Overcoming probe data limitations in freight planning with a transformative approach to data management and analysis

In the ever-evolving landscape of state freight planning and operations, the utilization of probe data has been invaluable in providing insights and metrics for effective decision-making. Despite its importance, it’s crucial to acknowledge that this tool has its limitations. The good news? Geotab ITS can address many of these limitations, breaking through the constraints of conventional probe data to revolutionize freight analysis.

Understanding Probe Data

Probe data refers to the information collected from various GPS-enabled devices and sensors installed in vehicles. These devices continually send out signals indicating their location, speed, direction and other useful parameters directly to a manufacturer or fleet management center like Geotab. By collecting and analyzing this data over vast fleets and networks, Geotab can gain a macro-level understanding of information such as traffic patterns, congestion points and route efficiencies, which is invaluable for planning, managing and optimizing transportation systems. Here are some use cases where the added contextual information of probe data will play an integral role.

Many freight and commercial vehicle analytics are dependent on needing accurate and comprehensive contextual information. This information is critical for accurately understanding truck parking, movement around ports and much more. Probe data serves a multitude of use cases — for instance, it plays a major role in Federal Performance Measures by aiding in gauging the transportation reliability, a critical aspect in freight logistics. It also supplies essential data points for Freight Performance Measures, facilitating bottlenecks identification and overall performance assessment.

When it comes to Truck Flows, probe data is used in identifying origins, destinations and commonly used routes, which are essential for effective route optimization and capacity planning. This comprehensive digital mapping extends its utility to Freight Generators or Attractors as well, mapping out movements around ports and high-activity freight facility clusters. Lastly, probe data provides insights into parking behavior, which is integral for planning, compliance and ensuring efficient logistics operations.

In essence, probe data shines a light on the intricate dynamics of freight and commercial vehicle operations, providing the comprehensive contextual information needed for optimized logistics management.

The Geotab ITS Approach

However, while probe data is indispensable, it isn’t without limitations, which is where Geotab ITS steps in. In this section, we delve into these limitations and explore how Geotab ITS has stepped up to the challenge, implementing innovative strategies to not only mitigate these constraints but transform them into opportunities for expanded data utility and efficiency. For instance, Geotab ITS’ “expansion factor” provides an accurate estimate of the overall commercial traffic volume when applied to observed traffic volumes from Geotab commercial traffic data.