Q1. What is the Atlas+ Trip Recorder?
A1. It is a tracking device that can record information about trips made by people or vehicles.
Q2. What will I use it for ?
A2. It is used to record trips made by field personnel such as truck drivers, salespeople, messengers. With it, you can verify that the trips they made are in line with their itinerary.
Q3. What information can it tell you?
A3. It can tell you the following information of a trip :
– where he went
– what time he was there
– what route / streets were taken
– how long he stopped at a specific location
distance traveled
Q4. How does it present this information ?
A4. After downloading the trips to a PC, the recorded trips are drawn on a map. Since it is drawn graphically on a map, this makes it easier to understand than showing the trip information as text.
Q5. What are its functions? What does it do?
A5. The only function of the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder is to continuously record and store trip information. With this, you will be able to see where your people & vehicles have been all day long.
Q6. What are its limitations?
A6. The ATLAS+ Trip Recorder does not work indoors. It also does not work on planes.
Q7. How do I use it? Is it easy to use?
A7. It is easy to use. In a company setup, here is what happens :
The dispatcher gives the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder unit to the driver.
The driver carries it all day long. He does not need to press or operate anything.
At the end of the day, the driver returns the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder unit to the dispatcher. The dispatcher can then download the recorded trip to his PC and view the trip of the driver.
NOTE : As far as the software (i.e. TRIP REPLAY) is concerned, it is as easy-to-use as MS Word.
Q8. Why does the software need an internet connection?
A8. It needs an internet connection to get maps from google.com.
Q9. What is the warranty?
A9. Warranty is 1 year on parts & services, 6 months warranty on the battery & accessories.
Q10. When I buy the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder, what items are included in the package ?
A10. The following items are the contents of the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder package :
– ATLAS+ Trip Recorder Unit
– Lithium Ion battery
– Trip Replay Software CD
– USB cable
– AC Charger
– Users manual
– Weatherproof pouch
Q1. How long is the battery life when fully charged?
A1. Approximately 30 hours.
Q2. Does it work if placed in cars? Does it need to face the sky directly?
A2. It does not need to face the sky directly. When used by personnel, it can be placed inside his pocket or inside his bag. When used by vehicles, it can be placed inside the glove box (compartment on passenger side). Our tests have shown that the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder can successfully get GPS satellite signals even when placed inside the trunk of a passenger car.
Q3. How long or how many trips can it record?
A3. If used for, say, 10 hours daily, it can record more than 30 days’ worth of trips.
Q4. What happens if I don’t download the trips everyday?
A4. That will be okay. The recorded trips will just accumulate. You can download them by batch on a later date.
Q5. What happens if I don’t download the trips for example, 2 months? Will it stop recording?
A5. The ATLAS+ Trip Recorder can be configured in one of the two ways:
Stop recording when full.
When memory is nearly full, overwrite oldest recordings. With this setting, it will always record new trips and retain the newest recordings.
Q6. Can it work also outside Metro Manila?
A6. Yes, it will work within Metro Manila & outside Metro Manila. Since it uses satellite signals, it will work anywhere in the Philippines or anywhere in the world. It will even work in the middle of the sea.
Q7. What are the system requirements?
A7. The system requirements are :
– PC running Windows 8.x or Windows 10
– USB Port
– CD-ROM Drive (to install software)
– Internet Connection (to get maps from google.com)
Q8. Compared to other companies that offer live tracking, how do you compare?
A8. With live tracking, you can track a vehicle anytime instantly. But following are the advantages of our solution:
Cost – No monthly fee. – Live tracking requires 2 thousand to 3 thousand pesos monthly fee per unit. Lock- in subscription is usually 1 year. For high-value shipments like money, oil, jewelry, live tracking is appropriate since the items are easy to steal, carry and sell. But you will need to allocate full time personnel to monitor every turn all day long. For non-high-value shipments, the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder will be most appropriate since you only need a summary of what happened the whole day. You do not need full time personnel to use our solution.
Track personnel or vehicles – The ATLAS+ Trip Recorder is the only solution that can track personnel or vehicles. Other solutions in the market can only track vehicles.
Transferable – You can assign the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder unit on a different vehicle everyday, if you want to or need to. Live tracking units are fixed onto a car and therefore, cannot be transferred.
