Service Tips: Operational data for strategic business decisions
Businesses that use telematics and alerts to see the operational data of their machinery can make better business decisions.
by Anthony Carden
Hitachi Construction Machinery listened to customer feedback and understood the crucial need for fleet owners to have a comprehensive understanding of their machinery in one easy to access location.
In response Hitachi created the LandCros Connect platform that allows users to see the location of their equipment, view real-time machine usage and receive maintenance alerts. In an update coming to North America later this year, the platform will also work with mixed fleets that include non-Hitachi Construction Machinery models. This will allow large mixed-fleet businesses to enhance their rental fleet management capabilities.
Alerts for increased machine uptime
Rental fleet owners don’t always have easy access to their machines and contractors who rent machines may not be experts in maintenance. When an issue arises, contractors may not notice the issue and if ignored for too long, a small maintenance issue has the potential to become catastrophic for machine uptime. The LandCros Connect platform mitigates these risks by alerting fleet managers when a maintenance code is triggered through its system.
The alerts are categorized by severity, from low to high, to help fleet managers accurately gauge the urgency of the alert and manage their time accordingly. This is particularly useful when a severe code is triggered on a machine. Fleet managers can act quickly and prevent the machine from going down or prevent the problem from getting worse.
Location data for efficient fleet management
Hitachi Construction Machinery has seen that the primary responsibility fleet managers have is that their machine is where they expect it to be and is returned on time. LandCros Connect can track the exact movement and location of a machine from anywhere in the world. If a rental machine is not returned on time, fleet managers can quickly locate it and determine if any action is needed. Service technicians can also use this feature to easily locate machines that need service, limiting downtime.
Companies operating in multiple states can use these geofence capabilities to prevent machines from “falling through the cracks” with service and maintenance as they move around the country. As machines are moved into a geofenced location, they automatically start reporting telematics for the location which can help busy regional managers keep track.
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| The use of telematics and alerts can give rental companies increased control and awareness of their machines' locations around the world. |
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| Rental companies can use telematics data to help them educate renters on better machine usage. |
The LandCros Connect platform can provide both fleet and individual machine data. Users can use this data to determine which machine types get the most usage.
If a certain machine size is rented more than others, managers can make a well-researched business decision to trade in underutilized machines for a more popular size.
Fuel consumption and idle rates can also be monitored by individual machines or entire fleets.
Too much idle time can negatively affect a rental business by burning hours toward the end of factory warranty.
If machines have high idle time, this could mean that engine shut-off features are not being utilized. Rental companies can use this data to ensure they educate renters on better machine usage.
The use of telematics and alerts can give rental companies increased control and awareness of their machines. Learn more about how the LandCros Connect system helps rental companies run more efficient operations by visiting https://www.hitachicm.com/us/en/connect/.
Anthony Carden is technology product manager at Hitachi Construction Machinery Americas.
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