually update route transit times with real-time data. 11
Maintain Key Business Managers have key metrics and targets that
are tracked. They Performance Indicators include: rail turns,
on-time deliveries, inventory levels, on-site/in-transit car
ratios, etc. The application stores the target values indicating
whether users are properly managing their portion of the rail
cycle. 12 Maintain Inventory Account Managers and Terminal
Coordinators manage targeted product Thresholds inventories at
customer and terminal locations. The application stores minimum and
maximum values as threshold indicators of business action. This
information, coupled with the customer usage history, assists the
management of inventory flow at the shipping terminals and customer
facilities. 13 Maintain Alert The application stores pre-determined
alert thresholds serving as indicators Thresholds of business
actions for each of the telemetry sensors deployed. Alert
thresholds vary depending on business organization, fleet
composition, product types, customer, manufacturing site, etc. The
thresholds provide baseline alerts for particular roles and can be
supplemented with customized alert thresholds. 14 Sensor Threshold
The application notifies the Health & Safety system when an
abnormal Exceeded reading is detected from a railcar indicating a
possible health or safety problem. 15 Geo-Lane Management The
application will allow the user to configure Geo-lanes, or
Geo-paths, for railcars traveling along designated routes.
Geo-lanes are composed of multiple sets of latitude/longitude
coordinates along the rail routes. When a railcar carrying
hazardous materials deviates from the designated route, an alert
may be sent to a list of users.
[0082] In one embodiment, the Railcar Telematics system may provide
the business user 500 with a view for the status of the railcar 300
through the Web Site 130 in real-time. There are many different
business users who will have a view of the Web Site 130 configured
for the information that is relevant to the user's purpose and
responsibilities. Options for the different scenarios of the views
may be selected from a Web Site 130 as shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 4
shows a web page view that is visible when the user signs-in. The
user will click on one of the icons or the linked user description
to proceed to the appropriate view such as the "Account
Manager/Sales Rep" icon 135. In another example, a customer will
select the "Customer/Terminal" icon 137 and will have a view of the
railcars and product status that are designated for the customer's
use. That same customer will not be able to view the railcars 300
that are designated for another customer, especially one who may be
a competitor.
[0083] In the "Customer Service Rep" view 136 or "Account
Manager/Sales Rep" view 135, information for many customers would
be relevant to the responsibility of that class. For example, an
account manager might determine that a customer is running short of
product and faces an imminent shutdown. The account manager has the
option to divert a railcar 300 intended for delivery from one
customer to another to make up the shortfall. This is information
that may be restricted from the customers' views, and the
Telematics application software will restrict such views to the
appropriate user.
[0084] When the customer service representative 136 selects a view,
the representative may see the view 136 displaying relevant
information for Product D as illustrated in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a
spreadsheet that displays the order number 1361, the site 1362
where the product is produced, the customer 1363, the Bill of
Lading 1364, the railcar 1365 associated with the Bill of Lading
and the alert status column 1366 for each shipment regarding
Product D. This view may display information regarding Product D
for several customers, and as briefly described earlier, this web
page would not be accessible for viewing by the customers.
[0085] Also in the Product D view 136, a proactive alert 600 is
active for the railcar ACNX120. Displaying the alert in the view
136, is another method of informing the responsible business user
that a proactive alert has been issued. Here, the alert 600 is for
a railcar that is assigned to deliver Product D to company XYZ,
Inc. In this embodiment, the business user may click on the alert
to display or drill down to obtain a page with more detailed
information regarding the alert.
[0086] Alternatively, the customer service representative may click
or drill down into information regarding a Bill of Lading 1364.
FIG. 6 illustrates a view 137 of a typical Bill of Lading. The
format for the Bill of Lading can be tailored to the manufacturer's
needs or even the customer's needs if so requested.
[0087] Other views on the Web Site may be tailored to the
requirements as well as the classification of business user. Table
3 presents a listing of some of the aggregations of possible views
that may be assembled for the business user. An aggregation of a
view may include information about a single railcar, a group of
railcars associated with a product, a customer, or a plant
manufacturer. This listing is by no means limiting in its scope of
possibilities; on the contrary, one skilled in the art may find
more features that could be added. As the amount of information
transmitted by the Telematics sensor unit 310 of FIG. 2 increases,
more categories of information can be added. Although the
management of assets is the primary thrust, the management of
material and more specifically the management of the inventory of
material is the ultimate goal as the railcars do store material and
product.
