Machine Management

Machine Managementonstruction machines are costly—to acquire, operate,maintain and even to manage. Use the wrong machinefor the job, run one past its scheduled service hours,misdiagnose a series of similar failures, rent a machine outonly to have it misused, unused or sitting onsite with itsengine idling and you’ve got problems. Machine monitoringand remote management help solve some of these problems.Various kinds of machine automation are available to assistin machine management. Machine control ensures that earth ismoved according to plan using a digital terrain model onboardthe machine. Machine monitoring systems log the conditionsunder which the machine is used, how it is used, and othervital statistics such as its temperatures, pressures and fluids.Remote machine management enables using some or all ele-Cments of machine control and machine monitoring to enablecost-effective use of the machine, often in real-time.Starting RemotelyMany providers’ systems require an initial investment for thehardware installation on each machine to be monitored andmanaged. If the customer is to do the monitoring and management, a central facility must be established as well,where base maps, data collection, analysis, reporting anddecision-aiding software is housed. Subsequently, there is amonthly charge paid to the provider (or third party) that isproportional to the amount of data transmitted and wirelessairtime required to receive and send data between themachines and the central system. Data can also be sentbetween machines, though in some cases this may occurthrough the central hub. Michael Ritter, general manager forConstruction Services at Trimble, says that many customersstart with a service plan that provides a real-time positionupdate every 10 minutes and a minute-by-minute report ofmachine position for the previous 10 minutes. As customersgain experience using the reports to optimize vehicles andpersonnel, they see benefits of increasing the timeliness ofupdates. “Even though the machine management servicesinfrastructure costs more to provide the owner real-time dataevery minute, they learn within weeks that it pays back bigtime,” Ritter says. “They achieve productivity improvementsas if they were sitting in the passenger seat of each vehicle.”www.SitePrepMag.comSummer 2005The Maintenance Example14Servicing of machines can be automatically scheduled and managed,providing service personnel with lead time and ensuring they have thecorrect tools and supplies.An example of automatic activity resulting from remotemachine monitoring and management is machine maintenance scheduling. The conventional (manual) way to perform machine maintenance is to periodically check amachine’s run time meter against a maintenance schedule.While some owners will service machines before or after thescheduled interval, knowledgeable users who have trackedperformance and cost know that strictly following the schedule provides economic benefits. To determine actual enginetime of a machine first requires locating the machine and, if ata remote site, then sending someone to retrieve the information requested. If service is necessary, the service providermust be able to deliver the service onsite.

Is monitoring and managingconstruction machine controla remote possibility?by Joseph V.R. Paiva, PLS, PE, PhDTypes of Remotely Gathered InformationOther factors and events that may be monitored remotelyinclude engine on, engine off, total idle time, odometerreadings, engine load, various measures of responsible driving, total move time, total stop time, time of entering orexiting a designated project boundary, materials handlingarea or fleet garage, and movement of the vehicle duringunauthorized hours (which may indicate vehicle theft orunauthorized use). With some systems a mobile data terminal can be added, just as with truck fleet management, tosend text messages to the operator. Vehicle alert and warning messages that appear on the dashboard can be configured for real-time delivery to the central monitoring station.In other cases, the machine can be remotely locked to prevent starting or continued operation. Sometimes the unauthorized use may be by equipment renters but on a site orlocation for which they haven’t been authorized. This typeof monitoring activity is sometimes desirable to insuranceand bonding organizations.Machine Management RootsDevelopments in several areas have facilitated automatedsupport of construction machine management. Machine control, engine and machine monitoring, IP (Internet Protocol)addressed machines, web-based distribution of information,truck and other mobile asset tracking systems, and satellitecommunications systems are some of these developments.The onboard control box in Topcon’s System 5 3D-GPS gradingsolution allows for multiple views, indicating machine position andteeth of the bucket relative to design grade. The operator canobserve and communicate with other machines working on the sameproject. This same information is also available in real-time to a controller working from a remote location.With Komatsu’s Komtrax system, users can locate machines instantlywith GPS, get real-time service hour meter readings, plan maintenanceby customers’ usage patterns, and track lost or stolen equipment.SITEPREP Summer 2005With an automatic management system, the owner canget projected service dates based on current rates of use ofeach machine. When a triggering time is reached, themachine will appear on that day’s or week’s list of machinesto be scheduled for service. If the owner permits the serviceprovider to have access to this information, the serviceprovider can take the initiative to schedule onsite service onthe proper day, and at the proper time and place. Generally,some form of interaction, manual or automatic, must takeplace between the service provider and owner to determinethe machine’s use pattern to schedule the service for theleast disruptive day and time. Because the nature of the service is known, the service provider can ensure that the correct tools and supplies are on the service truck.This system for scheduling the proper servicing location, personnel, tools, parts and supplies is especially beneficial when there is an equipment failure. The report ofthe machine failure is accompanied by various vital statistics (pressures, temperatures, loads, etc.) as well as faultcodes, warnings and other diagnostic information sent tothe central hub for automatic transmittal to the owner’schosen location.15

