Monitoring the operations of a fleet from a central command center is becoming an increasingly important investment for companies.
Fleet operations centers (FOC) can serve a number of purposes for both commercial and government management of fleets. The management of vehicles such as cars, trucks, aircraft, ships, and rail cars can all fall under the umbrella of company fleet management. Through the use of an FOC, fleet managers can collect and interpret data that will benefit their organization’s fleet. The following are some practical applications of a fleet operations center:
- In your cutting-edge fleet operations center, you can monitor the sustainability of your fleet through data on fuel and energy usage, emissions levels, and the management of resources and waste.
- Vehicle tracking can also be utilized to great effect in an FOC, assisting in re-routing when necessary and ensuring the safety of the vehicles and their operators. By tracking real-time location on a video wall installation in your FOC, you can quickly respond to critical events in the field. A FOC can also be used for route optimization.
- Fleet operation centers, combined with fleet management systems, can assist in ensuring the safety of your drivers, crews, and operators, and can also offer insight into compliance.
- The real-time data focus in FOC environments encourages preventative and regular fleet maintenance alerts which can reduce overall fuel and vehicle maintenance costs.
Implementing a fleet operations management center at your organization can help minimize risk, increase productivity and efficiency, enforce policies, and ensure the safety of vehicle operators and passengers. And fleet management centers can be utilized for both local and national fleet management.
Two key elements in the successful implementation of a fleet operations center are collaboration and the use of real-time data. The operations center design of an FOC should reflect these vital components of effective operation.
A large-scale fleet operations center video wall shares vital, real-time data in a way that is easy to interpret and can be shared collaboratively. Video wall systems within an FOC may have the capability to share the screen between rooms. This allows team members in all areas to work with the same data and collaborate.
The overall fleet operations center space design can also impact the access to data and the potential for collaboration. It is important to arrange the command center furniture so that all key operators can easily view the video wall display system. Floor plan and operations center furniture choices such as consoles arranged in pods can also impact the ease of collaboration among operators.
Fleet Operations Implementation in Action
Constant Technologies recently completed Carnival Cruise’s FOC in Miami, Florida. Carnival’s FOC serves as an excellent example of a Fleet Operations Center that is effectively designed and managed.
The new FOC at Carnival’s headquarters is not only the most advanced in the cruise industry, but it is also the largest at 35,000 square feet. Combining best practices from the military, government, and industry, Constant and Carnival designed the FOC to optimize collaboration, communication, and coordination.
Located on an entire floor on the campus of Carnival’s global headquarters, the state-of-the-art fleet operations center features a video wall solution that spans 74 feet with 57 HD video wall panels. As the center of operations, the FOC video wall displays any internet source as well as conferencing, direct computer feeds, and up to four TV sources 24/7.
While the space is primarily dedicated to monitoring Carnival Cruise Line’s 26 ships, it has the capability to monitor all nine Carnival Corporation lines and its 104-ship fleet. For their fleet management, Carnival uses custom technology including its proprietary software applications “Neptune” and “Argos.” Argos is their “always awake” knowledge management tool which uses thousands of data points and overlays for rules-based decision making, predictive alerting, and queuing into one visual dashboard. Neptune uses complex analytics for optimal safety, efficiency, and overall fleet performance.
By investing in a fleet operations center, an organization creates the opportunity for greater team learning and improving incident response so that it is more efficient and effective. Not only do FOCs ensure the safety of the fleet and its operators, but they also ensure the overall value of what your organization offers, whether that’s a vacation experience or speedy delivery of goods. Constant Technologies’ customized audiovisual integration and technology furniture ensure a tailor-made, turnkey installation that fits your fleet operations perfectly.
Contact us today for a free design consultation.
About Constant:
Constant Technologies, Inc. is a premier mission-critical systems integrator providing customized audiovisual integration of large-scale 24/7 video walls and control center console furniture worldwide. Constant’s team has the knowledge and clearance to work in sensitive environments in both the public and private sectors. Our experienced team has implemented turnkey solutions all over the world.
As experts in control room design, Constant designs, installs, and services projects of all scopes and sizes to create solutions with the highest levels of security, aesthetics, and functionality in mind. Some of Constant’s installations have included EOC builds, Network Operations Centers, Fusion Centers, Security Operations Centers, Social Media Command Centers, and other command and control environments.
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July 12, 2018
