Excavator
Excavator tracking shows where every machine is and what it is doing in real time. Construction companies allocate their excavators to sites more precisely, find stolen machines and detect wear early.
Excavator at a glance
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Verified projects featuring Excavator
Optimised machine tracking with industrial IoT
The world's largest machines enhanced with 5G monitoring
Asset tracking on the construction site
Excavator tracking: locate, utilise and protect your machines
At Schielicke Bau, DeDeNet’s tracking units act as middleware: besides the location, they record machine hours and telemetry data via the CAN bus, while BLE and RFID collect data with little energy and 5G speeds up transmission. 1NCE uses the General Track NaBi tracker, which locates via GPS, measures ambient temperature and detects movement. It transmits via NB-IoT and switches to 2G to 5G or LTE-M when necessary. On giant mining excavators, IO-Link sensors supply data on machine condition and wear, Round Solutions’ rugged 5G IO-Gate transmits it via MQTT, and device management runs on AWS IoT Core.
The examples come from construction and mining. Schielicke Bau from Beelitz uses DeDeNet to manage more than 100 vehicles, including excavators ranging from 900-kilo mini excavators to 36-tonne machines, and places digital geofences around its projects. Machine deployment is now coordinated on the basis of data. For a Hamburg construction company, 1NCE developed maintenance-free tracking to protect against theft. With Round Solutions, L&H Industrial monitors wear on the undercarriages of its giant excavators, which an IP camera also documents. In episode #125, Schielicke Bau and DeDeNet share their experience.
Podcast episodes featuring Excavator
Pioneers in the construction industry: IoT-controlled fleet management
IIoT in heavy industry: mining, oil, gas, iron and steel - L&H Industrial sets new standards with 5G monitoring, tracking and IoT core
Mobile solutions for wind farm operators and construction vehicle theft prevention — IoT SIM cards, M2M connectivity, VPN, NB-IoT, LTE-M and 5G.
Excavator tracking: frequently asked questions
How does tracking protect against construction equipment theft?
A concealed tracking unit makes a stolen machine traceable and raises an alarm as soon as it leaves the site. In the 1NCE solution, the unit sits in a hidden position inside the machine and regularly sends its GPS position via cellular network to a cloud platform. If a stolen machine leaves the NB-IoT coverage area, the device continues transmitting via other standards such as LTE-M or 2G to 5G.
How does mining excavator monitoring work?
A mining excavator can be monitored with rugged plug-and-play devices that transmit sensor and camera data wirelessly. L&H Industrial uses Round Solutions’ 5G IO-Gate in an IP67 housing on the undercarriages of its giant mining excavators. IO-Link sensors supply data on condition and wear, and an IP camera documents it. This also opens up a new business model for L&H: leasing the machines.
How does construction fleet tracking improve excavator utilisation?
Construction fleet tracking improves utilisation by showing the location and operating hours of every excavator. At Schielicke Bau, DeDeNet’s tracking units record machine hours and telemetry data via the CAN bus in addition to the location. Previously, the GPS data was only available as lists; today the company sees position and operating status in real time. This helps avoid a 36-tonne excavator working only one hour a day.
How does IoT support excavator wear monitoring?
IoT reveals wear on an excavator before it turns into damage and downtime. L&H Industrial uses IO-Link sensors and an IP camera to monitor wear on its giant mining excavators, with predictive maintenance planned for the medium term. At Schielicke Bau, DeDeNet’s solution prepares machine data so that it shows not only the current condition of the machines but also enables predictive maintenance.
More assets in “Machinery and Equipment”
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Electric motor
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Packaging machine
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Refrigeration system
A refrigeration monitoring system makes service plannable: temperatures, refrigerant circuit pressures, compressor status and energy consumption flow into a platform in real time. Operators and service partners detect faults early, avoid unnecessary site visits and reduce excess consumption.
Air conditioning system
Commercial air conditioning systems in offices, retail branches and data centres can be monitored remotely with IoT. Operators see energy consumption, temperatures and faults in one place, detect failing compressors or refrigerant shortages early and plan service visits precisely.
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