TABLE-US-00003 TABLE 3 Views Provided By The Railcar Telematic
System 1 Railcar ETA View When tracking railcars, the users may
view an Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA) at either the customer
destination or for the return of the empty railcar to the product
manufacturer. This information is available from estimates based on
historical calculations of the same trip, and are routinely updated
if the railroad experiences delays. This information assists in
making business decisions relative to customer service and asset
utilization at the plant site. 2 Railcar Status Through the
personalized view of the application, users can see summary
Informational View and detailed information about railcar status
for their area of responsibility. This information is available in
real-time, and includes relevant information for a particular
railcar. This includes all sensor readings from the telematics
unit, order information, delivery information, and derived
information based on business rules. Railcar status can be viewed
through an easy customized reporting tool, or as part of key alerts
triggered by a user's role and preferences. 3 Site Railcar
Statistics Through a different view of status information, users
can access real-time View views of all railcars on a site and their
status. This view helps users manage both railcars and inventory at
various locations on a particular site. 4 Inbound Railcar View
Users can access real-time views of all railcars inbound to the
site and the status of the railcars. This view helps users with
several responsibilities such as order demand planning, production
planning, on site asset utilization efficiency/planning. 5 Railcar
Idle-Time View The application will display railcar idle times.
Idle times within specific geo-boundaries such as customer
location, terminal, rail sidings, plant and storage sites and other
in-transit locations. The business rules may calculate the
corresponding demurrage incurred at particular locations where idle
times exceed the contractual limit. 6 Current Product Through
role-based reporting views, users are able to see summary Inventory
View information about product inventory in railcars across their
area of responsibility. This information is available in real-time
and may provide an efficient method to view accurate inventory
levels. 7 KPI View Through role based reporting views, users are
able to see summary information on how the railcar activities
compare to a target KPI. This up-to-date information allows users
to adjust their focus and/or take corrective actions. KPI's can
include status, time duration, user defined values, and the number
of railcars. 8 Fleet Performance Users see role-based summary
information on overall fleet performance. Statistics View This
information serves as a key input into the fleet sizing model,
providing trip "in-transit" and "hold" times, as well as the
standard deviation. 9 Historical Site Status Site Logistics users
can view critical information such as the number of View railcars
on site, and the railcar status and location. Users may compare how
those statistics have fluctuated/changed over time. 10 Future Site
Projections The application tracks current and historical site
statistics, including the View location and status of incoming
railcars. With usage/historical information relative to the ratio
of railcars inbound versus outbound, and real-time data on incoming
railcars, the application can provide a projection of future site
statistics. This information can be used as a planning tool for
site management, as well as an indicator of railcar flow/turn
issues. 15 View Home Page The application will provide users with a
specific home page customized to their role.
[0088] FIG. 7 is a view of an embodiment of an alert page 700. It
can be displayed when the customer service representative clicks on
the alert as mentioned previously. The alert page 700 shows the
roundtrip cycle of the railcar in the oval 710, an idle alert
message 720 stating the reason for the alert, the round trip
statistics 730 for this railcar, and the unloading detail 740. The
roundtrip cycle 710 displays information regarding the unloading
detail that includes the duration of the unloading in days. The
round trip statistics 730 shows that the quarterly averages for the
round trip for the last two quarters were 50 and 39 days,
respectively. The estimated duration for this trip is 43 days with
the actual number of days (in parenthesis), 23 days, that have
elapsed since the current trip began. The unloading detail 740
shows the number of days that the unloading took for this trip and
the average number of days for the quarter.
[0089] This view may be tailored to several cars, giving the
appropriate details for each car and the status of each car and its
position in the graphical representation. Further, a fleet may be
represented in such a graph and the cars categorized for the
product and the customer that receives the respective product. Such
a display would show the position of the railcar in the graphical
representation, its load and destination and the estimated time of
arrival. It may be color-coded to further illustrate its
status.
[0090] As FIG. 8 illustrates, the alert was issued because the
railcar is idle 720 and it has been sitting empty for 5 days. In
order to resolve the alert, contact information for the appropriate
party has been provided. Rather than provide an alert to the
customer service representative, the Railcar Telematics System 100
may provide the alert to the customer. Contacting the customer
avoids the unnecessary step of contacting the customer service
representative until the customer does not respond to the alert for
a predetermined amount of time.
