Software helps track and protect smart railcar cargo.
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Press Release Summary:
GPS Fleet Watch helps rail shippers pinpoint location and condition of sensitive cargo as well as deal quickly with accidents or unusual events. Along with tools for communicating with emergency responders, software integrates data generated by satellite-linked location tracking and cargo monitoring equipment with external data such as weather conditions, nationwide rail traffic mapping, and databases containing information about communities crossed by railroad lines.
Original Press Release:
MHF Logistical Solutions: New Software Enhances 'Smart Railcars' Initiative
PITTSBURGH, Oct. 4 -- MHF Logistical Solutions (MHF-LS), a leading provider of packaging, transportation and technical services for generators and shippers of radioactive, hazardous and non-hazardous waste, materials and byproducts, said today that it has introduced new software that dramatically enhances its "smart railcars" cargo protection initiative.
The new software, called "GPS Fleet Watch," integrates data generated by satellite-linked location tracking and cargo monitoring equipment with such external data as weather conditions, nationwide rail traffic mapping and databases containing detailed information about communities crossed by railroad lines.
"The new software is a significant leap for rail shippers seeking to maximize their ability to track and protect their cargo and also deal quickly with an accident or unusual event," said Richard W. Zink, MHF-LS executive vice president. "We're giving our clients a whole new capability to not only pinpoint the location and condition of their sensitive cargo, but also to best manage problems that might occur."
MHF-LS clients opting to use smart railcars can receive continually updated reports on the whereabouts and status of their cargo. To quickly deal with an accident that, for example, releases noxious materials, the GPS Fleet Watch software can immediately call up detailed information about prevailing and projected weather patterns, the proximity of other rail traffic and information about nearby population centers (including schools, hospitals and other facilities) that might have to be notified as part of an emergency response.
The software also provides tools to communicate with local police departments, hazmat clean-up experts and other emergency responders.
Details on nearby communities can be narrowed down to a square mile, virtually anywhere in North America, Zink said.
The smart railcar initiative, introduced last year by MHF-LS, is a comprehensive series of optional services featuring remote monitoring and diagnostic systems. Individual railcars are equipped with long-life, battery- operated wireless devices and sensor equipment linked via satellite to MHF-LS' back office reporting and operations systems.
In addition to the cargo protection and emergency response functions, MHF- LS' smart railcars program is also designed to help shippers more efficiently manage their cargo flow on both ends of their shipping cycles, Zink noted.
Zink added that MHF-LS' smart railcar program is in line with the movement toward intelligent transportation systems being promoted by governments, railroads and others.
ABOUT MHF LOGISTICAL SOLUTIONS
MHF Logistical Solutions (www.mhfls.com) is an asset-based, vertically integrated logistics provider that offers seamless solutions for generators and shippers of radioactive, hazardous and non-hazardous waste, materials and byproducts.
The company's clients include nuclear utilities, environmental services companies, large corporations, manufacturers and government agencies, such as the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Energy and others.
MHF-LS operating units provide all of the project engineering and regulatory management, packaging, technical services, transportation (rail, truck, marine) and equipment necessary for end-to-end movement and disposition of clients' streams of waste, materials and byproducts. Its integrated approach offers improved project safety and lower overall costs.
MHF-LS provides its transportation services by utilizing its portfolio of private railcars and intermodal container equipment. It handles container and bulk material transfers for its North American clients at permanent transload facilities and through a network of other short-term or temporary transload sites. The company's packaging division designs and manufactures various rigid and flexible packaging systems for all types of materials. The company also provides specialized transport and waste-related technical services and consulting, both domestically and internationally, through a dedicated business unit.
MHF Logistical Solutions is based in the Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S., suburb of Cranberry Township, with other offices in the U.S. and representation in the U.K. The company's headquarters may be reached at 724.772.9800, or info@mhfls.com.
