Trimble MCS' Forestry Automation business unit launched Blue Ox in the first quarter of 2010. The Blue Ox solution provides an innovative route optimization and management solution and leverages the Yuma rugged tablet and the Nomad rugged handheld computers.
Trimble's Blue Ox system applies rugged mobile computing, Global Positioning System (GPS) and wireless communications to the forest products and logging transportation industry. The Trimble Nomad® rugged handheld computer allows real-time load information to be entered into a central system directly from a remote forest location. This information is then processed through an optimization engine which then matches available loads to available trucks based on real-time location and other status information. Fleet managers can also monitor and update the system for mill shutdowns, road hazards or detours, truck breakdowns or other supply chain disruptions and recommend corrective actions as needed. The Blue Ox system makes assignments and transmits other information to individual drivers via Trimble's Yuma® rugged tablet computer, which is mounted in the cab of each truck in the fleet. The automated process significantly increases the utilization of trucks, enabling operations to move more logs with fewer trucks with reduced transportation costs
Matt Linderman, area manager for Trimble Forestry Automation Business, says "Many of the inefficiencies along the supply chain are caused by a lack of information. The Blue Ox system collects and processes that information in real time, recommending actions that can reduce or eliminate the bottlenecks that waste time and fuel. The result is more efficient use of capital assets, accomplished by reducing the amount of time trucks spend traveling empty and waiting to be loaded or unloaded. For truck owners, this can mean savings in fuel, maintenance, and truck replacement costs, which could allow them to lower their price to landowners for their services. Loggers also benefit from a more efficient distribution of trucks to all cut sites, reducing the potential for disruption in the flow of wood to the mills."
"Transporting logs from the harvest site to the mill can represent nearly half of the total cost of forest products processing," said Hugh McManus, general manager for Hancock Timber's South Central Division. "With the implementation of these innovative transportation technologies across our forestry operations in Western Louisiana, East Texas and Arkansas, Hancock Timber expects to increase supply chain efficiencies and reduce costs-to the benefit of our clients.
For more information about Forestry Automation and Blue Ox, visit www.forestryautomation.com or contact Matt Lehman matt_lehman@trimble.com and phone 541.768.2671
