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Operations Related Articles Zonar Systems 'ZPass' Named Finalist for National Innovation Award
| Zonar Systems 'ZPass' Named Finalist for National Innovation Award |
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| Written by Ryan Gray |
| Monday, 07 February 2011 11:53 |
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Chris Oliver, vice president of marketing at Zonar, said the Edison Awards steering committee approached the company last year to nominate ZPass after watching a piece on NBC's "The Today Show" that highlighted the product during a segment on "Tracking Your Kids in Today's High-Tech World." ZPass assisted Palos Heights, Ill., School District with tracking students after a student got off at the wrong bus stop. Each student gets a reader card that is swiped when they board or disembark the buses. As Today noted, about 5,000 students are lost every year after getting off the school bus at the wrong stop or being left behind by a driver who fails to inspect the bus at the end of the route. The Edison Awards honor excellence in new product and service development, marketing, design and innovation. Nominations are sought each year from Sept. 1 through Dec. 10 and are reviewed by a steering committee of 11, which is chaired by Sara Caldicott, the great-grandniece of Thomas Edison and co-author of the book "Innovate Like Edison." The steering committee also monitors the development and successful launch and marketing of innovative products and services throughout the year.The awards are granted under the aegis of the Thomas Edison Papers at Rutgers University, a globally recognized research network dedicated to the study of innovation and its application in the 21st Century. The 2011 Edison Best New Products Awards will be announced on April 5 at an event in New York City. |
Zonar's ZPass RFID system for student tracking on school buses is one of three finalists for the 2011 Edison New Product Awards in the Innovative Services category.