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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
MAY 2017
16
fleets comprising vehicles from different
OEMs and often include on-road vehicles,
in addition to off-road vehicles. While
many OEMs are hard at work to develop
their own telematics solutions for their
offerings, both in construction equipment
and commercial vehicles, all these systems
are different and mostly incompatible with
each other. Consequently, standardisation
remains a key concern holding back the
adoption of telematics, especially in the
construction equipment sector.
According to Gareth Owen, principal
analyst at ABI Research, as construction
fleets adopt telematics, fleet operators are
increasingly demanding more standardisa-
tion, easier interfacing and a single-source
site for all OEM API data. Le Roux adds
that mixed fleets (different OEMs) pose a
challenge as fleet owners prefer having a
standard telematics supplier. This explains
the domination of third-party suppliers in
the telematics space, which Le Roux says
is now overtraded, with over 200 suppliers
in South Africa.
However, Owen notes that some progress
has already been made to address these
concerns in recent years, with OEMs such
as Caterpillar, Komatsu, Volvo Construction
Equipment and John Deere, to mention a
few, working with aftermarket suppliers
such as Navman Wirelless and industry
bodies to develop standard APIs for
some of the basic data such as vehicle
identification, location and hours of
use. “Some operators, such as rental
fleet companies, are also calling for
standardisation of more data advanced
feeds such as geo-fencing, immobilisation,
safety devices and alerts, and no doubt
this will follow,” says Owen.
Partnerships abound
To respond to the concerns mentioned
above, Raghavan says joint ventures,
mergers and acquisitions among OEMs and
aftermarket telematics vendors are likely
to gain momentum.
Already, several key joint ventures have
been announced in this regard. Recently,
Caterpillar announced that together with
its long-term partner, Trimble, have devel-
oped a brand-new agnostic fleet manage-
ment and site productivity solutions plat-
form designed for contractors with mixed
equipment fleets.
To further address concerns around
data interpretation, Caterpillar recently
announced its partnership with Uptake
to transform the construction industry
through data analytics.
The two companies are of the view that
commoditisation and decreased costs
of telematics, both in terms of hardware
and connectivity, could help lead to billions
of dollars’ worth of new efficiencies in
operations and capital management.
“Several factors, including a downturned
economy and glut of used equipment that
has at times slowed the purchasing of new
machines, have meant the industry has been
slow to adopt telematics and the so-called
industrial internet-of-things. But there are
signs that will soon dramatically change,”
says Trevor Mecham, vice president of
construction and agriculture at Uptake.
Mecham says the recent push from
OEMs and AEMPs to standardise hardware
and information throughout the industry,
combined with the decreasing cost of
telematics and connectivity equipment,
signals that the industry is on the cusp of
generating what could amount to billions of
dollars’ worth of increased uptime, better
equipment utilisations and optimised
workflow processes and operations.
“In short, telematics will generate a
deluge of data that most companies in
the industry won’t be prepared to analyse,
much less take actionable insights on.
Equipping millions of pieces of construction
equipment with sensors is the easy part –
utilising the data they’ll produce is the real
Peter Le Roux, Telematics Specialist at Volvo Trucks South
Africa, says currently 87% of all telematics offerings are
provided via third-parties.
TELEMATICS