FLEET MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY

Floyd County School District

PROJECT INFORMATION

A hard drive capacity upgrade with stop-arm cameras eventually turned into an order for a complete fleet management solution. Fortress Mobile was considered the leading vendor from the initial stages.

Location

Floyd County, GA

Duration

2017 – Present

Fleet size

100+ buses

SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS

30 FPS Full Motion Video Recording • Simultaneous Playback Viewing from all installed cameras • Stop-Arm Camera to capture images of offending vehicles • Route Optimization • Route Tracking, Location Recording, and Synchronizing of events • Vehicle ID, Date & Time stamped recording establishing chain of custody • Assigned user access levels • Automatic download of marked event files in Wi-Fi Area • Real-Time Health Monitoring of DVR Equipment in Wi-Fi Area • Real-Time Viewing of Vehicles

BACKGROUND

Floyd County School District (FCSD) system provides opportunities for schools and students to achieve academic excellence. The Transportation Department for Floyd County Schools’ top priority is to provide a safe ride to and from school for our students. The district currently has 9,216 enrolled students, with over half riding the buses.

INITIAL CHALLENGES

In 2017, FCSD needed to upgrade the old camera setup on their fleet from an SD card hard drive to a larger capacity hard drive. They also needed the option to add stop-arm cameras to their fleet in the following year. With over 100 buses, safety and accountability were factors.

SYSTEM SET UP

8 Channel DVRs
HD Interior Cameras
Stop-Arm Camera
Video & GPS
SureBus™ Fleet Management Software
Routing Optimization Software

Fortress Mobile initially installed 1TB hard drives to all the buses in Floyd County SD’s (FCSD) fleet, as well as 8-Channel DVRs to accommodate the addition of stop-arm cameras (installed in 2019). They used HD cameras for live surveillance inside the vehicle, as well as a Stop-Arm Camera. A free pilot system that included the fleet management software, SureBus™, was installed on one bus. Shortly after, an incident that involved a person under the influence jumping on the hood of the bus occurred. With the Auto-Download feature, they could instantly retrieve, download, and review the needed video. They could use the software to get a clear video of the incident on the fly and forward it electronically to the authorities. Once they saw the software’s usefulness, they ordered and installed the software solution on their full fleet in 2019.

Additionally, the Stop-Arm camera captures vehicles and their license plates that violate the Stop-Arm, which could then be reported to the proper authorities to send a notice of violation. The system also records the GPS coordinates providing the synchronized vehicle location, speed, and direction of travel digitally displayed under a map in the playback section of SureBus™.

In 2020 FCSD implemented routing optimization software from Fortress Mobile’s partner to create a genuinely All-In-One solution.

“The cost level of this solution and what we got out of it in the end all weighed out. With the safety and security aspects, it made it all worthwhile!”

Eugene Smith, Transportation Director, Floyd County Schools

SOLUTION RESULTS

As a result of this all-in-one solution, managers can detect and resolve any reported item or component failures. Managers can view real-time videos, download videos of incidents and share them, and more. With the routing software, they can optimize bus routes to save on costs, mileage, and time.