Machine ManagementWhat enables these technologies are theGPS sensor for ubiquitous position information, various communications links(both terrestrial- and satellite-based) toretrieve and send data, and electronic“nervous systems” on constructionmachines that enable sensing and collection of information of a constructionmachine’s vital statistics as well as realtime orientation of the machine’s skeletonand pertinent tool surface. Otheradvances that allow for machine monitoring and management include systems toeasily connect information using theInternet for data collection, analysis, automatic issuance of warnings and alarms,and decision-making.www.SitePrepMag.comSummer 2005Machine Control16Even though certain aspects of machine Trimble Site Positioning Systems give site foremen, supervisors, grade checkers and site engicontrol or guidance using stringlines and neers the ability to check and verify that finished grade and material thickness meet the designother aids existed before the application specifications via in-process checking and real-time verification.to indicate the point of interest), it is possible to determineof GPS to construction machines, it is this all-weather 24on a digital model what the finished surface should be. Fromhour tool that has offered possibilities for system designers.manually controlling the machine using the information genThough use of GPS to determine position indoors or undererated by this process (guidance), the technology quicklyground is problematic, it has been, in many cases, the finalprogressed with the use of proportional valves in theingredient in the technology mix to enable realization ofhydraulic systems of the machines to automate control.many innovators’ dreams. With GPS it is now possible (withFor various reasons, including improved accuracy, a numa few extra measurements, and perhaps a few additionalber of optical systems may be used to also determine thesensors to detect the relationship between the machine’smachine’s position and relationship to the finished surface. Butmovable parts such as stick and boom) to know where theit is GPS and its freedom from the line-of-sight issues of opticalmachine’s cutting edge is. Then, and using that same posisystems that have allowed designers to dream the broadesttion (in a manner similar to which a mouse’s pointer is usedvisions for machine control, and eventually, management.To enable GPS technology for machine control has meantthe use of “carrier phase” processing, a technique commonlyused in surveying instrumentation, to take the normally 10to 15-meter accuracy positioning of GPS and derive accuracies on the level of 1 cm. This is achieved using the additional technique of real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning,which necessitates the use of a wireless data link to sendcorrection data to the construction machine from the one ormore GPS base stations in the vicinity of the constructionwork. The wireless data links use a number of different radiotechnologies to provide these up-to-the-second correctionsthat keep the machines on track.Many of the wireless systems using radios have been proprietary ones developed by the GPS sensor and machine control vendors. The radio systems include VHF, UHF, 900 MHzand 2.4 GHz varieties. Systems using public cellular communications data modems also now exist; a few have evenopted for the use of communications satellite channels.Some of these systems only support one-way communicaTopcon machine control systems are available through Komatsu dealtions from the base station to the construction machines.ers. This Komatsu GD 655 motor grader, equipped with Topcon’sIn some cases these systems for transmitting the RTK corSystem Five 3D-GPS and Millimeter GPS/LazerZone, will be fearections are also used to upload new digital terrain filestured at Technology Roadshows throughout the nation.