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ASSET TRACKING
assets, monitor their performance to minimise
downtime and present customers with a professional
service.
Another ‘old hand’ when it comes to machine
tracking is Caterpillar, with its Product Link offering,
which is factory-integrated for construction products
above 20 t, including motor graders, wheel loaders,
tracked loaders, excavators (tracked and wheeled),
articulated and rigid Trucks. For smaller construction
products and for paving products, Cat’s distribution
centres can fit it as an option.
Product Link offers an option for satellite or cellular
network coverage based on regional requirements,
with cellular network tending to be used for city and
suburban areas, and low-earth-orbiting satellites for
rural or isolated job sites.
A free three-year subscription is offered with
models fitted with factory-integrated units, and
dealers certified to undertake condition monitoring
activities can offer an extended free subscription
with service agreements. The system can be
retrofitted to older Cat models, with machines
manufactured within the last 10 years typically
having the electronics that allow the use of all the
system’s features.
Caterpillar says that, from a rental perspective,
“Take-up of the system is growing, particularly
in North America and South America, with Europe
as well as Africa and the Middle East experiencing
similar trends.”
It reports that rental companies are keen to
know the machine’s utilisation with working
time, its location, and the geo-fencing and alerts
functionality. “A rental company has the option to
‘Share the View’ of the rented equipment with their
end-customer. This feature can be configured for a
specific duration.”
The asset operation feature “allows rental
companies to accurately charge their customers
based on machine usage. Some rental companies will
also use it to see if the machine is being returned
with a full fuel tank. It speeds up the billing process
as reports are available for the whole fleet.”
One rental operation using the system is One Call
Rentals, part of Cat dealer Cleveland Brothers, which
operates Cat Rental Stories in Western Pennsylvania
and Northern West Virginia, US, renting Caterpillar
compact equipment and allied equipment such as air
compressors and aerial lifts.
“Within a few months of integrating Cat Product
Link data into our rental processes, we are already
realising the benefits”, says Pete Quinn, One Call
Rentals operations manager, “Locating machines
and knowing when they are due for maintenance
were the basic expectations we had for how this data
would help our operation.
“Other benefits quickly surfaced as well Being
able to verify machine usage has become part of our
approval process prior to issuing any credit memos
related to down time or call-off disputes and has
already saved us significant dollars. The frequency
of these requests has declined as a result as well.”
Repairs solved quickly
Mr Quinn says the system is also helping its
field service dispatchers, who are able to review
VisionLink – the web interface to Product Link – for
both machine location and active fault codes before
sending out technicians; “Customers have been
appreciative that repairs are completed in one trip
more often than in the past.”
This kind of example illustrates the point about
telematics. Some rental companies may resist what
The Hi-Mate system from Hyundai is standard on all wheeled
loaders and excavators with an operating weight of 14 t or over.
they see as the added complications or costs, but
when their customers start noticing the benefits,
then they may not have much choice.
IRN
