Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2023 - 24

in construction
Based on JDLink connectivity, John Deere's Precision Construction technology features tools
to manage maintenance, coordinate assets, track utilization and boost productivity.
Jobsites look to overcome challenges posed by mixed fleets and proprietary
telematics to achieve " one-dashboard " vision and increased machine utilization.
by Gregg Wartgow
W
ouldn't it be great if the entire jobsite - the general
contractor, subcontractors, designers, owners, equipment
vendors and material suppliers - were all working
in sync with the data that shifts with each condition
change, progress report, change order, telematics warning and
machine inspection? That the right people got the right information
at the right time to make informed decisions?
This " one-dashboard " vision is much easier said than done. The journey
of one equipment manager illuminates the roadblocks. Several
years ago, Langdon Mitchell, equipment division general manager for
heavy civil contractor Morgan Corp., needed to have someone physically
go machine-by-machine to update the software in his fleet.
The next big hurdle: each OEM had its own proprietary telematics portal.
Like most contractors, Morgan has a mixed fleet and getting a unified
fleet view from all the disparate systems was clunky and time-consuming,
Mitchell said. The Spartanburg, South Carolina-based company is now
using a third-party product that amalgamates the information from each
brand in the company fleet, in addition to its rental equipment. " It's become
a single source of truth, " Mitchell said. " Beyond the raw telematics
data, it's allowing us to have tools to have actionable items. "
But more is needed, said Will Hipp, equipment data analyst with
Morgan. " Our eventual goal is to have all the project managers on
board so they can see the machines on other jobsites and identify
any machines that have little utilization. "
24 February 2023
That involves getting dynamic project schedules to
match up with fleet needs so areas can be pinpointed
where the company perhaps has too many or not
enough machines. " That is one of the biggest tasks we
have: making sure that machines are in the right place
at the right time, " Mitchell said.
Jobsite connectivity is complex
This is one example of the information needs of one
division of one company. Multiply those needs company
wide, and then by all the entities with which that one
company does business. Now add the industry at large
and one realizes the complexities involved.
" It sounds pretty simple, but when you take a look
at the disparate systems that GCs, subs, developers
and agencies use, everybody has different formats and
protocols so it's extremely convoluted, " said Brian
Juroff, senior VP of sales for positioning solutions at
Topcon Positioning Group. " While jobsite connectivity
is easy to define, executing it is a completely different
matter. Every contractor has a different soup mix of
software for office, modeling, scanning, etc. It becomes
a huge hurdle. "
TRUCK & OFF-HIGHWAY ENGINEERING
connectivity
Increasing
JOHN DEERE

Truck & Off-Highway Engineering - February 2023

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