Aggregates Manager Digital Magazine
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/732024
Geofencing and Telematics OPERATIONS The I n simplest terms, a geofence is an area of land – for instance, a quarry – that has been mapped via computer into a virtual "zone." The entire quarry can be a zone, and certain specifi c areas within the quarry can also be zones or subzones. Vehicles and equipment that have been out- fi tted with a telematics device can be tracked within the zone(s). "Mostly, a geofence will tell you where your equipment is and what it's doing at any given point in time," says Bill Smith, principal con- sultant at B&S Equipment Services. "If you use loaders, excavators, bull- dozers, the geofence will tell you their locations and the tasks they're doing, based on the zone." In order to provide this informa- tion, Smith says that the geofence system must work in conjunction with telematics. He explains that telematics is the integrated use of telecommunications with informa- tion and communications technol- ogy. It is the science of sending, receiving, and storing information relating to mobile objects — such as vehicles — via GPS and telecommu- nication devices. "You have to have telematics, because that is what allows your machine to talk to the 'fence,'" Smith says. Most major mobile equipment manufacturers have developed their own telematics systems that not only work with geofencing to track machines' whereabouts, but also to work with the equipments' electronic control modules. The systems can notify fl eet managers of equipment issues and provide diagnostic information. In a quarry environment, a geofence can allow managers to compare how long it takes indi- vidual operators to move between the quarry face and the primary crusher. It might show that one driver takes 10 minutes to travel between the loadout area in the pit and the primary hopper, while another takes 13. Breaking that information down over the course of a shift, the slower driver is taking fewer trips a day, which leads to lower production rates and higher operation costs. "At Luck Stone, we use telemat- ics and geofencing for our hauling fl eet that delivers materials to the jobsite," says Ryan Emmons, direc- tor of information technology for Luck Companies. "Our system tells drivers what to pick up and where to take it. We also use it to measure turnaround in our yards. If we see trucks are waiting too long, for in- stance, this tells us we might need to add another loader. It's really all about visibility into the effi ciency of our yards." AGGREGATES MANAGER Geofencing with telematics also may be used to track on-road haul trucks as they enter a site and pick up materials. Telecommunications can help drivers to lo- cate the correct stockpiles. The administrator can see at all times how many trucks are within the facility and where they are. Defi ned as a virtual barrier for a real geographic area, a geofence allows an administrator to set up boundaries, which provide a signal when a vehicle enters or exits the perimeter. The signal may go only to the administra- tor, but it also may be sent to the driver. In aggregates, a geofence might be set around an entire site, or it may be set to include specifi c areas of a quarry, such as a loading area. Setting boundaries Traffi c monitor 1 4