Trailers and plant: they're not trucks, but they're still worth tracking

The latest asset location systems combine sophisticated tracking and recovery with valuable management and utilisation tools. Sharon Clancy reports. MLog Magazine, 10th June 2010

At first glance, tracking trailers and construction plant might appear to be worlds apart. After all, trailers are regularly used on the highway and travel thousands of miles year, while plant spends much of its time in one place – either in a depot or on site.

What they have in common, however – apart from the fact that they are not vehicles as such – is that both have become targets for companies under financial pressures to manage their assets more effectively.

Using an asset tracking system obviously adds cost to the operation in terms of capital and servicing requirements, so the return-on-investment case has to be convincing.

Traditionally, operators tracking both plant and trailers have fallen into two camps: those who want an inexpensive solution that allows them to locate their assets periodically; and those who have high- value consignments or assets that are particularly attractive to thieves, and therefore need constant monitoring, and/or the ability to trace them if they should be stolen.

Businesses in the second group tend to be interested more in theft-prevention and asset-recovery systems than in simple operational tools. However, suppliers report that once they make the investment in asset tracking, managers mow want to extract maximum value from it, whatever their primary objective. So plant operators, for example, are also opting for systems that allow them to monitor hours-of-use to plan service schedules better.

Asset under-utilisation can be significant. 'The figure can be as high as 15 per cent,' says Tim Steer, managing director of trailer tracking specialist Axscend, 'and it is compounded by the administrative costs of keeping tabs on trailers, especially in a multi-depot fleet.'

When addressing businesses typically operating two or three trailers for every tractor unit, the tracking companies are now focusing minds on the benefits of independent trailer tracking – in other words, placing equipment on each trailer to track it separately from the motive units that pull it. 'Telematics is used to drive down fleet expenditure,' says John and Wisdom, sales and marketing director for Cybit. 'Operators have indicated that visibility of trailer assets will enable them to realise additional layers of cost management opportunities.' In recognition of this trend, Cybit has just launched a trailer tracking module for its Fleetstar telematics solution.

Neither trailers nor plant items necessarily move on a predictable basis, so a key requirement for any tracking system is that it must alert managers when something unplanned or unexpected happens. This something can as simple as entering or leaving a geofenced area, or unauthorised movement from a predefined zone, or a rear door opening, for example.

Easier fleet management

Simply knowing where remote assets are removes many of the administrative hurdles for managers.

'Simply keeping tabs on the whereabouts of short-term hire trailers can be time-consuming,' adds Steer. 'There is also more pressure to demonstrate the fleet is legally compliant in terms of roadworthiness. Trailer tracking systems allow you to locate trailers due for service and ensure it is done on time.'

Power to the asset

Powering a tracking system on a trailer or plant item poses different demands from doing the same thing on a road vehicle. There's no guaranteed power feed from a tractor unit engine to a trailer; and when a plant item is stolen, in many cases it is simply loaded it on to another vehicle; no ignition is turned on. So an independent power supply to the tracking unit is essential for tracking stolen assets. Every position fix and every communication message drains power, but the issue of short battery life has been overcome, thanks to hybrid battery technology and the smart power management systems incorporated in the latest tracking devices.

Devices will now, for example, send an alert when battery power falls below a given level, and the devices can be configured to 'wake up' to report in at predetermined intervals, or when an event such as door opening or movement occurs, reducing demand on the battery. Axscend claims a life of ten years for the battery in its Data Collection Unit. Steer points out that this is based on de-rating the available power by 20 per cent and then assuming the device will spend half its life at the sort of extreme temperatures that shorten battery life.

Some trailer tracking devices are designed to get a power boost whenever the trailer is hooked up to a tractor unit. Some take a feed from the electronic braking system (EBS), the electronic control unit now fitted to most trailers, while others get a trickle feed via the electrical susie connector.

New developments

Cybit's trailer reporting suite measures trailer utilisation (hours run) and provides opportunities for fleet reduction. Options include motion sensors and monitoring of door openings, plus temperature monitoring for trailers on chilled and frozen food distribution. Power is supplied both from the vehicle engine (via the susie coupling) when connected, and by stand- alone battery power. When coupled, data is collated from the trailer every 20 seconds for the precise measurement of hours used and distances travelled. Configurable location-based reporting is available when the trailer is parked. One report provides live visibility of trailer hours and ancillary equipment monitoring.

Trailer tracking pioneer Axscend's new-generation Trailermaster tracking system (see m.logistics, February-March) comes in two versions – the battery-powered Lite, and the Plus, which is plugged in
'One of the biggest headaches for many companies is being aware of where all their trailers are,' points out Richard Harris, who heads vehicle tracking company AutoAlert. 'When a trailer is dropped off at a depot and a replacement is picked up, a manager can end up with trailers all over the place, and no reliable way of knowing which ones are where.'
the trailer's EBS electronic braking control ECU. Hooking into the EBS system means that Trailermaster can capture information on trailer weight, plus odometer readings and events such as activation of the braking roll-stability program.

