Equipment World Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/536721
July 2015 | EquipmentWorld.com 18 Product design. Manufacturers also harvest the telematics data coming off the sensors to improve the design and shorten the product introduction cycle of tomorrow's machines. Warranty. With sensors and telematics recording every move a machine makes, disputes over equipment malfunctions are easily resolved. Warranty claims get a lot more honest on both sides of the equation as well. Safety. Tinkering with the soft- ware on a tractor, a 40-ton dozer or a crane swinging steel beams high above a cityscape could conceivably cause a malfunction that could kill or injure dozens. Given that farming and construc- tion are two of the most dangerous occupations in the country, only a fool would run a big machine with altered software. AEMP Wien's blog implies that these software copyrights are a corporate conspiracy against the little guy. But heavy equipment contractors and fleet managers, the customers who buy these corporate products, work with their OEMs and dealers as co- equals on all aspects of equipment performance, maintenance and lifecycle. One customer group that has generated a robust online conver- sation about Wiens' WIRED blog is the Association of Equipment Management Professionals. The average AEMP member manages a fleet worth $157 million and wields an annual equipment acquisition budget of $16.5 million. The AEMP has long held a phi- losophy that the best equipment management practices depend on the "equipment triangle," a close working relationship with the con- tractor, the distributor and the OEM. Over the last few years the com- bination of sophisticated software and telematics has made the dealer and OEM role in this triangle more important since the dealer and OEM have the software expertise and the contractor does not. Old school thinking In an email dialogue with fellow AEMP members, Larry LeClair, a certified equipment manager (CEM) and fleet manager for AJ Johns in Jacksonville, Florida, wrote that the resistance to OEM software copyright reflects, "the emotional attachment most people have for something they have bought, and uses old school thinking that it can last forever." Today few contractors buy heavy equipment on emotion or with the intention of keeping it forever. A big bulldozer can cost a half-million dollars or more. Decisions like these are not made except after serious financial consultation and study. And a big part of that calcu- lation is the machine's resale value. Every contractor today knows the longer you keep a machine the more it's going to cost you to run it. The big leagues I understand the enthusiasm people like Wiens have for fixing and repairing stuff. If you work on cars in your spare time, nothing beats the satisfaction of doing a $50 repair on something the dealer wanted to charge you $500 for. This is fun. It saves money, but it's a hobby, not a business. The problem with the WIRED blog is that it applies a DIY/hob- byist mentality to a big, capital-in- tensive, high-risk business. A small contractor in this line of work may book $5 million a year in revenue. That's $100,000 a week, $20,000 a day. And that's about as small as you can get and remain viable in heavy construction. When you wake up every morning knowing you have to complete $20,000 worth of work that day, when one machine malfunction could cost you thou- sands of dollars in lost revenue ev- ery hour that the machine is down, you don't tinker with its software. The OEMs have spent billions on software to run their machines. The result: unprecedented gains in productivity, fuel efficiency, safety and emissions reductions. None of this would have happened without the patent and copyright protections Wiens would have us undo. These aren't video games and smart phone apps. This is the big leagues. And I think if Wiens talked to a few contractors they'd tell him they absolutely must have this func- tionality to remain competitive, and that they like their equipment and the software that runs it just fine. opinion | continued Resistance to OEM software copyright reflects, "the emotional attachment most people have for something they have bought, and uses old school thinking that it can last forever."