Data Abundance

20 May 2021


Mobile crane manufacturers are investing in telematics, with new products and updates introduced to the market in recent years. Sotiris Kanaris speaks to manufacturers about the benefits of telematics and how the market has responded to this technology.

Telematics is not a brand new technology for the crane industry, it has been around for years. Crane manufacturers offer their customers telematics solutions, developed in-house or in collaboration with technology companies.

They are designed as fleet management tools, with crane owners having access to a wide range of operational data. They also offer service data and some even enable remote diagnostics.

Liebherr is planning to showcase its telematics solution at next year’s Bauma. “The commercial launch is planned timely after Bauma. It will be integrated as standard in newer cranes,” Wolfgang Beringer, marketing and communication at Liebherr-Werk Ehingen tells Cranes Today.

He says crane customers will be able to obtain position data, crane data, fuel information as well as service information. Data will be transmitted with a few minutes lag time. The users of the telematics solution will also be able to obtain reports.

As to whether customers will be able to customise the way data is presented and create their own reports, Beringer says: “We are working to meet the challenge that our customers use their own systems and want to present the data individually.”

This is not the first time Liebherr offers a technology that helps customers with service and fleet management. “Liebherr is providing remote diagnostic service for many years, to support our customers wherever the machine is located. Around three years ago we improved it using global 3G-connection,” says Beringer. He adds that at Bauma 2016, the manufacturer introduced an interface to provide data according to an established FMS standard for fleet management systems of various providers.

Last October, Tadano officially launched the Demag IC-1 Remote telematics solution. The manufacturer installs on the crane a tailor service box with a hard drive, a SIM Card, a battery and an operating system. With this box a tunnel connection is created to a cloud server. It captures more than 150 crane operating data, which are transferred to and stored on this server. Authorised users can retrieve and process this data for crane and fleet management via a web browser.

Product marketing manager at Tadano Michael Klein says customers are able to create their own dashboards depending on the data that they are choosing.

IC-1 Remote is available for all new Zweibrucken-made all terrain cranes up to the new AC 7.450-1, a range of lattice boom crawler cranes and the latest Tadano GTC 1800-EX telescopic crawler crane. Klein says the company’s aim is to install the box on all new cranes, and that IC-1 Remote can be retrofitted to older machines.

Tadano also offers the Hello-Net telematics system for the Laufmade cranes and other machines— Japan-made cranes and aerial work platforms, and American-made GTC telescopic crawler cranes—with the manufacturer saying the system has been installed in more than 20,000 products. The data is collected via satellite or mobile communications, where it is then stored in a secure internet data center.

The Hello-Net Owner’s Site can display the day-to-day operational status, mileage and remaining fuel for each machine that is equipped with a communication terminal. Users can also see maintenance information and machine location data.

With the production sites at Zweibrucken and Lauf now jointly developing cranes—the first model will be a two-axle all terrain to be launched later this year— Tadano will choose one control and telematics system to feature on all new German-made Tadano crane models going forward.

Terex offers the T-Link telematics platform, which allows remote access of crane fleet operating data anywhere via the internet from a computer, smartphone or tablet. It comes as standard on all the rough terrain cranes.

“The first machines with T-Link hit the market in 2018. Since then we improved the system with new maintenance features, geofencing and additional new parameters,” says Marco Busconi, rough terrain cranes engineering director at Terex.

Busconi says all data is displayed in real time, with the customer able to view crane configuration, crane status, alarms, crane position and scheduled maintenance alerts. T-Link offers standard reports but also the possibility to customise reports, combining multiple data and layouts.

Sennebogen’s SENTrack DS telematics system was first launched in 2016 and has been updated since. It is offered as an option for all Sennebogen machines, and a retrofit kit is available. The telematics system consists of a communication module and is networked with the machine. The module communicates with the telematics system database via a cellular network.

Florian Attenhauser, public relations manager at Sennebogen, says a wide range of data can be obtained through this system, including engine and machine status, location, fault codes and others. He adds that users can fully customise the platform and organise their own dedicated reports. The data can also be downloaded or imported straight into the crane owner’s fleet management system.

“Link-Belt’s telematics initiative began in earnest in 2012 when it first announced its commissioning A1A Software and its telematics portal, iCraneTrax, which is powered by Link-Belt Pulse. By ConExpo 2017, all Link-Belt Cranes were telematics capable,” says Pat Collins, director of marketing at Link-Belt Cranes.

