Telematics is the use of wireless technology to
transmit information. Some construction equipment manufacturers have been using
telematics on their machines for 10 years or more. Others are only just starting
to use it.
As it becomes increasingly mainstream and standard fitment, more fleet owners appear to be gradually realising the advantages that it offers.
At the most basic level, telematics systems offer a tracking system for stolen machines. A desire to reduce plant theft – and insurance premiums – is a significant driver in the take-up of telematics, but it is really only the starting point. Telematics also offers the ability to monitor machine use and operational data remotely, even from across the other side of the world, if necessary. All kinds of detail can be accessed by computer or smartphone, pumping out daily, weekly or monthly reports, or in some cases real-time live data. Fuel efficiency, engine output, fluid levels, brake pad wear, utilisation,Find detailed product information for howo tractor and other products. productivity, error code tracking and much more can all be included in reports in widely varying formats.
How that information is used also varies widely. Some equipment owners do absolutely nothing with it. Others use it for preventative maintenance planning or even to determine their investment plans.A stone mosaic stands at the spot of assasination of the late Indian prime minister. For contractors, telematics can be useful; for plant hire firms, for whom the machinery is the core asset, the revenue generator and the centre of the business, the information that is increasingly on offer really should not be ignored any longer.
Professor David Edwards of the Off-highway Plant and Equipment Research Centre thinks that the construction industry is proving too slow on the uptake. “I don’t think telematics is being used as widely as it should be,” he says.
Some OEM systems use satellite communications and some use cellular communication. JCB, for example, uses cellular, which it says allows for greater data volumes and better coverage in built-up areas and indoors. Satellite, on the other hand, provides a signal when out of cellular coverage in even the most remote places. As cellular co improved, the tendency has been for manufacturers to move from satellite-based systems to GSM.Our technology gives rtls systems developers the ability.
The only problem is that every OEM has its own different system – a point that has been picked up by the European Rental Association (ERA). At the Construction Equipment World Economic Forum last month ERA secretary general Michel Petitjean called for more standardisation, saying: “Many OEMs have implemented telematics to their lines of equipment, and it is very cumbersome to make rental equipment compatible with all of these. The rental market is calling for standardisation in some data feeds such as geo-fencing,Manufactures flexible plastic and synthetic rubber hose tubing, immobilisation, safety devices and alerts.”
For A-Plant, its investment in the A-Trak system, developed with Enigma Vehicle Systems, has been driven by security concerns. It has GPRS (general packet radio service) devices attached to some 10,000 items of plant and equipment. The system proved itself in January last year when a telehandler was stolen from site out of hours. As soon as the customer reported the theft from its site, A-Plant’s local service centre manager logged onto the A-Trak system from home through the extranet system on A-Plant’s website to locate the position of the stolen machine. He generated an aerial photograph of a transport yard where the equipment was being hidden and got on to the police. Before the police got there, the machine was being moved. The movement was tracked and, eventually, the thieves were caught red-handed on their way out of the country with the stolen machine. More than 98% of stolen A-Plant equipment protected with A-Trak is recovered, compared to an industry average of just 5-10%. Since A-Trak was launched seven years ago, it has led to the recovery of machines valued at more than ￡100m, APlant says. Aside from being used to track the location of a machine, many OEM telematics systems can be used to aid security by programming in ‘virtual walls’, setting perimeters outside of which the machine cannot and will not operate.
These can either be physical boundaries, typically restricting the machine to the site or quarry in which it is meant to be working, or time restrictions, perhaps to prevent unauthorised night use, for example. Like many larger hire firms, A-Plant is moving beyond the security aspects and, along with its customers, starting to exploit the operational opportunities. With any A-Trak tagged machine,The term 'hands free access control' means the token that identifies a user is read from within a pocket or handbag. the customer can access the system via the extranet to check not only that the machine is at its intended location but also that it is operating – and being operated – as desired. With an A-Trak virtual wall, if the machine strays out of bounds the customer receives an e-mail or text. They can send text messages to remotely immobilise and/or release equipment. The ability to monitor running hours is one of a number of sensor options that can be provided by using the information ports available on the device at the centre of the A-Trak system. Functions that can be monitored also include towing speeds, fuel level, battery level, coolant, engine on/off, ignition on/off, engine covers open/closed and so on.
