Honeywell (NYSE: HON) announced a new satellite-based connected solution to help governments, companies, and other organizations monitor the location and safety of workers in remote locations.

Honeywell's Personal Tracker utilizes Iridium's low-earth orbit satellite network, the only satellite constellation that provides pole-to-pole coverage, which is necessary for effective remote asset and personnel tracking. The mobile device allows companies to communicate with their workers or track assets anywhere in the world – across oceans, airways and even polar regions.

"Those responsible for employees in remote locations, especially lone workers who may be performing risky work, increasingly need a reliable method to stay connected to those workers to keep them safe and secure," said Taylor Smith, president of Honeywell's Workflow Solutions business. "Honeywell's connected worker technology and Iridium's proven platform enable satellite communications from anywhere on Earth. This offers remote workers, such as workers on offshore oil platforms or forestry service workers, peace-of-mind and provides their employers with a valuable communication and search-and-rescue tool for emergency situations."

Emergency services, maritime, military, and oil and gas workers can share their location with GPS coordinates and send text messages using the enterprise-grade, ultra-rugged device, which is certified to function in hazardous environments where explosions or a fire may occur due to flammable liquids or vapors. It can be used as a stand-alone, two-way communications device or can be clipped to a backpack to serve as a tracking beacon. It can also be paired with an iPhone so that users can access a Honeywell mobile app that offers features such as interactive SOS, messaging, push notifications, trip information and situational awareness.

For example, in the event of an emergency, an organization can send push notifications to alert its workers – regardless of their location – and then track their locations and provide updates as they seek shelter.

The Personal Tracker is exclusive to the Iridium^® network. With Iridium's two-way communication capabilities, even when used as a stand-alone alerting and tracking beacon, the Personal Tracker can receive current location requests and configuration updates over the air.

"We are proud to work with Honeywell in enabling their connected worker technology, and support their commitment to lone worker safety," said Bryan Hartin, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Iridium. "This partnership comes at an exciting time for us as we are launching our next-generation global constellation, Iridium NEXT, and continue to expand our growing portfolio of satellite-based solutions for the Internet of Things. The unique architecture of our constellation makes it a natural fit over other providers for mobile applications, especially where safety is concerned. Providing reliable coverage is critical for companies tracking employees and assets located in remote areas, and Honeywell's new Personal Tracker will make that possible."

The mobile device supports Honeywell's ViewPoint software, a web-based platform that provides organizations with real-time visibility for tracking and monitoring high-value assets such as vehicle fleets and cargo containers. The ViewPoint platform offers organizations and government users advanced features, such as a 90-day tracking hist

Chris Mc Loone

I was part of a couple of conversations recently that revolved around apparatus designs and the different technologies available to us as we spec the rigs we’re going to be using for the next 15 to 20 years - and sometimes longer.

As many of these conversations do, they turned to our younger firefighters and how they operate, how they communicate, and how they learn. As you might expect when older generations are talking about a younger one, the dialog can, at times, become slightly negative. I think the negativity stems from frustration. For example, there is a completely different way of communicating today than even 15 years ago. One person mentioned that the kitchen table at the fire station isn’t the same as it was years ago. It used to be that the kitchen table was where you went to solve problems, to discuss tactics, and to strengthen comradery. It is different now, and for those who came up through the ranks communicating in such a fashion, it can be frustrating figuring out how to transition. But, as we all learn, different is not necessarily bad. I mean, who cares how we communicate as long as we communicate?

As the conversation wore on, we got into apparatus committees and how they are made up. Every fire department is going to assemble truck committees differently than others. Some will only be company officers and chief officers. Hopefully, they all include a member from Fleet to advise about how different designs will impact maintenance and out-of-service time. But we also discussed how critical it is to ensure that younger firefighters are also on these committees - for a couple of reasons.

First, their perspectives are key. We’re building trucks that probably will outlast our time in the fire service. These trucks are for them, and we need to ensure that they are usable for the men and women presently coming up through the ranks. Second, there’s a bit of a gap right now between experienced apparatus specifiers and those who will be taking over. This is the fire service - where senior firefighters “bring up” the rookies and show them the ropes so they will become better firefighters now and excellent senior firefighters later. We should be doing the same for future apparatus purchasing committee members. Be open to what they have to say, and show them the ropes.

This month is FDIC International 2017. In North America, you won’t find a larger showcase of apparatus and equipment. When you make your plans to go as a group, walk the floor with younger firefighters. Watch and listen to them. If it’s appropriate, sure, bring up a story from time to time about how we did it in the old days. But pay attention to what’s getting interest from your 20 and 30 somethings. Mark items down. These are the folks who are going to be using these things years down the line. Most of all, listen to them. Listen to what they are saying to each other about a certain feature and why they think it is so important. Don’t be afraid to ask what they feel will help them do their jobs better.

I am not particularly mechanically inclined - never have been, never will be. It’s not for lack of trying. It’s just not my particular skillset. One comment from these discussions was that the current recruit classes are tech savvy but not mechanical. In many cases, this might be true. But, is it a negative? The way rigs are built today, does it pay to be more mechanical or more tech savvy? As with most things, a good mix of both is optimal, but leaning more toward the tech savvy side may be the way to go. Throw out a problem to a group

Chris Mc Loone

I was part of a couple of conversations recently that revolved around apparatus designs and the different technologies available to us as we spec the rigs we’re going to be using for the next 15 to 20 years - and sometimes longer.

