Fleet Forum Hosts First Roundtable on Satellite Technology

On 30 April 2009, the Fleet Forum held a roundtable meeting in Geneva focused on satellite tracking and blackbox technologies and how they apply to humanitarian transport.  The first in a series of topic specific roundtable meetings planned for the future, the event successfully brought together nine organisations at various stages of the process of implementing different technology options and who were willing to engage in a dialogue of sharing best practices and evaluating the best way forward.

Participating in the meeting were representatives from UNHCR, Oxfam, UN-OCHA, World Vision International, UN-WFP, and the UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights.  Several other organisations committed to the meeting unfortunately had to withdraw due to the emergency concerns of the H1N1 flu virus which hit at the time of the meeting.  Satamatics, a comprehensive supplier of technologies to the humanitarian community, took up the challenge to engage in an open dialogue with the agencies present.  The concept behind the discussions is that both the commercial and humanitarian entities gain insights into one another's offering and needs in a neutral environment.  Satamatics candidly joined the discussions and the opportunity was an excellent way to engage with agencies, forge relationships, and gain insights into the challenges, needs, and wants of the humanitarian community they aim to serve.

For many of the participating organisations gaining insights into the foundations of technology, including the difference between Active, Passive and hybrid (combination of both) , satellite tracking technologies as well as Black Box technologies were high on the agenda for attending the event.  While some had already, or were in the process of piloting some technology options, many of the organisations were still in the early planning stages of recognising the important of these technologies to their ability to control vehicles, incur significant cost savings, and impact the safety of their staff in significant ways.

As part of the meeting, WFPs Aviation division presented on their real-time aircraft tracking system which had similar applicability to ground transport.  The presentation gave attendees a practical representation of how these systems can work and the ways in which WFP's Aviation operations are benefiting from the system. 

Serving as the backbone of discussions was an in-depth presentation on the business case for technology systems.  Using the experience of WFP's Sudan fleet, the attendees were taken through the complete process of identifying need, selecting solutions, implementation and working with the tools to see the massive impact had on one of WFP's largest fleet operations.

At the conclusion of the event, the attendees concluded that the event was a useful initiative, and requested that further discussions like this be held to continue to build momentum and share knowledge within the community.   The event also served as a launching pad for the Fleet Forum to begin to develop a multi-organisation project that benchmarks technology across the humanitarian community, identifies the key requirements for different operational environments, and pilot tests solutions to ultimately establish a decision tree for agencies to use as they explore how to integrate technology into their fleet operations.  The project, still in its initial planning stages, already has commitment from several organisations to participate, and is open for interested organisations.  

If your organisation has a story to tell in regards to your own experiences with satellite tracking and blackbox technologies, or if you'd like to participate in the project under development or even have an idea for a future roundtable discussion, please This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   to share your thoughts.