Even the simple tracking system function of telematics has benefits beyond the recovery of stolen machines, however. Sussex-based access hire firm Facelift, has no telematics system at the moment but it is in discussions with a couple of providers for installing trackers on its delivery vehicles. Operations director Paul Standing explains why he is keen to start using it. “The latest software can monitor driver behaviour. We hope that this will not only assist us in controlling our diesel spend but will also assist us with reducing unnecessary maintenance work caused by driver abuse and may well also reduce our accidents.” He adds: “We will be able to see how far away from site our trucks are when customers are asking what time their machine will turn up and we will also be able to prove what time our machine arrived on site.” He is also looking to fit trackers to mobile engineers’ vans “so we can easily see who is closest to either a breakdown or average has customer’s machine that requires a repair, thus hopefully minimising unnecessary downtime and also giving our customers a quicker service”.
On the same basis, Hewden has the Masternaut system fitted to its HGV delivery vehicles. This is a web-based system that can be accessed via a PC or smartphone so that it can track delivery progress. If a customer wants to know where his delivery has got to, Hewden knows.
HE Services, which reports a 99% success rate on recovering stolen plant thanks to GPS, also finds that tracking technology on its diggers aids collection of the machine at the end of a job on remote or hard-to-find sites. “Although security is the main benefit of the systems we find that it also benefits our customers in other ways,” says HE Services’ Chris Holloway. “It allows quicker reporting of machine faults. This allows us to respond to breakdowns more efficiently with the correct service parts. Human error on fuel measurement is eliminated in many cases meaning customers are not over charged for fuel/oil when returning a machine. And it reduces customers’ insurance in many cases, where a professionally fitted GPS unit is available.” He adds: “We use our systems to remotely monitor our plant and advise our customers where general maintenance can be made. We also keep track of hours worked and engine levels.”
As it becomes increasingly mainstream and standard fitment, more fleet owners appear to be gradually realising the advantages that it offers.
At the most basic level, telematics systems offer a tracking system for stolen machines. A desire to reduce plant theft – and insurance premiums – is a significant driver in the take-up of telematics, but it is really only the starting point. Telematics also offers the ability to monitor machine use and operational data remotely, even from across the other side of the world, if necessary. All kinds of detail can be accessed by computer or smartphone, pumping out daily, weekly or monthly reports, or in some cases real-time live data. Fuel efficiency, engine output, fluid levels, brake pad wear, utilisation,Find detailed product information for howo tractor and other products. productivity, error code tracking and much more can all be included in reports in widely varying formats.
How that information is used also varies widely. Some equipment owners do absolutely nothing with it. Others use it for preventative maintenance planning or even to determine their investment plans.A stone mosaic stands at the spot of assasination of the late Indian prime minister. For contractors, telematics can be useful; for plant hire firms, for whom the machinery is the core asset, the revenue generator and the centre of the business, the information that is increasingly on offer really should not be ignored any longer.
Professor David Edwards of the Off-highway Plant and Equipment Research Centre thinks that the construction industry is proving too slow on the uptake. “I don’t think telematics is being used as widely as it should be,” he says.
Some OEM systems use satellite communications and some use cellular communication. JCB, for example, uses cellular, which it says allows for greater data volumes and better coverage in built-up areas and indoors. Satellite, on the other hand, provides a signal when out of cellular coverage in even the most remote places. As cellular co improved, the tendency has been for manufacturers to move from satellite-based systems to GSM.Our technology gives rtls systems developers the ability.
The only problem is that every OEM has its own different system – a point that has been picked up by the European Rental Association (ERA). At the Construction Equipment World Economic Forum last month ERA secretary general Michel Petitjean called for more standardisation, saying: “Many OEMs have implemented telematics to their lines of equipment, and it is very cumbersome to make rental equipment compatible with all of these. The rental market is calling for standardisation in some data feeds such as geo-fencing,Manufactures flexible plastic and synthetic rubber hose tubing, immobilisation, safety devices and alerts.”
