They say that the devil is in the details. For a company that has been around since 1923 and employs more than 700 employees, E.R. Snell Contractor Inc. has a lot of details to deal with every day.

The family-operated company based in Atlanta, Ga., performs a variety of transportation construction jobs from Augusta to Macon and northern Georgia including roadway work, structural bridge work and asphalt paving and sales. On any given summer day, E.R. Snell is dispatching 150 to 200 asphalt trucks, a vast majority of which are third party truckers.

In handling their daily trucking, Executive Vice President Jared Snell knew there had to be a better way to manage the mountain of details that impact his company’s operations. Thankfully, he was right, and in an innovative telematics platform, they found a way to handle the details and exorcise their demons.

Onboarding of Earthwave Technologies popular FleetWatcher telematics platform is fast and easy since it captures data from OEM telematics systems with no additional hardware required.

Data from each piece of equipment within the fleet, regardless of manufacturer, class, or size, is seamlessly integrated into the FleetWatcher platform, with no labor costs.  With a clear view of all fleetwide assets, managers can better allocate equipment to enhance utilization, slash idle times to save fuel and equipment value, streamline maintenance, and more.

Earthwave’s Construction Management Solution was developed specifically for the “yellow iron” heavy construction industry and is ideal for off-road construction projects of all sizes and types.

Earthwave presents its FleetWatcher real-time executive scoreboard functionality, a scorecard for its popular materials management system (MMS), which allows users to see key performance indicators (KPIs) in an easy-to-understand format displayed on their phone, tablet, or computer. 

Before signing on with FleetWatcher, the team at Jon M. Hall was looking to reduce idle time and increase production. They knew a telematics software would help them improve operations but there was a concern that learning how to navigate a new system would be time-consuming and difficult to implement. 

The FleetWatcher Real-Time Executive Scoreboard feature serves as a scorecard for the Materials Management System (MMS), allowing users to see key performance indicators (KPI's) in an easy to understand format on their phone, tablet or computer. 

• Provides real-time view of tons per hour by crew or truck, feet per minute, cycle time, trucking cost per ton and more
• Color coding shows at a glance which metrics need corrective action 
• Total tons loaded automatically compared to shift times to show users if they are ahead of schedule or behind 
• Metrics can be graphed to quickly show performance over time 
• Users can select KPIs to display and change them as desired

The FleetWatcher Construction Management Solution (CMS) collects data from all equipment assets regardless of class or manufacturer, and presents the maintenance due report with color-coded entries for "at glance" status. 

• Shows equipment within 36 hours of required maintenance in yellow and any at or past due date in red
• Works across entire fleet with a single login and data can be shared via cell phone, tablet or computer
• Escalating Idle Alert proactively informs managers when equipment has been idling for too long
• Suitable for heavy construction contractors of all types and sizes 
• Collects specific and customized data delivered through a Daily Snapshot in the specific format users select
• Reports available online or in MS Excel format with over 20 reports and hundreds of filtering options available 
• Also tracks multiple data points including cycle times, productivity and downtimes, equipment utilization and under utilization, project status, budgets, shop costs, rental expenses, trends and behaviors and more 
• Integrates with all major management programs including accounting, estimating, invoicing and more
  

A breadcrumb feature shows the machine’s location activity in real-time and every minute if the machine is being towed, and the info is available from a browser or a mobile device.

FleetWatcher, a telematics platform from Earthwave Technologies, includes features to prevent theft and aid in equipment recovery. Its GPS technology allows users to see where any piece of equipment is at any given time, while an included proactive unauthorized use feature alerts user if equipment is started after hours.

Telematics has become increasingly popular within the heavy equipment industry, with virtually all manufacturers offering their own version. OEM telematics typically gather data such as engine temperature, rpm, fuel, pressures and fault codes. The data is available through a login unique to that brand of machinery, thus requiring the owner to log in separately for each brand of equipment owned. 

Equipment and operator idle time is a major problem in the construction industry. Industry research indicates that off-road assets average an hour of excessive idle per machine per day, at a cost of roughly $50 per hour (including fuel, services and depreciation). Aggregate that across a fleet and the numbers are staggering.

K-Five Construction has been a long-time customer of FleetWatcher. The Illinois-based paving company decided to integrate with software back in 2015 when they were looking for an efficient way to manage their fleet in real-time. The K-five team has since been able to easily monitor the delivery of materials to and from job sites and ensure that the company’s production runs as smoothly as possible.