Tech has made huge leaps in the aggregate industry in the last few years. This growth is important in this industry because new technology can mean many things as a benefit: newer excited employees that want to work with less manual process, more visibility, easier reporting and of course – more production. There are new ways of tracking with drones for heat and weather predictions. Advancements have been made with weighing and hauling, as well as on the back end with financial software and accurate payload billing.
Fleet Intelligence’s™ areas of focus are advancement and improvements in production – the cycle time tracking and accuracy areas. These new digital tracking systems eliminate the need for the old “stopwatch + pen and paper” methods. They are accurate, they are fast, and they can be used in any type of weather. But what about safety? Are all of the cycle tracking products offered taking safety into account? On some of the offerings we see out in the world, there seems to be quite a bit of driver or operator involvement in the process. Some devices from FI competitors require the driver to hit a different button every time a load is picked up and dropped off, and some require the operator to re-sign into the device multiple times during the day. Not only is this unsafe, but, more than likely, inaccurate, as depending on an operator to remember to push a button for tracking is not 100 percent reliable.
Fleet Intelligence™ created a ruggedized, military grade system that tracks location – down to the second, cycle times and load tracking all in one. This product is called the M3™ – Maximize Material Movement. One of the many considerations they incorporated when creating the M3™ was the complete autonomy of its use and almost zero driver involvement. Safety is a priority and driver distractions are a risk. The M3™ simply requires the driver to push “start” when their day begins, and “finish” when their work is done. That’s it! Everything else is tracked, logged and reported automatically. This product was designed for one of their quarry customers specifically, so was built to have little-to-no driver or operator involvement. They succeeded in creating an autonomous product that can actually increase production as well.
The M3™ is not only the safest in-cab cycle tracking unit – but it has patent-pending geofence technology that far exceeds their competitors’ capabilities. All of this, with real time reporting, in even the lowest of cellular signals. With no jitter, and clear, reliable tracking for increased production.
Along with safety, inspection and MSHA compliance is of highest priority. The M3™ has the Fleet Intelligence™ inspection app, FI Inspect, baked in. Plant inspections, as well as machines, are crucial not only for safety, but for the job site to run smoothly. Fleet Intelligence™ customer, Vulcan Materials, stated; “I love how easy it is to maneuver. It’s great that you can get info and reports instantly…the future of safety for machines and the plant itself are all headed towards technology like this.” – Luke Rabon, Vulcan Materials Having fully customizable tech isn’t just for smooth process and production, it can be a catalyst for employee retention. Keeping the “up and coming” youth in the aggregate world can be a hard task when processes are out of date. We are evolving into a fully automated world with more business functions becoming electronic or digitized. Asking the new era of employees to reverse their education and operate in a manual realm could cause backlash.
With technology coming into every aspect of the job site, it’s important to know what options are available. Electronic and digital processes are no longer an option, they are becoming the standard extremely fast. But, now with all of the emerging technology – attempting inspections and cycle time tracking on paper as we head into 2020 is not only something that could cost you time and a competitive edge, but, as we are starting to see, it’s not the safest or most reliable option any longer.
