Mobile Monitoring Service Exhibits at Tech South Show

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Contact: W. Keith Simon, VP, PR & Marketing, 1.800.259.3333

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 18, 2005

When Acadian Ambulance Service tested new cellular and GPS monitoring capabilities by tracking last year's New Orleans Mardi Gras parades, Chairman Richard Zuschlag predicted the technology would be expanded to encompass a wide range of valuable applications. “Now,” he says, “I find that I underestimated the many ways in which the technology can be employed. We are marketing a variety of applications successfully, and looking at many others. It is a revolutionary step forward for the high-tech monitoring industry.”

Mobile monitoring is now a highly active division of Acadian On Watch, the company's advanced alarm monitoring arm. Blane Comeaux, director of monitoring services, says it adds enormous enhancement to two of the most essential elements in today's business world – security and productivity. “The applications range from asset tracking for companies to such family activities as keeping watch on Alzheimer patients or on the behavior and safety of teenagers,” Comeaux says. “It is cost-effective and extremely user friendly. While it is Internet-based, there is no investment in costly new equipment or software.”

Acadian on Watch partners with Guardian Mobile Monitoring to provide the various applications made possible by the combining of cellular and GPS technology. “Working primarily with an affordable high-tech communications device called a Beacon, businesses can track assets in real time, receiving comprehensive information through e mail, text messaging to cell phones, and logs for viewing and archiving -- on routes taken, speed, stops made, time spent and other factors. The logs can be archived on our servers or saved to their own PC.”

A popular application, Comeaux says, is mobile fleet tracking. “The productivity advantages are obvious. Company officials have instant access to information on vehicles. This allows for more efficient dispatching and accurate billing, while also assuring that drivers follow the rules. Billing is made more accurate because time spent on a job can be logged for verification. With the technology, field personnel can be located and re-routed to handle unscheduled customer issues.”

In these times of high gasoline prices, the ability to assure that company vehicles are used only for business purposes is highly beneficial. “A driver may be allowed to take a vehicle home at night,” Comeaux says, “with instructions that it is not to be used until put into service the next morning. With the Geo-Fencing application of mobile monitoring, a GPS “fence” can be created around the employee's home, and company officials notified if the vehicle leaves the home at an inappropriate time. Also, there is an application called “armed where parked” that activates monitoring of the vehicle through a wireless key fob and provides access to information on any movement.”

On the road, information is available if a driver takes an extended lunch break or stops for shopping.

Use of mobile monitoring also enhances security. A stolen vehicle can be located instantly. Geo-Fencing of company property is a safeguard against illegal entry. Such advances in security are beneficial in attracting and retaining good personnel. They can also impact insurance costs, according to Comeaux.

Rental companies can determine the location of a rented vehicle or other equipment immediately if payments are not made on time.

Mobile monitoring, Comeaux says, offers a major breakthrough in protection of family members. “For instance,” he says, “it allows for constant tracking of a person afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. A Geo-Fence can be set up to establish parameters within which it is safe for that person to move about. If he or she goes beyond the parameters, notification is immediate. The application even allows notification of law enforcement authorities.”

Parents concerned about a teenager's safety have a major advantage with mobile monitoring. If a teenager leaves home in a vehicle, the route can be tracked as well as the speed. It is possible to Geo-Fence multiple places that the teenager is banned from visiting. If the ban is violated, parents know immediately. If a teenage driver goes beyond the limits set on speed, parents with mobile monitoring capabilities will know. Also, there is the comfort of being able to access information on the location of the teenager if an emergency occurs.

On the Acadian end, there is no threat of system failure. The GPS capability in Lafayette is backed up by facilities in California and Canada.

“One of the most important features of mobile monitoring,” Comeaux says, “is its flexibility. A system can be set up very economically, with the applications that exactly fit the needs of the customer. Monitoring has entered a new era. It is an exciting one, with capabilities far beyond anything we could have imagined just a few years ago.”

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