Equipment World Digital Magazine
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or software programmer to devel- op a proprietary API to translate between your telematics feed and the back office, bidding/estimat- ing, or maintenance software you want it to feed. There are some telematics ven- dors who can export into some ERPs and construction manage- ment software, and some that can accept telematics feeds, but most of the custom programs were created in collaboration between large construction companies and their software providers. Nonetheless, if you are con- sidering a large and integrated telematics system for your fleet, a good question to ask vendors is specifically what ERP and/or back office programs they have previously worked with and cur- rently have connectivity with. If they don't currently map their data to any, don't be surprised. This is still a relatively new and evolving area of the industry. Telematics standard But, do ask your vendors if they support ISO15143-3 (previously referred to as the AEM/AEMP Telematics Standard). The Asso- ciation of Equipment Manufactur- ers (AEM) and the Association of Equipment Management Profes- sionals (AEMP) collaborated on the details of this new standard, which will receive final ISO approval in the second quarter of this year. ISO15143-3 establishes a com- mon reporting protocol for doz- ens of types of data coming from heavy equipment. In essence, it is a common language for heavy equipment telematics feeds that is brand agnostic. It allows you to catalog and compare informa- tion across multiple brands in your fleet, without having to go to a dif- ferent OEM website to view each brand of equipment separately. More than likely, ISO15143-3 will become a key element in developing a common import language for ERPs. There are still challenges to overcome before this next phase of telematics functional- ity is achieved on a large scale. The ERP and software providers may want encrypted languages because of the sensitivity of the data and the proprietary na- ture of their businesses. But, as competition for the contractors' dollars and data increases, the industry will undoubtedly move in this direction. Another aspect that will drive the adoption of telematics-to- back office software programing is the substantial benefit it will bring to the company that suc- cessfully integrates the two. On big, multi-year projects, it can be difficult to get an accurate picture of the bid vs. build analysis. A lot of companies are flying blind, financially speaking, for the first stages of a project. Hours and costs have to be manually record- ed in the field or shop and deliv- ered to the financial people, who then manually enter the data into the software. Lag time between the field and the office may be weeks, or even months. With auto-populated programs, the usage and costs are recorded and available for analysis in real time. Financial planners will be able to establish benchmarks and monitor progress, or the lack thereof, on a daily basis and make adjustments accordingly. May 2016 | EquipmentWorld.com 46 telematics | continued Daniel Samford, CEM, of Peak Performance Asset Services, consults in fleet management, telematics integration and negotiations for specialized construction equipment, vehicle purchases and fleet value evaluations. He can be contacted through his website at www.PPASllc.com or email at dsamford@PPASllc.com. Will telematics bring in the Uber of rental? M any companies have tried contractor-to-contractor equipment rentals, only to abandon the effort as problems arise. But, with the tracking and moni- toring features that telematics offers, C2C rentals may prove to be a viable option for companies with excess machine capacity. When you rent a machine to another contractor, you don't know how many hours he's putting on it until you get it back – or what condi- tion it's in. Using telematics, you can monitor hours and condition. So, if your renter is abusing the machine or the machine is throwing fault codes, you can pick up the phone and address the problem. It also alleviates worries about hours stack- ing up and the machine missing oil changes or service intervals. Another problem: when renting by the day, week or month, it can be difficult to track exactly when some- body drops off a piece of equipment. By incorporating telematics, you can keep your renters honest. Ditto with insurance. Using telematics, you are able to show the exact amount of usage. It is anticipated that insurers are going to look at usage-based insurance to evaluate savings, similar to what they're already doing using a dongle or tracking device on your car.