[0091] In the round trip cycle 710 portion of FIG. 7, the estimated
time for the trip is listed in the inner radius of the oval. By
adding the estimated time for each task in the roundtrip cycle, the
estimated time for a trip cycle should take 40 days. The estimated
duration is now 42 days. The round trip statistics 730 has been
updated because of the 5 day idle time experienced by the railcar
300 after unloading. This idle time is of interest to the product
manufacturer 139 and the customer service representative 136 and
most likely the customer. As the railcar 300 sits, it accrues
demurrage charges that will be applied to the customer. The idle
time is time that a capital asset is not otherwise being employed
for its intended purpose, thus driving up costs for the product
manufacturer. To view more detailed information regarding the idle
time, the user may drill down in the unloading detail 750.
[0092] FIG. 8 illustrates a typical Web Site view 700A that may be
displayed when the business user drills down for more information
regarding the unloading. This view 700A shows three major areas of
information. The oval 710 shows the same round trip parameters as
in FIG. 7 and the round trip statistics 730. The Unloading Detail
750 is a new feature in this view and provides the business user
with information for the unloading process and how long the
unloading process took. In this example, the railcar was tapped on
May 7 at approximately 6 PM and the unloading was completed on May
9 at approximately 6 PM, making the unload time 2 days.
[0093] From the view in FIG. 8, the business user may drill down
even further to obtain a Trip Weight Report 900 shown in FIG. 9.
This weight report shows the weight of the railcar as it sat empty
910 before loading, the point where it was loaded 920, and the
weight readings as the railcar traveled down the rail line 930 to
the customer. The graph also shows the time the railcar was
unloaded 940 at the customer site. By way of example, the report
shows when the Telematics Sensing unit 310 on the railcar 300 sent
two reports as the railcar 300 was unloading 940.
[0094] If the customer service representative desires detailed
information about the trip, the representative alternatively may
drill into the trip portion of the Web Site shown in FIG. 8 to
obtain the spreadsheet view 1000 of FIG. 10. FIG. 10 is a view 1000
of a spreadsheet displaying the location 1010 of each of the RFID
sensors and the time 1020 that the RFID tag attached to the railcar
passed by the sensor. Also displayed in this view is the Load
weight 1030, the ambient temperature 1040, the railcar temperature
1050, the type of alert 1060, and the alert status 1080.
[0095] The customer service representative may view aggregations of
views, meaning the views may include the fleet, a set of railcars
for one customer or just one individual railcar 300. The customer
service representative may be able to view the hold patterns, the
transit times, the loading and unloading times. In views that are
tailored to a particular user, the user may be able to respond to
alerts through the System, implementing a change or causing the
System to implement a change to a metric of the business rules.
[0096] All of the status that the system monitors may be viewed in
multiple detailed levels of data and information regarding the
status of the railcar 300, the location of the railcar 300 and the
status of the product. All of the proactive alerts and tasks may be
displayed in the multiple levels of detail as well.
[0097] As an example, two alerts are shown in FIG. 10. The first
alert is an impact alert 1080. The impact alert is sent in response
to the railcar 300 sustaining a higher than usual impact. The
impact may have occurred when the train was assembled. Sometimes
these impacts damage the cars resulting in higher maintenance
costs. In an effort to mitigate the costs of repair, the time,
place and repetitious nature of these impacts are recorded for
subsequent compensation and to reduce the freighting costs. An
alert may be recorded by the Telematics Sensing unit 310 attached
to the railcar 300 and sent at the earliest convenience, if not
immediately upon impact. Alternatively, the railcar's location upon
impact may be derived by the business alert engine 120 based on
communication from the RFID sensors. The magnitude of the impact to
the railcar may also be recorded and available to the business user
on the Web Site 130. A view of an impact detail 1100 is shown in
FIG. 11.
[0098] In the impact detail view 1100, a graph 1110 shows the
magnitude and the direction of the impacts versus time. The view
1100 shows an Impact Detail table 1120 displaying the status of the
railcar at the time of the impact. The table 1120 also lists the
loaded weight 1121, the ambient temperature 1122, the railcar
temperature 1123, the location 1124 of the railcar, the direction
1125 in which the car was positioned and the speed 1126 of the
railcar at the time of impact.
