Category Archives: Cat Technologies

Technology and Connectivity Fueling Digital Construction Jobsites

By Lonnie Fritz  which is a Heavy Construction Industry Consultant for Caterpillar Inc.  (Guest Post)

The fully connected digital worksite is more than likely the biggest opportunity construction project managers and fleet owners are missing out on when looking at enhancing their operations.

Intelligent construction is the way of the future. It’s not how hard you work in today’s construction industry, but rather how smart you work that is going to improve your bottom line. Having a fully connected digital worksite removes the guesswork and empowers contractors to expedite their projects with confidence.

Using equipment with CAT technologies can help your business increase productivity and better control costs by achieving specific results including:

  1. Managing your equipment costs

With the introduction of the Association of Equipment Management Professionals (AEMP) Telematics Standard in the winter of 2014, mixed fleet managers, either on-site or off-site, now have access to critical data concerning their equipment, such as machine location, fuel consumption and operator behavior in the palm of their hand.

Telematics data gives you more control over maintenance and repair needs of your fleet. The longer you can effectively stretch maintenance intervals, the more time and money you can save. Such data also brings maintenance and repair information to a manager’s attention before maintenance issues become critical problems. This substantially reduces unplanned downtime and repair costs.

  1. Making the most out of your fleet

Connected construction worksites allow project managers to get the most out of their fleets. The more connected your machines are and the more effectively your crew uses the data they produce, the faster you will start to see tangible results. Variables such as equipment utilization, in terms of right-sizing the number of machines on-site, and equipment productivity can be determined. Both can help in setting cost predictions for future project bidding.

  1. Taking your operators to the next level

Machine control technologies that offer automatic or automated functions help improve operator productivity, which improves the bottom lines of projects in several ways. A prime example of this is Cat GRADE, a part of Cat Connect Technology. Operating a dozer is one thing, but it takes far more expertise to shape terrain. With Cat GRADE in place, you can expect to reduce rough-grading and finish-grading costs, reduce material costs, and decrease rework overall by as much as 50 percent. Machine control technologies allow operators to manage the project and the materials, not just the machine.

As soon as you activate telematics data-feed capabilities and log into a reporting interface like VisionLink®, you’re able to take advantage of outstanding productivity benefits, as well. For most construction company owners who employ smaller fleets, this technology can deliver immediate productivity results. Larger fleets or fleets working several projects at the same time should concentrate on creating a technology plan centering around the most cost effective equipment and technology pairings.

When you decide to take your worksite digital, the decisions that need to made for that project can be made by the right people at the appropriate time in order to get the job done as efficiently as possible. However, the benefits are not limited to those areas mentioned above.

A positive byproduct of a connected worksite is an increase in safety. Our Cat® Connect Technology can send alerts and fault codes out to operators or foremen when there is a situation that requires their immediate attention. As more machines are connected on the worksite, your fleet will become progressively more efficient, safe and productive.

Falling behind the competition and facing greater profitability challenges are real risks in the construction world today. Technologies that enable optimally connected digital worksites reduce those risks. Ultimately, digital worksites are meant to make your work more efficient, improve your profit margins and enhance workplace safety. Why wait?

Guest Post

By Lonnie Fritz

Heavy Construction Industry Consultant

Caterpillar Inc

What’s Possible by using Cat Link Technologies

By Craig E. Cutting which is a Construction Technology Application Consultant for Caterpillar Inc.  (Guest Post)

The amount of data that construction machines produce due to advances in technology can be overwhelming for fleet managers who don’t have the tools in place to analyze it. Hundreds of onboard sensors and processors spit out massive amounts of data, and if you don’t have your operation streamlined, critical data points can get lost or simply overlooked. Data is wirelessly transmitted from your machines communicating information such as the location, status, fuel consumption and idle time of your equipment. Viewing this real-time data, project managers can make timely, fact-based decisions to boost productivity and reduce costs.

