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Mercury is a fleet management consulting firm with
extensive experience in developing, implementing, and supporting a wide
range of integrated, commercial-off-the-self and custom solutions.
Through our own resources and formal partnerships with other leading
companies in the fleet and technology industries, we are able to offer
our clients the best of breed solutions.
Because we are a consulting firm that understands fleet management and
information technology we are able to meet the specific business needs
of each client organization. We bring the most experienced fleet
management consultants in the industry into each project, so that we can understand your
business process and tailor a solution to your unique needs - before any installation or development of solutions
occur.
Our goal is to produce an integration plan, not an implementation plan,
which is tailored to meet your needs. An integration plan focuses not
only on how to use a new piece of technology, but also concentrates on
modifying and refining business processes to produce the greatest
return-on-investment. Whereas, an implementation plan solely focuses on
the installation and training of end-users on how to utilize the new
hardware and software. Moreover, implementation plan does not address
improving business processes, information production and consumption, or
industry best practices.
Our belief is that technology can enable fleet operations to
significantly automate tasks, management information, reduce costs, and
streamline complex processes. However, these benefits can only be
achieved by developing, implementing, and enforcing sound business
processes that are designed to incorporate the value that the technology
offers. For example, one of the standard features that virtually every
modern fleet system offers is the ability to establish minimum and
maximum stocking levels and reorder points for parts inventory items.
This functionality allows parts management operations to automate the
reordering process of stock items by simply running standard or ad hoc
reports. Yet few organizations that have recently purchased fleet
information systems have taken advantage of this feature, because their
implementation plans did little more than include the minimal tasks to
transition into production.
Applications
We offer a variety of leading edge fleet business
solutions (e.g., fleet information systems, electronic repair and
maintenance manuals, and e-commerce) to operations of every size,
composition, and industry. Through our partnerships with
industry-leading technology developers we have the ability to provide
easy to use, integrated fleet management solutions.
Our focus is on providing intuitive technology that is simple to utilize
and manage at all levels of an organization, because our experience has
been that the most significant ROI occurs when users can easily use such
business tools and the data they gather. In fact most of our clients
have tried more complex and expensive solutions, which they have
abandoned for our user-friendly, full featured applications. This is
because our fleet systems do the complex calculations and logic behind
the scenes - where it belongs.
A significant issue that we come across in our consulting engagements is
the inability for users to get "meaningful" information out of their
asset management systems. This is largely due to inadequate or
inaccurate system documentation, deficient database design, or poor
reporting architecture. In many cases the more complex and expensive
systems available suffer from one or more of these defects.
Because we understand these issues, we only partner with fleet software
companies that are fanatical about maintaining clean, consistent, and
intuitive solutions - from the databases to user interfaces.
Application Hosting
We offer application hosting
services to organizations of every size. Moreover, we host a wide range
of applications for our clients; fleet information systems, parts
catalogs and manuals, business productivity suites, and custom
applications. Our hosting services allow our clients to focus on their
core competence of managing equipment and assets, while we support the
business tools and applications.
Our data center contains raised-floor, redundant power, HVAC, card-key
and biometric scan access, security guards, and hands-on support around
the clock. Our industry standard equipment racks are 8’ tall by 19” wide
with combination locks on each cabinet. All racks are bolted to the
raised-floor tiles, which in turn are secured to the floor pedestals.
The data center is designed to ensure uninterrupted service, with full
redundancy built into the facility. Redundant UPS systems are deployed
in an N+1 parallel, failsafe configuration. Backup power generators
provide for up to 100% of peak load with an on-site fuel supply of 24
hours, and there is a provision for refueling contracts in the event of
an extended power failure. The UPS / battery backup and emergency
generators provide enough backup power to keep our facility at
operational at maximum load. Moreover, the Automatic Transfer Switch
(ATS) provides a smooth transition from the UPS/battery backup to the
generator backup in the event of power loss from the utility company.