As standard, data is sent via GSM/GPRS, but the inclusion of a 433MHz transceiver provides the facility to download data over a local radio-frequency network whenever the trailer enters or leaves a depot. The transceiver can also accept data from external sensors, such as door status and tyre pressures.

Portable trackers

Sometime operators need a temporary tracking solution – to use with a hired trailer or piece of equipment, for example. 'Consignors may lease or buy their own trailers and then contract the haulage to a third-party supplier', points out AutoAlert's Harris. 'Once a trailer is detached from the tractor unit, there is often no method of locating the goods.

'A portable device can be easily swapped between vehicles or any other asset you want to monitor. Battery power avoids complicated installation.'

With the Auto Alert system, the charged portable unit is placed in the asset, and you can poll the unit whenever a location update is needed by logging on to Auto Alerts control centre. 'The unit is small, so could be used with a solar panel to recharge batteries, and it can be configured to wake up if the vehicle enters and/or leaves a specific area like the London Congestion Charging Zone.' Costs are £5 per month for polling, and can be even cheaper if you opt to communicate with the device over the GSM cell phone network, using standard text messaging.

Stolen asset recovery systems

Some field service organisations (utilities, for example) need to track not just mobile workers such as engineers, but also the plant used by other parts of their operation.

The sheer anonymity of most items of plant seems to attract thieves, and a lot of it, of course, is left overnight on sites, which have varying levels of security. So preventing theft of equipment and stolen asset recovery are both key priorities for plant operators.

The pay-as-you-go price plans now available from several tracking specialists could help boost interest in plant and trailer tracking systems by reducing up-front investment. 'Plant operators are looking for flexibility and a rugged tracking unit,' says Andy Kirk, sales and marketing director for Quartix. 'With our Pay As You Go system they rent the unit for just as long as it's required – so they have total flexibility.'

Kirk points out that given the conditions in which plant often operates, the robustness of the unit is especially important. 'All types of equipment have the Quartix unit installed, from vibrating road rollers and diggers to items such as generators. The unit is extremely popular for these types of application as it's capable of withstanding harsh environments.'
Quartix, which develops its own technology in the UK, has recently added a function to the plant device that shows the number of hours an item of equipment has run and whether it has operated for longer than its paid-for hire period.

GPS alternative

'It is difficult to design an integral anti-theft measure into any fleet management system that relies on GPS satellites for location data,' says Ian Platt, managing director of vehicle tracking specialist Automotion. 'There are increasing reports of determined thieves using GPS jammers to disrupt the communication between the vehicle black box and the satellite.'

He concedes that newer GPS systems are smaller and have integral aerials, so can be more covertly placed on the vehicle. 'However, the unit is still relying on a clear view of the sky to receive the location data from the satellite. If it is inside a container or building, it won't receive the signal.' Consequently some of the most popular plant tracking systems use RF signals for transmitting location. Automotion's own Sure-track MT2 is a covert, battery- powered tracking system that combines GSM mobile phone network technology with radio beacon transmitters, and includes motion and tamper sensors.

In place of a GPS satellite-based system, it determine locations by using the mobile phone network and cell-phone ID. The unit knows which mobile phone mast is closest to the unit, and sends the data back over an RF network. It incorporates an on-board movement sensor, which makes it activate its beacon and raise an alert should it be moved or tampered with without permission.

Sure-track operates its own team of vehicle recoverers, whose vehicles are equipped with RF detectors to home in on the radio beacon that the Sure-track MT2 device emits when it has been activated.

Battery life is claimed to be three years on standard configuration. The unit is programmed to wake up and report in at predetermined intervals. 'This makes it virtually undetectable, unlike tracking systems that are broadcasting a signal almost continuously,' Platt says. Tracker, of course, began as a stolen vehicle recovery specialist, and the UK's 52 police forces have vehicles equipped with receivers that can home in any signal transmitted by any vehicle or mobile asset equipped with a Tracker system.

However, operators now want more than a pure stolen asset recovery systems, according to technical director John Sharpe. 'They also want a solution that helps them manage their plant fleets better. So we have combined the Tracker stolen vehicle recovery technology with fleet tracking capabilities.' The composite system combines GPS-GSM technology with established VHF radio technology. 'Operators can use GSM to send and receive data and GPS for location. However, should thieves attempt to jam the location signal, the unit will automatically switch to VHF.'

The system reports information about the usage of plant (engine running hours, for instance) in real time, and allows owners to set a location radius within which the plant can move freely, alerting them if it is moved outside this area. The system will even inform owners when servicing of equipment is due.

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