 

Cat LINK, a part of Cat Connect Technology, includes two key components— Cat® Product LinkTM and VisionLink®. Product Link is the hardware component of the technology and VisionLink is the software. Product Link grabs data from machine sensors and control systems and transmits it to VisionLink, which lets you view the data on any web-enabled device and use it to make quick, informed business decisions.

 

The benefits of using technology like Cat LINK stretch across all your business operations, but some of the quick highlights include:

 

  1. Controlling your fuel costs

Fuel consumption information is some of the most valuable information you can collect and use. Some industry experts say it’s not unusual for idle time to represent as much as 50 percent of total running time. Tracking and reducing idle time can have an immediate payback in reduced fuel costs.

If fuel consumption goes up suddenly—and your operator’s task hasn’t changed—it’s a signal that something else needs attention. Here are just some of the problems fuel data can help you uncover before they result in unwanted maintenance or repairs and increased operating costs:

 

  • Excessive idle time
  • Dirty fuel injectors
  • Plugged air filters
  • Contaminated fuel filters
  • Defective sensors
  • Faulty Engine Control Module
  • Worn piston rings or leaky valves
  • Slipping clutch or transmission
  • Improper lube oil viscosity
  • Undersized machine, bucket or work tool
  • Low tire pressure or worn tires
  • Aggressive or untrained operator

 

  1. Increasing utilization by studying when equipment is not being used

It’s hard to see patterns when you have multiple worksites or equipment working in different locations. With the data in front of you, you can look for alternative uses of equipment—any other function it could serve to generate revenue. Your information may reveal that trucks sit idling too long, burning fuel just to be loaded. By analyzing the data you may find enough idle time exists that you can park one of the trucks. This eliminates the fuel cost of that truck and makes cycle times more efficient for the remaining trucks. Another quick win idea would be using your trucks to contract haul during non-working periods.

 

  1. Using data to manage maintenance intervals

Analyzing your data can help you increase the efficiency and cost effectiveness of your maintenance schedules. It may surprise you how long you can effectively stretch maintenance intervals, saving time and money.

 

  1. Creating a fast start team

The information you gather from your machines has the ability to positively impact many areas of your worksites from utilization and uptime to operating costs and billing. Using a cross-functional team to review this information clarifies analyses and recommendations, which can’t help but result in better decisions. It also means that any hurdles can be overcome by the team and not sit completely with a single person.

 

Virtual Site Solutions, a joint venture between Caterpillar and Trimble, is also in the midst of updating VisionLink throughout 2016, making it faster and easier to use, especially with a smartphone or tablet. Some of the improvements users can expect to see soon include:

 

An even better mobile experience. Get ready for quick load times, uncluttered screens, easy-to-read content, good-sized buttons and simple navigation. You’ll have a great user experience whether you’re logging in with a phone, tablet, notebook or desktop.

 

Task-based apps. We’re breaking VisionLink down into smaller applications to better align with your everyday tasks. This will make the software easier to use and faster to update.

 

Turn down the fire hose. Drowning in data? You’ll have the option to reduce the amount of information you see. So if you only need fuel burn and machine location data to do your job, that’s what you’ll get. Someone else may need idle time and run time info, or hours to the next PM. The point is, we’re making it easy to access the data you actually need to do your job; nothing more, nothing less.

 

You’re in control, but we can help. Lots of people want to configure this software themselves, so we’re making it easy to do that. But if you’re not comfortable monkeying with VisionLink, start with the default settings. If they’re not right for you, your dealer can help with changes.

 

Simple dashboard. Everybody loves a dashboard – one convenient place to get a quick look at the key performance indicators you want to monitor. You’ll appreciate the new dashboard in VisionLink. And as you might expect, it will be easy for you to set things up exactly the way you want them.

 

At the end of the day, asset technologies are beneficial because they are designed to help operators solve issues and work more efficiently to minimize service costs and increase uptime. Having the data is important, but utilizing it correctly is what really makes the difference. Technologies like Cat LINK help you do more work at a lower total cost so you can build an even stronger business.

