Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/280096
18 | www.cedmag.com | Construction Equipment Distribution | March 2014 A Closer Look Tracking fleet, monitoring a machine's working hours, evaluat- ing how effectively a machine is operated – these are some of the metrics that contractors, dealers, and manufacturers want at their fingertips. To secure such data and inform their decision-making, they increasingly, if reluctantly, are turning to telematics. "We can provide ridiculous amounts of information in a fashion that is palatable to users," said Steve Blackburn, vice president of Navman Wireless, which delivers fleet management products and services to customers around the globe. And, yes, collectable data is voluminous, if not ridiculously so. A piece of equipment can have upwards of 100 "data points." Each point gives a readout of information to help an engineer or engine specialist determine if the machine's function at that particular point is deficient, excessive or just right. The informa- tion from two or more data points can be cross-referenced and give an even more sophisticated picture of a machine's functional state. The data collected is transmitted constantly or periodically. Either way, at the end of a work day, a lot of information has been sent to a linked computer for analysis and storage. The information is all useful – or can be if it isn't just allowed to sit and clog up a computer file. If analyzed in a timely way, the accumulated data lets an equipment owner act to maintain a piece of equipment or better utilize it. That is the key: There is nothing magical about the information itself. Unless it is acted upon, a glut of information is no more valuable than no information. "Telematics is not the solution," said Mike Kucharski, product support sales manager at MacAllister Machin- ery, an Indianapolis Caterpillar dealer with 17 branches across Indiana. "The solution is the people behind the telematics who give the recommen- dations. It is what you do with the information that makes telematics a success for a dealer and its customers." Warming to the Technology Essentially, telematics is transmission of information using telecommunica- tion devices. The transmission can be two-way, with the receiver both downloading real-time information from a piece of equipment and uploading directives to the equipment. The genesis of the technology goes back a half-century or more to develop- ment of global positioning via satellites. Raytheon Corp. engineers devised a primitive "GPS" system for the U.S. Department of Defense to help guide intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Speak to Me The machines are talking now – but can all the equipment stakeholders listen to each other and leverage the data? BY GILES LAMBERTSON