You Know It Idles, But How Much Does It Idle??

As we talk with construction companies from across the country, most don't know how much their equipment idles. Some have an idea that their equipment idles too much. Others don't even suspect that idle is a problem for them. However, in 15 years of working in the industry and gathering company data, we see that most companies have idle times across their fleets that average above 50%. 

IMPROVE FLEET MANAGEMENT TO INCREASE PROFITS
Today the construction industry is in essentially the same place as the U.S. manufacturing industry was in the early 1990s - trapped between the declining margins of a competitive environment and a lack of the efficient processes needed to grow. In the early 1990s, manufacturing used the same basic methods and processes for planning, tracking, producing, shipping and selling products that had been in place since the 1960s. Paper and human reporting were everywhere. Critical data arrived to decision makers desks too late to be useful. Operational control was more black magic than science, and communications was glacially slow.

Rising Technologies in the Construction Industry

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV or Drone)

One of the fairly new technologies coming into broader use is the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or drone. Currently drones are rarely used in construction sites but they should become more widely used in the near future based on possible applications. Drones currently are limited to a height of less than 400ft and weight less than 4.4 pounds keeping them in the “Hobby Class” of drones. These are most often multiple propeller helicopters called quadcopters. With their design, they are capable of vertical takeoff and landing along with the ability to hover. These UAVs include cameras that can take high resolution video or pictures which can be used to map the work site, check job completion, while also giving direct feedback to the operator giving him/her the bird’s eye view, so to speak.

Komatsu America recently did an article with Earthwave Technologies customer, Rich Fuist of RIPA Associates. Rich talks about some of the benefits they have seen with the use of Fleetwatcher. Here is an excerpt from the article:

Partnership with Earthwave Technologies Optimizes Data Capture and Delivery of Fleet Telematics Information 

Portsmouth, NH – March 3, 2014 – Continuing to re-define the future of construction operation software, industry leader B2W Software today announced an agreement with Earthwave Technologies – further powering accurate, efficient delivery of construction equipment telematics data.  The agreement enables day-to-day construction tasks to be automated and tracked via mobile tablets – dramatically reducing paperwork and manual reporting – all while offering real-time data flow to and from the field.

Fleetwatcher is a comprehensive Management Information System that impacts and affects many people, processes and departments within the heavy equipment contractor’s organization. Specifically, Fleetwatcher and Earthwave help our customers solve problems.

The following identifies the problems our customers have indicated that Fleetwatcher helps them address and solve, in order of magnitude.  

1. Underproductive Equipment and Operators/Drivers