July 17, 2008: Are new sensors appearing on your package car? UPS is expanding its use of new technology to monitor vehicles, and drivers, like never before.

The company’s new “telematics program” uses computer technology to combine data UPS gathers through GPS, the DIAD board and new sensors that are being mounted on package cars in pilot areas.

More than 200 new sensors are being mounted on select package cars to gather information on everything from vehicle speeds and oil pressure to the number of times a truck goes in reverse, what doors are open and when, the time the truck spends idling, and how and if you are wearing your seatbelt.

At the end of each driver’s shift, all the information is uploaded to a data center in Mahwah, N.J. There it is evaluated by UPS “data miners.” Automotive personnel are looking for ways to save the company on maintenance.

But operations personnel are looking for “safety trends” and “efficiency patterns.” The company’s new technology opens the door to more monitoring, more harassment and more speed-up. As always, following UPS’s rules—instead of rushing to boost your production—is the best way to protect ourselves.

UPS first tested piloted this program in Roswell and Athens, Georgia. This year, they are expanding the program by mounting sensors in 10 more areas in the United States and one in Canada. And press reports say, UPS managers can see eventually expanding the program to tractor trailers.

Has UPS introduced the new sensors in your area? Click here to tell us about your experiences with these sensors and how the company’s new spy technology is being used by UPS management.

Click here to read a press report on UPS’s telematics program.

Click here to read more on this issue at Make UPS Deliver.