The Need.

With a growing demand for remote telemetry within the mining industry, one of Australia’s largest equipment rental specialists identified a need for a remote monitoring solution for their mobile lighting towers and generators. Previously, data from these assets would need to be manually read and recorded from an HMI panel, and entered into the businesses asset management system. This process was often time-consuming and costly, with the need for personnel to visit each asset in the field, often in very remote locations on a mine or construction site. For a short time, a closed telematics solution was implemented by the company, however direct access to the captured data was limited and only available at a cost, and subsequently an advanced solution was sought.

Captis Solution.

Over 800 Captis devices were deployed across multiple mining and construction sites throughout Australia of which the equipment rental company serviced. Both the Captis Power+ and Captis Solar data loggers were chosen for their NBIoT cellular technology which allows the devices to log and send data from remote locations. The data required and able to be captured for this particular case included battery voltage, fuel level, run time, and GPS location of each mobile generator and lighting tower.

The Result.

By providing a reliable and cost-effective remote monitoring solution, the equipment rental company can now monitor machine health, optimise asset utilisation, improve billing cycles, and, as a result, raise customer satisfaction. For example, time wasted checking a generator’s fuel level that may in fact be adequate to run for several more hours can be eliminated, saving time and human resources for the end customer. Additionally, GPS can recognise that an asset has been returned from site and is not required for use, indicating that said asset can be put on “stand down” for the same period and the customer not charged. Similarly, when GPS recognizes that an asset is returned to a depot, a work order can automatically be triggered to prepare the machine for hire once again, with no need for manual inspection.