Another notable attribute of our hosting platform is its
bandwidth
capacity (i.e. the amount of data that we can move from our data
center to our clients at any one time). Our data center uses an
OC-192 connection, which the adjacent table illustrates is the
largest network bandwidth capacity commercially available in the world
- 9.95 gigabytes per second. This means that our clients will always
experience optimal platform response performance. Additionally, our
data center provides multiple routes for data to travel, which
provides reliability as well as increased performance.
Moreover, we have connectivity to several other data centers
throughout the world for additional communications redundancy - 57
in the United States and 27 in Europe. Virtually no other vendor in
the fleet industry offers this level of communications redundancy
and data throughput capabilities.
In
addition to having a world-class data center our support team and
monitoring solutions provides non-stop proactive systems, network and
application management services, 24-hours per day, seven days a week,
year around. Our team of highly trained Systems Administrators, Database
Administrators and Network Engineers pro-actively manage the platform
and respond to system issues that can affect system availability and
performance. Subscription clients have access to our support staff by
e-mail, instant messaging, telephone, and facsimile.
Our approach to providing hosting services to our clients is simple – we
provide the best products available and support them with the most
qualified resources available. We only utilize mainstream, proven
technology from companies that have a history of quality, reliability,
and a dedication to customer service.
We also believe the low cost of an application hosting subscription
allows many fleet organizations to begin using tools, such as a fleet
information system, that would otherwise be inaccessible due to large,
up-front project budgets. Also, the low cost subscription fees allow
fleet operations to maintain lower operating overhead by paying as they
use the service.
To demo our ASP platform, please contact us at
contactme@mercury-assoc.com
Web Technologies
The increased availability of data in organizations
has resulted in significant pressure on managers and staff to maintain
and produce a wide array of management information for clients,
financial and auditing departments, executives, elected officials, and
the general public. Fleet management operations are not exempt from this
trend. A major challenge for fleet managers has been and will continue
to be the struggle to keep these entities sufficiently informed in a
timely manner.

Mercury is sensitive to the on-going pressures for
fleet management operations to produce meaningful information for a wide
audience of consumers. Thus, we have developed and integrated several
web technologies, such as web-based reporting, as a means for fleet
operations to distribute information to their customers and other
information consumers. We can provide web technologies to distribute
information on a broad range of enterprise database platforms,
including:
Our web technologies allow users to securely access
information in a real-time, read-only mode through their Intranet,
Extranet, or Internet web site. Moreover, by utilizing 128-bit
encryption, Certificate Authorities, group authorization, and other
security procedures we not only control user access, but we can also
regulate the information with which users are presented. Authenticated
users are presented with a simple menu of web resources (i.e. reports,
applications, email, calendars, and much more). This solution permits
users to gather the information they need on a timely basis and without
interfacing with the fleet management personnel.
Wireless Communications
Mercury is a leading provider of wireless solutions
and data devices to the fleet management industry. We enable laptops,
Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), tablet PCs, and other portable
information devices with wireless communications to allow the people
that use them to access business resources. Additionally, we also offer
a wide array of portable devices that can be used in a real-time,
wireless environment or stand-alone mode.
Wireless
communication is an important emerging
technology, because it increases the distribution and range of
information to users. For example, currently most people need to use a
networked workstation in order to retrieve electronic information;
whereas with wireless communications users can travel and interact with
applications, data, and other users on demand. Wireless solutions are
also dropping in price, which is making the initial investment minimal.
While the cost of
wireless technologies has been falling the security of these solutions
has improved significantly. With the integration of 128-bit encryption,
Certificate Authorities, Virtual Private Networking (VPN), and other
security measures a wireless enabled network can be as secure as a wired
network. Some of the most popular wireless technologies, such as
Bluetooth, 802.11b, and 802.11a, offer the benefits of short-range,
broadband communications. Other wireless technologies, like CDMA and
CDPD, offer a wider area of coverage to certain geographic areas. This
has allowed fleet operations to information out on the shop floor, parts
warehouse, and other areas that were otherwise inaccessible or
unpractical to provide applications and information.
