In order to measure reduced emissions from on-road diesel trucks and off-road vehicles, the Sacramento Metropolitan Air uality Management District (SMAMD) signed a five year contract for installation of Satellite Security Systems' (S3) GlobalGuard technology. Up to 6,000 vehicles could be monitored to track engine runtime and miles traveled.

As part of SMAMD's heavy-duty incentive program to reduce ozone forming pollutant emissions, GlobalGuard units will be installed on every participating vehicle, with SMAMD offering financial incentives to public, private and heavy-duty diesel vehicle owners to encourage participation.

The GlobalGuard units will track usage from vehicles and engines in Sacramento, Yolo, Solano, Placer, El Dorado and portions of Sutter. Results including hours and miles traveled are collected monthly by S3, sorted by geographic region and electronically submitted once a month to SMAMD.

"S3 technology offers a very reliable solution for tracking the usage of thousands of vehicles," said Larry Sherwood, the Mobile Source Division Manager for SMAMD. "GlobalGuard will help us gauge the success of the emission reduction program for the next five years."

A communications system based on ReFLEX technology and Global Positioning System (GPS), GlobalGuard will provide tracking for distance traveled and exact engine runtime. The data sent to SMAMD will not track where vehicles travel, only monthly totals for the regions.

The communications backbone for GlobalGuard is the Motorola ReFLEX satellite communications system. The ReFLEX system is a secure, two-way messaging infrastructure that, compared with competing data networks, provides a wide range of crucial technical and economic advantages.

Previously, SMAMD relied on bi-annual hard-copy surveys mailed from program participants to track engine usage and were labor intensive. S3's solution provides a more efficient approach by automating this process and guaranteeing accurate collection of information.