New Holland Construction’s FleetForce telematics system
FleetForce has been designed to allow fleet managers to map the location of their machines and monitor when they are working, travelling between sites or idle. This way they can identify under- or over-used machines and optimize their deployment and utilization so that no machine is left needlessly idle. The usage information enables the fleet manager to address issues affecting a machine’s productivity as they arise and take action to improve, while performance analysis such as engine load data enables them to compare machines’ performance or identify trends in fuel use over time.
New Holland say that FleetForce makes it easy for fleet managers to keep machines serviced on an accurate and consistent basis by scheduling automatic maintenance alerts. This makes it easy to plan for service intervals, scheduling job assignments and ordering parts as necessary.
FleetForce will also send an alert when there is an anomaly or a fault, so that the fleet manager can take immediate action, preventing a possible breakdown.
New Holland dealers also have access to service scheduling and machine health information such as temperatures, pressures and CAN-bus parameters for diagnostics and troubleshooting, so that they are able to support the fleet manager proactively.
Massimiliano Sala, Telematics Europe product manager, highlighted how this feature can be extremely useful: ‘The dealer’s service manager can see if a parameter is out of range while the machine is working on a customer’s jobsite and alert him immediately and even show him exactly what is happening.’
With FleetForce units can be geo-fenced so that an alert is sent if it is taken out of the jobsite or a specific geographical area. Unauthorized use of the machine can be prevented by setting a working curfew when a motion-detection service will send an alert if the unit is moved out of hours.
FleetForce makes it easy to monitor every unit in the rental fleet and schedule job assignments, as well as keeping track of service intervals and preventing breakdowns if a monitored performance value drifts out of range. In addition, performance data provided by FleetForce can make a powerful argument to convince a rental customer that it is the best machine. As Mr Sala remarked: ‘You can show the customer the rental machine’s actual fuel consumption and give him the average so he can compare it to other models he is considering renting.’
FleetForce is available with two three-year packages according to the level of detail in the information required. The Basic subscription, available on the compact line, uses the essential inputs of key-on, motion detection and GPS tracking to provide a range of information and reports. The Advanced subscription, available on the heavy line, integrates with the machine through its CAN-bus data system to track an extensive list of performance characteristics.