Mercury can assist you in selecting the appropriate
wireless communication solution and integrate it with your existing
network and security environment, applications, email platform, and
databases. Moreover, we can also assist you in reengineering existing
business processes in order to take full advantage of the increased
productivity offered by real-time connectivity.
GPS Solutions and Services
As vehicle and equipment technology has advanced over
the past decade there has been a significant increase in pressure for
fleet managers to collect and analyze information to reduce costs,
increase asset availability, and maintain driver safety. The traditional
sources for such information has been fleet and fuel management systems
that gather information when vehicles and equipment receive fuel or
maintenance and repairs. However, this information is often incomplete
due to user data entry errors, inadequate levels of data capture, or
spotty transactions. To address this issue Mercury offers Global
Positioning Solutions (GPS) that integrate with a vehicle to capture:
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Vehicle and equipment meter readings
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Asset fuel consumption
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Fleet current location and unlimited
history
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Bio-metric driver Identity with the
ability to lock out unauthorized drivers
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Trip initiation and end time combined
with mileage count
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Maximum speeds and number of times
driver exceeded the speed limit – the system also can alert drivers if
they are speeding
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Total idling time and instances of
over-revving the engine
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Scheduled maintenance based upon
mileage counts and time intervals
Acceleration/deceleration – number of times the driver hit the brakes
too hard or accelerated too quickly
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Black Box Analysis – In the event of
an accident, the five minutes preceding the accident are recorded in one
second increments to enable post-event analysis
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Portable Information Devices
One of the leading trends in the fleet management
industry is the increased availability of data on the fleet and the
fleet management organization has placed significant pressure on fleet
managers and staff to maintain and produce a wide array of management
information for employees, fleet users, finance and audit departments,
management decision makers, elected officials, and the general public. A
major challenge for fleet managers has been and will continue to be the
struggle to keep these entities sufficiently informed in a timely
manner. Mercury is sensitive to this requirement, which is why we offer
our clients the portable information devices and wireless communications
in order to provide anywhere, real-time data capture and information
access.
Portable information devices (PID) provide users with the ability to
travel with electronic data stores and applications that can be queried,
updated, and saved. These electronic tools can also interact with remote
business resource, such as the Internet, by integrating wireless
communications. Thus, depending on its use a PID can be used in a
real-time, wireless environment or stand-alone mode.
PIDs are available from several technology vendors in a variety of
flavors (e.g. PDAs, tablet PCs, laptops, and web-enabled phones).
However, the features and capabilities of these platforms vary
significantly - even between the makes and models of each manufacturer.
Mercury can assist you in selecting the appropriate portable information
device solution, wireless communications, and integrate it with your
existing network and security environment, applications, email platform,
and databases. Moreover, we can also assist you in reengineering
existing business processes in order to take full advantage of the
increased productivity offered by these mobile information workstations.
Tablet PCs are one of the most useful productivity
tools for people, like mechanics, that need to be mobile and unchained
from a desk and PC. The tablets are designed to combine the best
features of a notebook PC, a daily planner, notepad, PDA, and sticky
notes. Moreover, they are also extremely light-weight, durable, and
provide a long battery life for extended usage. As one of the only fleet
solutions providers in the industry to offer this platform to the
industry, Mercury is uniquely qualified to implement and integrate this
solution for fleet maintenance / management
operations.
Through our partnerships with software and technology
developers, we also offer ruggedized PDAs that replace the functionality
of the shop floor PC. This platform is based on the Palm, Inc.'s mature,
Palm operating system, which is currently the most widely utilized OS in
handheld devices. Moreover, these lightweight PDAs include the
traditional touch screen, pen stylus technology and the Symbol SE900
Pico Scan Engine barcode scanner. Thus, mechanics can operate in a
paperless shop environment and capture information at the source.
The PDA devices can also be enabled with wireless communications, which
empowers a fleet management operation to operate in a real-time
environment.
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