Link-Belt crane owners determine who can see and use their data. “From there, they can use a long list of ‘crane specific’ data to optimise Link-Belt’s distributor network for things like routine maintenance (to order parts), valuable data to get a crane up and running (enlist the help of a service tech), or even training. Of course, basic information— location, operating hours, odometers, fuel etc—are all included, but this multitude of ‘crane-specific’ data is at the customer’s disposal on an easy-touse dashboard,” says Collins.

Link-Belt Cranes recently launched the iTeleTrax mobile app that allows easy access to critical information while on the go or at the jobsite. “Another exciting enhancement is the ability to service and update a crane’s software remotely. The system includes a Wi-Fi connection and uses the serial number of the unit to determine whether any updates are available, and downloads/ installs to the appropriate controller,” Collins adds.

Kobelco Remote Observation Satellite System (KCROSS) allows remote monitoring of cranes from the owner’s desktop. It was launched in 2011, since the G-Series was launched, and comes as standard for all models of this series. The data is transmitted by cellular network and it can be integrated with other systems.

The data is updated every 12 hours and the system provides daily, weekly, and monthly reports. Alex Burt, crane sales representative, Kobelco Construction Machinery Europe, said: “You can customise KCROSS, so that it supplies you with the output parameters you are looking for. It covers swinging, propelling, rigging, craning, idling. It will also give you a breakdown of the time the crane is used in the default modes.” He adds that users can also customise their maintenance records and create alerts, establish geofencing as well as order parts.

BENEFITS

What benefits do telematics systems offer to the users? Liebherr’s Beringer puts it simply: “The main benefit for our customers is to save money and time. Additional benefit is to have a convenient fleet-overview at a glance.”

The reduction of costs as a benefit from the use of telematics was also emphasised by Burt. He says that fleet management can be significantly improved through monitoring the data available. “Crane owners can analyse the ways machines are operated and look at ways to boost efficiency at the jobsites. They can find ways to reduce idles times and looking at the data on lifting, they may discover that other cranes from the fleet could do the job more efficiently.” He adds that fuel consumption can be reduced by identifying that energy-saving assist systems, like Kobelco’s G-mode, are not being activated by the operator.

Terex’s Busconi also finds that the analysis of raw data and reports is an important vehicle in the optimisation of fleet management. Minimising crane downtime is an objective of all crane owners, and Busconi says telematics systems can help them achieve that through predictive maintenance.

He adds that technicians knowing possible issues with the crane in advance speeds-up the crane service.

Link-Belt’s Collins says preventative maintenance is the main advantage. “Being able to anticipate maintenance needs is integral to planning work. With the sort of data a crane owner can pull from iCraneTrax they can begin to keep parts in stock for preventative maintenance, eliminating any downtime while on the job. When you begin looking at it from a longterm aspect, you can really see the value-added by telematics.”

The way that telematics allow customers to stay on top in terms of maintenance of their cranes helps the customers in terms of resale, he adds.

Talking about IC-1 Remote, Klein highlights the benefits of remote crane troubleshooting, which will speed-up service and will reduce downtime. He says that when there will be an issue with the crane, the customer will be able to contact Tadano’s service team, who will remotely access control information and run a fault analysis to help quickly diagnose and resolve issues.

Apart from the reduction in downtime, he says this technology will increase return on investment through more efficient job planning and higher operational readiness by more efficient service planning.

Sennebogen says telematics is a tool for customers to safeguard their investment, thanks to alarms keeping them informed about critical states and the ability to deactivate the machine centrally in the event of irregular movements. Like the other manufacturers, Sennebogen also cites this technology’s ability to reduce costs and boost productivity as major benefits.

DATA OWNERSHIP

“To our knowledge, this question has not yet been conclusively clarified with regards to worldwide regulations. It is important to be transparent to the customer: Which data is collected, transmitted and processed,” said Liebherr’s Beringer.

Tadano’s Klein says the customers own the data supplied by the IC-1 Remote. “The data is owned by the customer and stored on the cloud service.”

Link-Belt emphasizes that its telematics users are the owners of the data. “Since the very beginning of implementation, the focus for Link-Belt has always been to provide crane owners the assurance that all data points and fault codes relayed from each enacted machine was proprietary to the crane owner unless they choose to share it with their distributor or with Link-Belt,” says Collins.

