TE C H N OLOG Y T R EN D S | By Sara Jensen
TELEMATICS Go Beyond Fleet Management Danfoss Power Solutions
Retrieving data from a piece of equipment and making the most of that data continues to be an area in which telematics technology is evolving.
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elematics systems continue to play a pivotal role in heavy-duty equipment. As use of these systems has increased over the years, so too have their capabilities. “Telematics as a technology has evolved significantly over the last 10 years,” says Pankaj Sharma, vice president, marketing and product, at NexTraq, a Michelin group company. “It’s no [longer] just a location-based service like it used to be perceived in the past. It has evolved to be all about insights that make an impact on a fleet’s operations, whether it’s productivity, safety, cost efficiency, compliance and a lot more.” Retrieving data from a piece of equipment and making the most of that data continues to be an area in which telematics technology is evolving. Incorporation of more data analytics as well as artificial intelligence and vision technology, such as dash cams, are some of the ways Sharma says telematics systems are advancing to provide more information for vehicle and equipment owners. Integration is becoming an important part of the equation, as well. “Understanding that no individual entity can provide all services, it’s very evident we need to be part of a big ecosystem to provide a higher impact for customers,” says Sharma. Because of this, forming industry partnerships — whether with service providers or OEMs — will be vital to ensuring
end-use customers get the features and information they need. While NexTraq currently offers an aftermarket solution, it plans to work with OEMs as they play a critical role in ensuring the right equipment and vehicle insights are provided to end users. “In addition to having a flexible portal and the ability to configure whatever data you want to collect, it’s also important to realize the level of telematics that every machine needs because not all machines are as complex. Not all of them have complex electronics that need to be monitored and updated,” says Ivan Teplyakov, business development manager for Connected Solutions, Danfoss Power Solutions. For those wanting software updates, remote diagnostics or monitoring of complex electronics, he says high-level telematics systems with more connectivity are necessary. However, not every machine or customer needs this, which is why Danfoss has made both the software and hardware used for its telematics systems flexible. “We offer a portfolio of three different devices,” says Teplyakov. “The customer can select the appropriate level of need for their particular machine, as well as the appropriate level of cost.”
NEW TECHNOLOGY IMPROVES DATA COLLECTION NexTraq provides fleet management services across multiple
32 EQUIPMEN T TOD AY | July 2021
Continued advancement in telematics enables more data collection and predictive maintenance capabilities.
industries, including the heavy equipment industry. According to Sharma, those services are focused in four main areas: productivity and cost efficiency, safety, compliance and workforce management. “At the end of the day, all of our solutions and services are targeted toward these elements,” he notes. The heavy equipment industry has a broad range of requirements including tracking assets, projects and workforce. As such, the NexTraq solution brings together various elements into a single solution to help meet the industry’s range of needs. This provides a complete picture of how a business is operating and what changes may need to be made to work safer and more efficiently. With this solution, users can more easily track where and how their equipment is used. This can benefit rental companies which need to monitor equipment use and plan maintenance. It can also benefit equipment owners who want to ensure their employees are using the equipment in a safe and efficient manner. Telematics provider Geotab recently introduced its GO9+ solution featuring WiFi connectivity to help make it easier for fleets to track and monitor their equipment. Bluetooth beacons can be placed on tools and equipment that communicate with a WiFi hub, which then communicates with the Geotab technology.
Colin Sutherland, executive vice president, sales & marketing, at Geotab, notes when the company launched the new telematics solution, customers said the biggest value was the amount of data generated to help with business operations. Because the device includes both cellular and WiFi components, customers can potentially reduce their cellular data costs. Many equipment fleets have multiple portable devices and cellular plans, which can become costly. Having a single solution capable of providing all of their data needs can help to reduce these costs. Sutherland notes customers can set their rate plan to best meet their business needs. “We’re initially launching with a 2-gigabyte rate plan because we expect a lot of users to be dropping their expensive cellular plans and bringing it all through the GO9+ device,” he says. Customers have told Geotab they will be better able to track data consumption with this new device and operate more cost effectively. “It’s all about operating costs in the field,” says Sutherland. “And in 2021, it’s about staying lean, giving people productive tools and eliminating wasted time. So, you can find a tagged asset and you know
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where it’s used. Combining connected assets and devices enables an employee to work effectively in a really seamless way. And that’s what excited us when we launched GO9+.” While tracking a large piece of equipment will be beneficial, so will the ability to track and monitor non-powered assets such as attachments and tools and even cargo in some cases. Alex Romero, product manager for Software and Connected Solutions, Danfoss Power Solutions, says the telematics portfolio the company is launching keeps in mind the fact heavy equipment also continues evolving. “Not all machines have
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Geotab’s new GO9+ includes cellular and WiFi connectivity. been equipped with enough intelligence to capture how the machine is performing in the field, and some of them are more evolved than others,” he explains. “[Some customers] may need more help from the intelligence that resides within the telematics gateway.”
