I guess if you are in this
business long enough, you will lose, misplace or get a piece of equipment
stolen.
If anyone sees a 50 foot
long, Green Trommel Screen, that says” Komptech” on the side, please call the
Grinderguy!
These days, moving equipment is as easy as making a post
online and getting 2 or 3 freight offers within minutes. While that is
certainly easy to do and cost effective, you never really know what, who or how
your equipment is getting from point A to point B, or if it is? Thus, see my
previous paragraph!
Now obviously this is not the norm, but you better be prepared
no matter what the case may be.
With us having wearable technology today, tracking
equipment is easy to do. It just costs a little money.
Equipment manufacturers
are installing or at least offering, equipment tracking and usage technology on
most anything. Cat® and Komatsu® among others are offering equipment tracking
software that not only shows you where your machine is located, but can also tell
you:
·
Fuel Usage
·
How long it has
run that particular day
·
How much idle
time per day
And a whole host of
additional information to assist you in determining if you are utilizing
equipment as well as you can and which jobs are more effectively utilizing each
piece of equipment. This technology can be put on just about any piece of
equipment.
Imagine if you can look at
a report that tells you your wheel loader is at 95% usage but the grinder it is
feeding material into is at 50%. Pretty easy to figure out you need another
wheel loader. If you see this report on day one of a two week job, you can save
yourself and make yourself a lot more money. It is worth looking into the
costs, that’s for sure.
Everyone has heard the name Lojack®. From cars to
computers, they track down your missing gear. They also install their system on
Construction Equipment.
If you are interested in
installing these types of tracking equipment on your machinery, here are a few
things to ask?
·
How much? Cost
will be the determining factor of how many units are purchased
·
Size- How large
are the units and are they able to be inconspicuous. Also, are they rugged
enough for Heavy Equipment?
·
How long does it
take to install?
·
Are you able to move
the unit from one machine to another?
·
Does the system
use cellular or Satellite?
·
Is live tracking
via the web available?
·
Does the unit
maintain power even when battery disconnect is off? Is there a battery backup?
While
it does cost some money, being able to keep tabs on your equipment gives piece
of mind and should get you an insurance discount. Coupling the location
services with equipment utilization software will benefit your operations and
keep your equipment from getting away.
Questions?
Dave Whitelaw Grinderguy@askthegrinderguy.com