Kobelco’s Burt says the manufacturer technically owns the data. He says that for KCROSS to be activated, the customers have to agree to GDPR and terms of use, giving Kobelco access to the data as well.

But what happens to the data when the crane changes hands? Burt says the new owners will not have access to the historical data, unless the previous owners agree to it.

USAGE

With so many benefits, one would expect crane fleet owners to be very interested in this technology. Is there a good level of telematics utilisation in the market?

“There is progress to be made,” says Busconi. He explains that there needs to be a change of mindset especially from small to medium size businesses, the most likely to underutilise telematics, on how to manage their fleets. “Users need to learn how to combine and manage a big amount of data, and get used to it.”

In terms of the most popular data among T-Link users, Busconi comments: “They mostly look at real time data on crane status, alarms and, especially for rented cranes, the scheduled maintenance.” The majority of Kobelco customers are underutilising KCROSS, according to Burt. “However, we see some of our customers being very keen on the uptake of data, because they understand this is the direction the market is going.” He adds that some customers, mainly large contractors, are even taking the data collection and analysis beyond KCROSS, by exporting the data to Excel or other fleet management systems. Through conversations with customers, Burt found that the data they mostly look at are: fuel usage, the hours the crane is running and the lift analyser.

He is optimistic that by the end of the decade, the majority of crane owners will be using telematics extensively. He believes this will be influenced by further improved telematics systems and the emergence of 5G technology.

The terms of the agreement around data access and usage between the manufacturer and the customer, determine the ways each manufacturer can take advantage of the data.

Kobelco is using the data provided by telematics systems in various ways. Burt says the manufacturer can check the data when the customer reports a problem. “For example, if a brand new crane is on a job for six months and there is a rope failure—not that it every happens—we can check the data and assess what could have caused it. Was the crane abused or was there something wrong with the drum or rope?” Burt says. “We do not want to police things, we want to educate our customers.”

Kobelco also uses the data for R&D purposes, by analysing the way the cranes are being used. Burt adds that telematics can be a useful tool for the manufacturer in terms of second hand crane sales. “If the potential buyers are worried about the crane condition and how it was previously operated, we can look at the data and provide peace of mind to the new customer.”

SECURITY RISK

In recent years, there have been many stories of cyber attacks on organisations of all sizes as well as hacking of vehicles. As equipment becomes more connected and in some occasions autonomous, the greater is the attention towards cyber security. Are there any cyber security risks associated with the use of telematics for cranes?

“Any online entity is going to have some level of security risk. However, A1A Software encrypts all login information when someone accesses iCraneTrax and their servers are also routinely audited for security measures,” says Collins.

“In theory if someone can hack into your phone call, then that person can probably hack into this data but we have never heard of such incident. The cellural network is encrypted,” says Burt. He adds that the data is stored in the company’s Japanese servers, so someone would need to hack into Kobelco’s entire system to access the raw data of the crane. “Even if someone hacks into the system, they cannot take control of the crane.”

Klein emphasises that Tadano is working with the latest standards of cyber security in order to provide the best data protection possible.

Liebherr’s Beringer says the manufacturer is making great efforts to protect their systems, both on the customer’s crane and their background systems.

An example of a daily report provided by KCROSS (Kobelco Crane Remote Observation Satellite System).
Sennebogen’s SENTrack DS telematics system, launched in 2016, is offered as an option for all Sennebogen machines. A wide range of data can be obtained through this system, including engine and machine status, location, fault codes and others.
The telematics beacon on Link- Belt cranes. Since 2017, all Link-Belt Cranes are telematics capable.
The user of T-Link can view the crane's location and establish geofencing.
An example of a dashboard on T-Link, Terex’s telematics platform. It comes as standard on all the rough terrain cranes. All data is displayed in real time, with the customer able to view crane configuration, crane status, alarms, crane position and scheduled maintenance alerts.
Sennebogen’s SENTrack DS telematics system, launched in 2016, is offered as an option for all Sennebogen machines. A wide range of data can be obtained through this system, including engine and machine status, location, fault codes and others.
An example of the iCraneTrax dashboared from A1A Software, powered by Link- Belt Pulse.