|
Newsletters
|
|
|
|
|
Wireless Developer Network - Daily News
Visit the WirelessDevNet Symbian DevZone
Today's News |
Yesterday's News |
Submit News |
News-"wireless" Top Stories! |
Around-The-Web
| Wireless DevZones!
Palm Handhelds are First to be Certified for Use in Petro-chemical Industry
LPG Central Now Can Extend Mobile Solutions to Potentially Dangerous Petro-chemical Environments
SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 20, 2002 - The Palm(TM) (Nasdaq: PALM) m500 and m505 handheld computers
are the first handheld Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) to be certified as free from any possibility of igniting flammables that may be present in petro-chemical
environments. The two Palm handheld models, which were certified by Underwriter Laboratory, will be labeled with an electrical-classification rating for Class
1, Division II Groups A, B, C, D environments, which include most refineries, chemical plants and other industrial facilities.
This classification clears the way for companies such as LPG Central, a Tulsa, Okla.-based solutions provider for the petro-chemical industry, to extend their
software solutions into these environments for the first time on a truly mobile platform. By combining the Palm m500 and m505 handhelds with LPG Central's
applications, petro-chemical businesses can streamline operations, reduce paperwork and improve efficiencies while ensuring the highest level of safety. LPG
now can expand its mobile solutions into those environments where previously it was limited due to the possible presence of flammables, thus providing their
customers with new ways to work efficiently and safely.
LPG Central -- Delivering Gas, Oil and Propane More Efficiently
Today, LPG Central, which sells a route-optimization solution to commercial and industrial oil, gas and propane distributors, already is reducing operational
costs for its customers with Palm handhelds. LPG's customers use Palm handhelds and LPG Central's custom SmartFill software to automatically generate a
driver's delivery route and optimize the order of deliveries, minimizing the distance traveled by each delivery truck.
Drivers record delivery information on Palm handhelds and generate invoices onsite using a Monarch printer. At the end of each day, delivery and invoice
information is downloaded from the Palm handheld to the office computer via HotSync(R) operation. Previously, LPG Central customers were required to
generate invoices from handwritten logs, which then were mailed from the main office.
When compared to the paper-based process previously used by LPG Central customers, the Palm handheld-based process of generating and submitting
invoices onsite during a delivery speeds cash flow, reduces clerical mistakes and eliminates data-entry labor costs. The use of handhelds has cut operational
costs for LPG Central's customers by an average of 20-30 percent. With the cost of delivery trucks averaging $2 to $4 per mile, LPG Central's route
optimization is generating a large part of this savings.
LPG Central, already a global leader in wireless oil, gas and propane tank management, plans to update its handheld solution so that data can be sent
wirelessly from Palm handhelds to the office throughout the day as deliveries are made. The company also is working on a handheld application for field service
calls that optimizes service routes and allows technicians to perform onsite billing.
More information about LPG Central is available at www.lpgcentral.com. More information on case studies and the use of Palm handheld computers in the
enterprise is available at www.palm.com/enterprise/studies.
About Palm, Inc.
Information about Palm, Inc. is available at http://www.palm.com/aboutpalm .
|
|
|
|