For A-Plant, its investment in the A-Trak system, developed with Enigma Vehicle Systems, has been driven by security concerns. It has GPRS (general packet radio service) devices attached to some 10,000 items of plant and equipment. The system proved itself in January last year when a telehandler was stolen from site out of hours. As soon as the customer reported the theft from its site, A-Plant’s local service centre manager logged onto the A-Trak system from home through the extranet system on A-Plant’s website to locate the position of the stolen machine. He generated an aerial photograph of a transport yard where the equipment was being hidden and got on to the police. Before the police got there, the machine was being moved. The movement was tracked and, eventually, the thieves were caught red-handed on their way out of the country with the stolen machine. More than 98% of stolen A-Plant equipment protected with A-Trak is recovered, compared to an industry average of just 5-10%. Since A-Trak was launched seven years ago, it has led to the recovery of machines valued at more than ￡100m, APlant says. Aside from being used to track the location of a machine, many OEM telematics systems can be used to aid security by programming in ‘virtual walls’, setting perimeters outside of which the machine cannot and will not operate.
These can either be physical boundaries, typically restricting the machine to the site or quarry in which it is meant to be working, or time restrictions, perhaps to prevent unauthorised night use, for example. Like many larger hire firms, A-Plant is moving beyond the security aspects and, along with its customers, starting to exploit the operational opportunities. With any A-Trak tagged machine,The term 'hands free access control' means the token that identifies a user is read from within a pocket or handbag. the customer can access the system via the extranet to check not only that the machine is at its intended location but also that it is operating – and being operated – as desired. With an A-Trak virtual wall, if the machine strays out of bounds the customer receives an e-mail or text. They can send text messages to remotely immobilise and/or release equipment. The ability to monitor running hours is one of a number of sensor options that can be provided by using the information ports available on the device at the centre of the A-Trak system. Functions that can be monitored also include towing speeds, fuel level, battery level, coolant, engine on/off, ignition on/off, engine covers open/closed and so on.
Even the simple tracking system function of telematics has benefits beyond the recovery of stolen machines, however. Sussex-based access hire firm Facelift, has no telematics system at the moment but it is in discussions with a couple of providers for installing trackers on its delivery vehicles. Operations director Paul Standing explains why he is keen to start using it. “The latest software can monitor driver behaviour. We hope that this will not only assist us in controlling our diesel spend but will also assist us with reducing unnecessary maintenance work caused by driver abuse and may well also reduce our accidents.” He adds: “We will be able to see how far away from site our trucks are when customers are asking what time their machine will turn up and we will also be able to prove what time our machine arrived on site.” He is also looking to fit trackers to mobile engineers’ vans “so we can easily see who is closest to either a breakdown or average has customer’s machine that requires a repair, thus hopefully minimising unnecessary downtime and also giving our customers a quicker service”.
On the same basis, Hewden has the Masternaut system fitted to its HGV delivery vehicles. This is a web-based system that can be accessed via a PC or smartphone so that it can track delivery progress. If a customer wants to know where his delivery has got to, Hewden knows.
HE Services, which reports a 99% success rate on recovering stolen plant thanks to GPS, also finds that tracking technology on its diggers aids collection of the machine at the end of a job on remote or hard-to-find sites. “Although security is the main benefit of the systems we find that it also benefits our customers in other ways,” says HE Services’ Chris Holloway. “It allows quicker reporting of machine faults. This allows us to respond to breakdowns more efficiently with the correct service parts. Human error on fuel measurement is eliminated in many cases meaning customers are not over charged for fuel/oil when returning a machine. And it reduces customers’ insurance in many cases, where a professionally fitted GPS unit is available.” He adds: “We use our systems to remotely monitor our plant and advise our customers where general maintenance can be made. We also keep track of hours worked and engine levels.”
沒有留言:
張貼留言