As many of these conversations do, they turned to our younger firefighters and how they operate, how they communicate, and how they learn. As you might expect when older generations are talking about a younger one, the dialog can, at times, become slightly negative. I think the negativity stems from frustration. For example, there is a completely different way of communicating today than even 15 years ago. One person mentioned that the kitchen table at the fire station isn’t the same as it was years ago. It used to be that the kitchen table was where you went to solve problems, to discuss tactics, and to strengthen comradery. It is different now, and for those who came up through the ranks communicating in such a fashion, it can be frustrating figuring out how to transition. But, as we all learn, different is not necessarily bad. I mean, who cares how we communicate as long as we communicate?

As the conversation wore on, we got into apparatus committees and how they are made up. Every fire department is going to assemble truck committees differently than others. Some will only be company officers and chief officers. Hopefully, they all include a member from Fleet to advise about how different designs will impact maintenance and out-of-service time. But we also discussed how critical it is to ensure that younger firefighters are also on these committees - for a couple of reasons.

First, their perspectives are key. We’re building trucks that probably will outlast our time in the fire service. These trucks are for them, and we need to ensure that they are usable for the men and women presently coming up through the ranks. Second, there’s a bit of a gap right now between experienced apparatus specifiers and those who will be taking over. This is the fire service - where senior firefighters “bring up” the rookies and show them the ropes so they will become better firefighters now and excellent senior firefighters later. We should be doing the same for future apparatus purchasing committee members. Be open to what they have to say, and show them the ropes.

This month is FDIC International 2017. In North America, you won’t find a larger showcase of apparatus and equipment. When you make your plans to go as a group, walk the floor with younger firefighters. Watch and listen to them. If it’s appropriate, sure, bring up a story from time to time about how we did it in the old days. But pay attention to what’s getting interest from your 20 and 30 somethings. Mark items down. These are the folks who are going to be using these things years down the line. Most of all, listen to them. Listen to what they are saying to each other about a certain feature and why they think it is so important. Don’t be afraid to ask what they feel will help them do their jobs better.

I am not particularly mechanically inclined - never have been, never will be. It’s not for lack of trying. It’s just not my particular skillset. One comment from these discussions was that the current recruit classes are tech savvy but not mechanical. In many cases, this might be true. But, is it a negative? The way rigs are built today, does it pay to be more mechanical or more tech savvy? As with most things, a good mix of both is optimal, but leaning more toward the tech savvy side may be the way to go. Throw out a problem to a group

Chris Mc Loone

I was part of a couple of conversations recently that revolved around apparatus designs and the different technologies available to us as we spec the rigs we’re going to be using for the next 15 to 20 years - and sometimes longer.

As many of these conversations do, they turned to our younger firefighters and how they operate, how they communicate, and how they learn. As you might expect when older generations are talking about a younger one, the dialog can, at times, become slightly negative. I think the negativity stems from frustration. For example, there is a completely different way of communicating today than even 15 years ago. One person mentioned that the kitchen table at the fire station isn’t the same as it was years ago. It used to be that the kitchen table was where you went to solve problems, to discuss tactics, and to strengthen comradery. It is different now, and for those who came up through the ranks communicating in such a fashion, it can be frustrating figuring out how to transition. But, as we all learn, different is not necessarily bad. I mean, who cares how we communicate as long as we communicate?

As the conversation wore on, we got into apparatus committees and how they are made up. Every fire department is going to assemble truck committees differently than others. Some will only be company officers and chief officers. Hopefully, they all include a member from Fleet to advise about how different designs will impact maintenance and out-of-service time. But we also discussed how critical it is to ensure that younger firefighters are also on these committees - for a couple of reasons.

First, their perspectives are key. We’re building trucks that probably will outlast our time in the fire service. These trucks are for them, and we need to ensure that they are usable for the men and women presently coming up through the ranks. Second, there’s a bit of a gap right now between experienced apparatus specifiers and those who will be taking over. This is the fire service - where senior firefighters “bring up” the rookies and show them the ropes so they will become better firefighters now and excellent senior firefighters later. We should be doing the same for future apparatus purchasing committee members. Be open to what they have to say, and show them the ropes.

This month is FDIC International 2017. In North America, you won’t find a larger showcase of apparatus and equipment. When you make your plans to go as a group, walk the floor with younger firefighters. Watch and listen to them. If it’s appropriate, sure, bring up a story from time to time about how we did it in the old days. But pay attention to what’s getting interest from your 20 and 30 somethings. Mark items down. These are the folks who are going to be using these things years down the line. Most of all, listen to them. Listen to what they are saying to each other about a certain feature and why they think it is so important. Don’t be afraid to ask what they feel will help them do their jobs better.

I am not particularly mechanically inclined - never have been, never will be. It’s not for lack of trying. It’s just not my particular skillset. One comment from these discussions was that the current recruit classes are tech savvy but not mechanical. In many cases, this might be true. But, is it a negative? The way rigs are built today, does it pay to be more mechanical or more tech savvy? As with most things, a good mix of both is optimal, but leaning more toward the tech savvy side may be the way to go. Throw out a problem to a group