Putting Telematics to Work for You: Your equipment is your livelihood, but getting the most out of it means having to make hundreds of complex decisions every day.

• How can I reduce fuel costs? 
• Where should my assets get deployed? 
• How do I solve production bottlenecks?

To make the right decisions you need the right data. That’s where Cat® Equipment Management technology comes in. 

Meticulously designed to answer your toughest questions at every turn, this intuitive suite of technology provides the easy-to-understand  data you need to manage your fleet. Whether you’re using Cat equipment or a competitor’s,  Cat Equipment Management technology will  help you control costs, improve operations, oversee people and reduce risk.

REDUCE COSTS WITH TELEMATICS

Telematics refers to technology that sends, receives, and stores information using telecommunication devices.

Why is telematic technology important? 

Simple: machine-generated data helps you proactively manage your equipment, leading to drastic reductions in fuel, service, maintenance, and repair costs. 

Cat Equipment Management tech helps you save big savings on owning and operating costs by providing the up-to-the-minute equipment data you need to make informed decisions about your fleet. 

TODAY’S TECHNOLOGIES ARE EASIER TO USE THAN EVER

This isn’t the 90s. Data gathering and data processing technology is much more user-friendly and intuitive than ever before. 

These technologies are capable of generating more focused, and by extension more useful information, than ever before, and construction companies across industries are reaping the benefits that telematics have to offer.

They’re gaining valuable insights about actual job costs based on:

•  Accurate information about hours worked
• Fuel burned per machine per job task 
• Up-to-the-minute data about utilization and idle time per machine, per job site. 
• Payload and cycle times

Data like that helps them track the true costs of doing business, which lets them create tighter bids with higher profit margins.

Operations factors like these are integral to optimizing the bottom-line performance of any construction business. But aside from total fuel costs, the most profound lifetime owning and operating costs of the machines come from service, maintenance and repairs. 

THE VALUE OF REPAIR BEFORE FAILURE

Speaking of the 90s, that’s when the concept of Repair Before Failure started gaining momentum in the construction industry. 

Regular maintenance, fluid sampling, and inspections are all big parts of the “repair before failure” strategy. Telematics helps you collect machine data to alert you of any problems that could occur between services. It’s like having a technician riding along in the passenger seat. The goal is to catch and correct small problems before they turn into big problems.

DOES [FLEET] SIZE MATTER?

Another common objection to using telematics relates to fleet size. “It might make sense for big fleets,” skeptics of telematics argue, “but I only have a few machines. I doubt it’ll change my bottom line.”

As counterintuitive as it seems, the truth is that monitoring machine data is even more important for smaller fleets.

A large operation might have extra machines parked and ready to go in case a critical piece of equipment goes down and needs replacing. For smaller operations, if a single machine fails, the whole job site could shut down.  One unplanned repair can cost more than a year’s worth of planned maintenance.  The downtime and hassle of finding replacement equipment is a headache nobody wants.

THE BOTTOM LINE: BETTER COST CONTROL AND INCREASED UPTIME

With all of the benefits they generate, data-based equipment management and ‘Repair Before Failure’ protocols are valuable investments that pay off in lower costs and greater uptime. Put simply, machine data lets you monitor costs at the incident level and helps you maximize machine uptime and productivity.

In an industry that fights for fractions of a percentage point in increased margins every day, it makes sense to start using telematics data and proactive equipment management. And here’s a secret: the majority of the construction industry still hasn’t fully accepted these valuable tools. That means companies that do use them have a chance to be in the same position as the forward-looking carpenter who started using nail guns while the competition continued to hammer away behind him.

THE VALUE OF TELEMATICS

So let’s recap the value of telematics:

(1) Reduce fuel costs

Data captured from machine systems is used to cut idle time, improve maintenance scheduling and monitor fuel consumption.

(2) Improve bidding accuracy

Fuel data captured from on-board systems lets managers know exactly how many litres per hour (the equipment) burns, while payload data tracks key performance indicators like tons per hour so you can bid confidently and more accurately.

(3) Avoid unplanned downtime and reduce repair costs

Availability is up and unit costs are down with the right technology in place.

Ready to get the most out of your fleet? 

Talk to your Toromont Cat representative to learn more about Cat Equipment Management and take your business to even greater heights.