A decade after launching its first telematics system, Doosan has released DoosanCONNECT, which promises to deliver greater machine-to-machine communication, intelligence and remote equipment monitoring.
The DoosanCONNECT telematics system is now worldwide and comes standard on all Doosan equipment, except for the company’s DX63-3 and DX85R-3 compact excavators.
“Over the last 10 years or so, we’ve seen a vast improvement in the number of customers using telematics,” said Doosan marketing manager Aaron Kleingartner.
“We’re really excited about what DoosanCONNECT offers the Doosan network, not only in North America, but as well from a global perspective.”
Through DoosanCONNECT, machines are equipped with a modem and connected via a cellular and satellite antenna, which collects data from sensors on the machine. The modem sends data from the machine to a central database via a cellular or satellite connection, making it readily accessible, even in remote locations where cellular service is not available.
“It chooses the best connection available to send that information to our network and onto our web servers,” Kleingartner said.
Equipment owners and fleet managers are able to review the data produced and monitor the equipment remotely from an Internet-enabled device by logging into doosanconnect.com or via a mobile app.
Improved maintenance
If a problem with a machine were to arise, DoosanCONNECT reports real-time fault and warning codes. This data can be shared with dealers, enabling a quick response and ensuring more uptime. Dealers can view the problem on the DoosanCONNECT website to help diagnose the problem without physically being in the same location as the machine.
“In the past, if you had a problem with the machine, the operator would call and talk to someone at the dealership. The dealership would schedule a service tech, who would go out to the machine and diagnose the issue,” Kleingartner said. “That time is very sensitive and can lead to a poor customer experience if that person doesn’t have the right part when they get there.”
Allowing the dealer to access information provided by the telematics system reduces the amount of time required to remedy the problem.
“You get the information on the problem, and that can be researched before you send your technician to the machine,” Kleingartner said. “They’re armed with the information they need to be able to properly service the machine.”
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The benefits and barriers to adopting telematics
As well, one of Doosan’s dealers is already using DoosanCONNECT to prioritize maintenance needs within its rental fleet and customer base.
“They’re very proactively talking about the service concerns their customers might have,” Kleingartner said. “I know their goal is talk to fleet manager about equipment before the fleet manager knows about the concern themselves.”
DoosanCONNECT also offers the ability to reset maintenance intervals on a machine via the website.
“If you go and change the oil filter, you can go into the system and select it to reset,” Kleingartner said. “In the past, you had to do that on the machine itself, and it wasn’t always utilized because it was one extra step.”
Equipment management
DoosanCONNECT also allows owners to monitor operational utilization reports to determine how often their Doosan equipment is being operated. An operation trend report includes a search by time period, average utilization rate, load count and weight data. By analyzing this data, equipment owners are able to determine if they are underusing their assets or whether it is time to invest in adding to their equipment fleet.
“That really helps the customer determine if they have the right mix of product on the worksite, if they have the right size of machine, and if they’re underworking or overworking it,” Kleingartner said. “We didn’t have access to a lot of this information in the past. This system allows them to be more efficient with how they’re managing their fleet.”
The data collected may be used to solve business challenges, such as improper use of equipment on the jobsite. Owners can use this data to correct operator behaviour to improve jobsite efficiency.
Fuel usage is also monitored through DoosanCONNECT, allow owners to find opportunity to reduce consumption. The system tracks litres per hour, and usage is viewable from the website or app.
The system also monitors equipment idle time, helping to identify machines that are working under or over capacity. Reducing idle times can help extend engine life and reduce repair and maintenance costs. Owners may monitor power mode operation and advise operators to adjust the power mode to do the same work while using less fuel.
“One of the areas we look at quite a bit, and ask our dealers to as well, is operating hours by different modes to help train customers to use the equipment more efficiently,” Kleingartner said.
“Depending on what they’re doing with that machine, the customer might have the opportunity to use economy mode and be just as efficient.”
DoosanCONNECT designed to reduce theft
Using DoosanCONNECT, equipment owners are able to view the equipment’s last reported GPS location, including an aerial map view. This feature allows them to keep an eye on their fleet and see where its being operated through the website.
As well, owners may create a geo/time fence or an invisible boundary through the machine’s GPS system. If the machine leaves the virtual fence, it will send a notification and can alert the equipment owner and authorities about a possible equipment theft. A time fence or curfew on each machine may be created.
If the machine is operated outside of working hours, an email or SMS text notification can be sent to the owner.
“If you set a geo fence around a particular area, you get an alert. Or if the machine is started at 2 am and it shouldn’t be, you would get an alert,” Kleingartner said.