Q9. Can the recorded trips be saved?
A9. Yes, they can be saved into files. With this, you can keep a daily record of all trips of your employees.
Q10. Can the recorded trips be printed?
A10. Yes. Trips can be saved as a web page. The resulting file can be printed using Internet Explorer.
Q11. How can the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder be charged?
A11. It can be charged using the supplied AC power charger or via USB port of your PC.
Q12. How long does it take to fully charge the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder ?
A12. If the battery is totally drained, full charging will last 3 to 4 hours. When fully charged, the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder will automatically stop charging & the charging indicator LED will turn off.
Q13. Will the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder overcharge?
A13. No, the adapter will stop charging automatically once the battery is full.
Q1. Who will use the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder ? When are they going to use it ?
A1. The ATLAS+ Trip Recorder will be used by field personnel (people working outside the office). Normally, they are delivery van drivers, salespeople, messengers.It is intended to be used when they have trips outside office premises. That way, the office will know for sure where they have been the whole day.
Q2. Why should our company buy the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder ? What purpose?
A2. For companies, it is a common problem for people working outside the office to ‘not work’ simply because they cannot be monitored. Activities like unnecessary trips & excess overtime become more prevalent. Using the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder will record their location all day long. Effectively, their daily activities can now be monitored & assessed. In the long run, it will lessen or eliminate unnecessary trips, unnecessary overtime, etc. and will serve as a deterrent. Therefore, work efficiency will go up and productivity will increase.
Q3. What are the common excuses for these unnecessary trips?
A3. Unnecessary trips / overtime are dishonestly reported as extended time on the road due to :Traffic – most popular and impossible to verifyVehicle broke downCaught by traffic police or MMDAClient was late or did not show up for meeting
Q4. What types of ‘not working’ really happens?
A4. For vehicle drivers, the common ‘not working’ activities are :Extended lunch break = additional sleeping hoursGoing home or relative’s home to rest or to get overtimeFuel theft (popularly known as ihi) – Gas in tank is siphoned & soldFor salespeople / messengers :Going home or relative’s home to rest or to get overtimeWent to shopping mall to be early for SALE eventsWent for a job interviewWent home early but informed office that he/she went home at 5:30 pm
Q5. With the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder, can I see instantly where our vehicle is?
A5. No. Using the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder does not let you see instantly where your vehicle is. History of the trip of a vehicle or a person can only be seen after the driver has returned the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder unit and the trip information has been downloaded.
Q6. How long does it take to review a trip?
A6. A single trip (8 hours duration) would take about 2 minutes to review. So, the review process will take up very little time of the person assigned to review the recorded trips.
Q7. Can the recorded data be tampered?
A7. No. The ATLAS+ Trip Recorder gets its location and time information from GPS satellites above the sky. So, location and time cannot be edited / manipulated.The bundled software can only be used on ATLAS+ Trip Recorder units. The ATLAS+ Trip Recorder units can also be read / erased only with bundled software. So, data is impossible to tamper.
Q8. Can the bundled software be copied from somewhere else?
A8. No. Even if a copy can be made, the bundled software requires a ‘Product Key’ to work.
Q9. Are there any subscription or recurring charges?
A9. No, there are no subscription or recurring charges. Other companies that offer ‘live’ tracking require a monthly fee for internet access to their websites.
Q10. Who should manage / review the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder and the recorded trips?
A10. It is suggested that the one giving out the car keys or the itinerary everyday will hand over the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder unit as well. Commonly, they are either the dispatcher, admin staff or secretary.
Q11. What is the suggested daily usage procedure?
A11. Following is a suggested daily usage procedure of the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder :
Start of day – Dispatcher hands over unit (powered on and locked in pouch) to driver.
Driver carries it alll day long.
End of day – Driver returns unit to dispatcher. Dispatcher downloads into PC and saves them as individual files.
Before going home – Dispatcher charges the unit.
Next day – Dispatcher reviews previous day’s recordings after dispatch of drivers. If discrepancy from itinerary or suspicious activity is observed, this will be reported to the boss.
NOTE : The boss normally will not be involved in the usage of the ATLAS+ Trip Recorder unit & review of the trips. After trips have been reviewed and suspicous activity has been observed by the assigned person (usually the dispatcher), such activities willl then be reported to the boss for further evaluation.