[0099] In some instances the impact can result in a bad-ordered
car. A bad-ordered car is a railcar 300, as determined by the
railway, requiring repair before the railcar 300 can be used to
further transport the product to the customer. A bad-ordered
railcar may require that another fully loaded railcar be sent to
the intended customer of the bad-ordered railcar. If the product is
time-sensitive to degradation, it may mean that the replacement of
the product on the bad-ordered railcar is necessary. This loss of
product would be part of any damage assessment resulting from the
impact and it may be tracked in the ERP System.
[0100] It is important to track the impact events as described
above in order to place the actual costs on the responsible party.
By tracking the time, date and location, the owner of the railcar
may determine who had possession of the railcar 300 at the time of
impact. Such damage will be assessed to the responsible party,
[0101] In one embodiment, the Railcar Telematics System may be
capable of tracking impacts and monitoring seals attached to the
hatches and valves. Emergency and safety personnel dispatched to
the scene of the accident may obtain some information regarding the
condition of the railcars and formulate a response scenario.
Information transmitted from the Telematics Sensor unit 310 may
provide information that the railcar 300 is not leaking because the
railcar 300 weighs the same. The Telematics Sensor unit 310 may
transmit that the impact experienced by the railcar 300 was not
great enough. If the Railcar Telematics system 100 creates no
proactive alerts for the railcar 300 after such an event, it is an
indication that the railcar 300 may not have been involved. This is
true where the user can send a status query to the railcar 300 and
the railcar 300 replies. This information may help response
personnel direct their efforts to the more critical aspects of the
situation.
[0102] In another example, railcars transporting hazardous
materials may be monitored for leaking valves or hatches. The
hatches may have been opened or otherwise compromised. Compromised
means that the government required safety seal on the hatch was
broken. However, a seal on a valve, or hatch does not have to be
compromised in order for the railcar 300 to leak. A seam in the
railcar may have split, leaking product. In such a case the weight
of the railcar 300 will decrease over time.
[0103] A response to a proactive alert, where the seal indicates
that the hatch or valve may be compromised, might be to stop the
transport of the railcar 300 if the railcar 300 is traveling into a
populated area. Alternatively, if the railcar 300 is near a
population center, a response to a proactive alert might be the
removal of the railcar 300 from the populated area. In a heightened
state of national security, railcars 300 carrying hazardous
materials may be tracked and under certain heightened restrictions
may be located and directed to a common area where they may be
secured.
[0104] Many of the web page views that have been discussed are
generally available through a computer terminal screen whether the
computer is a desktop or laptop, however the views are not
necessarily limited to these devices. Any device capable of viewing
a web page and having access to the Internet may be used download
the web page. Such devices may include PDAs, television screens and
even cell phones that have web capabilities.
[0105] The views described above may even be accessible and
presented in a Strategic Decision Center that allows for a large
viewing screen which permits interaction between the user and the
Railcar Telematics System. Such a screen is shown in FIG. 12. The
displayed view 1200 has a map overlay of the railcars that make up
a fleet for a product manufacturer. A feature of using a large
screen 1300 is that the screen may provide the user with a "fleet
wide" graphical view of all the railcars in the system at once.
Although not visible, the railcars may be associated with a
color-code to gauge the status of the individual cars.
[0106] The users, by touching the screen, may interact with the
display and when "drilling down" into a web page may be able to
place a view of the new web page or view alongside the previous
view. FIG. 13 shows a view 1300 of the screen where a satellite
view is superimposed over the map of the United States. As more
information is required, the user may be able to display any of the
views, which were described earlier, so that the multiple web pages
are displayed on the screen at once. Such a view 1400 of the
embodiment is shown in FIG. 14.
[0107] In one implementation, the user may be able to stream
real-time video alongside the data on the touch screen. The
real-time video may originate from a security camera in a rail
yard, a customer site or from the product manufacturer's facility.
Another feature of the screen is that a video conference can be
staged and the users at both locations may interactively
participate by manipulating the data while discussing strategy and
tactics. As the data is spread out across the screen, different
users may bring up views of various screens that have linked data
between the screens. The multiple screens may provide the
opportunity to discuss several different scenarios in a conference
room setting.
[0108] It is therefore intended that the foregoing detailed
description be regarded as illustrative rather than limiting, and
that it be understood that it is the following claims, including
all equivalents, that are intended to define the spirit and scope
of this invention.
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