Guest Post

By Craig E. Cutting

Construction Technology Applications Consultant

Caterpillar Inc.

Five Ways Construction Technologies Can Improve Profitability

By: Jason Hurdis–Sr. Market Proffessional for Caterpillar Inc.

How many times have you heard the saying, time is money? That old adage has never been truer in the construction industry than it is right now. But today we can update that passage to say, “tech is money.”

Every construction company owner faces pressure to control costs and operate at lower profit margins. As you evaluate your own business operations, technology is something you should consider. By identifying areas where you can become more efficient, you can determine the types of technologies that will bring the biggest benefit to your organization’s bottom line.

Based on customer experiences and data, Caterpillar is constantly developing and refining advanced technologies to help make your equipment more cost-effective and efficient. CAT Connect technologies and services such as, LINK, GRADE, PAYLOAD and EMSolutions all help increase profit margins and worksite productivity. Here are several ways the right technology can help make your company more profitable:

  1. Control fuel costs

Fuel consumption information is some of the most valuable information you can collect and use as a construction company. Idle time can represent 40-50 percent of a machine’s total running time. Tracking and reducing idle time in your machines with CAT technologies can reduce fuel costs by as much as 50 percent.

Such technologies enable insights that wouldn’t otherwise be available to you. If fuel consumption goes up suddenly during a job, it could signal a bigger issue. Here are just a few problems CAT technologies can flag and help you uncover before it becomes a real problem.

  • Dirty fuel injectors
  • Plugged/Contaminated air filters
  • Defective sensors
  • Faulty Engine Control Modules
  • Worn piston rings or leaky valves
  • Slipping clutch or transmission
  • Improper lube oil viscosity
  • Undersized machine, bucket or work tool
  • Low tire pressure or worn tires
  • Aggressive or untrained operators
  1. Manage maintenance intervals

Analyzing the data our technologies provide can help business owners increase the efficiency and cost effectiveness of your maintenance schedules. The longer you can effectively stretch maintenance intervals, the more time and money you can save. The importance of planned maintenance – and the profitability it enables – cannot be overstated. CAT technologies can help you interpret your data, provide monitoring services and help you develop the most profitable maintenance schedules for your fleet.

  1. Increase machine utilization

It’s hard to see patterns or trends when you have multiple machines working at multiple worksites. With data produced from CAT technologies, business owners can make decisions on machine activation and optimization from one central point. If a truck is sitting at idle too long waiting to be loaded, you may find there is so much idle time between trucks in your fleet that you can park one of them.

The data produced by CAT technologies can identify underutilized assets in your fleet, and can help managers eliminate the need for rental machines while also providing them with the information they need to forecast future equipment needs.

  1. Increased uptime

CAT technologies can provide companies with fault code alerts, which are messages delivered when a machine is working outside a predetermined set of parameters. These alerts cover machine-specific situations including engine over-speeding, high-speed directional shifts and changes in temperature and pressure. The benefits of receiving alerts like these are that they notify managers when maintenance and repairs are needed, which reduces unscheduled machine downtime and equipment repair costs.

  1. Improved bidding accuracy and competitiveness

CAT on-board systems allow companies to submit tighter, more competitive bids because of the data they provide. Companies today don’t need to pad their fuel numbers when bidding for a project; they can calculate exactly how many gallons per hour they need to get the job done.

Such technologies also are proven to increase materials savings by up to 10 percent, and decrease rework by as much as 50 percent. Using fewer materials and spending less time on rework allows companies to lower their bid prices, therefore, giving them a leg up on their competition.

CAT technologies are reshaping the process of using, managing and owning construction equipment. Construction companies that want to stay ahead of their competitors for projects both now and in the future must adapt and implement the proper technologies. It’s the best way to become more efficient while maintaining margins, quality and safety. Why give the competition the edge when the technologies present profitable opportunities? Because tech is money, and a more efficient fleet equals a better bottom line.

GUEST POST

By Jason Hurdis

Sr. Market Professional

Caterpillar Inc.

 

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