According to research from the Oil & Gas Producers Association, a massive 80 to 95% of vehicle accidents are caused by human error. In recent years over 30% of workplace fatalities in industries like oil and gas were transport related; and incidents relating to driver fatigue are reported as being on the increase. [ + ]

Electric power blackouts are often the result of automated protection measures that ensure power surges or downed power lines do not damage trees, people, appliances or other parts of the grid. [ + ]

Apart from offering a mode of transportation, service vehicles play an increasingly important role in impacting field service performance. At the execution level, vehicle performance data is now used by organisations in a number of ways. [ + ]

Bad weather not only prevents staff getting to work, but transport and utility businesses that rely on vehicle fleets for customer service operations or deliveries can be particularly affected. How fleet managers respond to these factors to minimise disruption to service can make or break a company's reputation - and business. [ + ]

The National Electricity Market wasn't designed with distributed generation in mind. Indeed, one major design flaw acts to penalise solar power, and does so more in Australia than in practically every other country in the world.  [ + ]

ABB will install its PowerStore, an integrated commercial flywheel technology to integrate with a battery system on Kodiak Island in Alaska to enable the integration of more renewable energy from an expanded wind farm to its microgrid. [ + ]

Using intelligent location data to drive field force effectiveness is common for service teams, but what about sales? [ + ]

The infrastructure ministry has received over 150 proposals from state and local governments for projects to improve the productivity and safety of heavy vehicles, and has allocated $200m over five years to co-fund such projects. [ + ]

One of the reasons that we continue to see an increasing focus on service and support is in the impact that effective service has on revenue. [ + ]

Today's smart home promises efficient building management, but often the systems are not secure and can only be retrofitted at great expense. Scientists are working on a software product that defends against hacker attacks before they reach the building.

ANCAP will introduce a datestamp to all its new vehicle safety-rating logos so that ratings from different years can be more accurately compared. [ + ]

When a field service organisation is implementing any kind of change to the way it operates, there are a number of challenges that need to be overcome and key criteria that need to be followed in order to transform the business successfully. [ + ]

In the last issue of ECD Solutions, we explained the requirements for customer cabling between separate buildings and why the use of metallic telecommunications cabling between buildings may be risky. This issue, we explain how a cabling provider can assess that risk.

The inquest into Australia's deadliest house fire has highlighted the role of the electrical industry in guiding public safety. [ + ]

We're in a mobile 'first world', and smartphones have taken over as the computing platform of choice. But the smartphone shouldn't get too comfortable, as emerging trends are pointing to a future where the smartphone won't be a necessary component of mobile computing. [ + ]