JLG connects with new asset management system: JLG targeting rental with connected asset system

Diesel Progress North American Edition, March, 2008 by Dawn M. Geske

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JLG Industries, an Oshkosh Corp. company, has made a direct target of the rental market with a new connected asset management system specifically designed for use by rental companies. Debuting at the ConExpo-Con/Agg show in Las Vegas, Nev., where JLG will also launch the name of the product, the connected asset system is customized for use with JLG's aerial work platforms (AWPs).

Following a year in development, JLG specifically tailored the system to rental, a market the company knows well and said is operationally different than on-highway fleets. JLG realized in order for the rental market to adopt this system, it had to offer a lower-cost unit suited to the specific needs of a rental fleet.

The initial integration of the system will appear worldwide on JLG's 40 ft. and larger boomed AWPs with an anticipated availability of summer 2008. This would include JLG's 400, 600, 700, 800, 12 and 13 series telescopic and articulating boom lifts, excluding the 150HAX model. These machines have platform heights that range from 40 to 135 ft. and are powered by a mix of GM Vortec supplied by Power Solutions Inc., Perkins and Deutz gasoline, diesel and dual-fuel engines rated 49 to 87 hp.

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Currently, the connected asset system is only compatible with gasoline or diesel-powered AWPs, based on the integration with the engine control unit and machine's CANbus. But, JLG said, the connected asset system has scheduled upgrades and yearly rollouts and will eventually be available on all JLG-manufactured equipment.

JLG has selected MasterTrak, Wood Dale, Ill., as the hardware supplier of the system, which includes a telematics control unit (TCU), a gateway box and an antenna. The TCU is mounted near the control box of the engine, either behind or under the engine cover. The antenna is wired into the CANbus, forming the wireless two-way communication link from the machine to the user. Satellites and cellular towers are used to transport the data to be displayed on a customer's operating system or alert a user via phone, e-mail or page.

Unlike conventional connected asset systems that only monitor hours of use and location, the JLG asset system looks at real-time algorithm data to allow on-demand diagnostics and troubleshooting of a machine's powertrain or drivetrain components. By monitoring real data, JLG said, it can look at trends and use percentages to see, for example, how clogged an air filter is or the average life left in the machine's battery. This allows rental companies to recognize a problem before it becomes a failure, increasing equipment uptime, said JLG.

For the rental market, this could provide a jump on maintenance, as technicians would be able to diagnose what was wrong with a machine before physically seeing it. Technicians would then be able to appear on-site with the required replacement parts which, JLG said, would save the time and cost of a second trip to the work site.

Besides diagnostics, the connected asset system provides GPS tracking to identify and locate machines that have been pulled off rent, used beyond the rental contract, or to preserve pre-lien rights. Through the JLG user interface, various levels of maps can lead a user to the exact location of a piece of equipment or provide an overhead view of an entire fleet of rented machines.

With the geo-fencing feature, rental companies can be alerted when a machine is moved off site or over the state line. This is helpful in the prevention of theft, as is bread crumbing, which displays where a machine is and where it has been. Rental companies will also benefit from the connected asset system's capability to put the machine into a permanent creep mode to deter theft and unauthorized use. If bills aren't paid and machines are used beyond terms, the capability to remotely slow the unit could prove to be effective.

Also important to the connected asset system is JLG's ability to help technicians decipher machine faults. By compiling years of data, JLG has put together a tree of information, guiding users to the most probable solution to the determined failure--with suggestions and parts for fixing it. This feature of the system is like having a mechanic riding along with the machine at all times, JLG said.

JLG will also offer the connected asset system as a retrofit kit for aftermarket installation on AWP models three years old and newer. It will be installable on non-JLG equipment, with limited features, in the near future. Users are also able to add additional features to the connected asset system as their needs and business changes.

To date, JLG has 30 U.S. AWPs installed and 70 European AWPs scheduled to be installed with the connected asset system. JLG also said it anticipates utilizing the connected asset system on its telehandler line as well as integrating additional phases of the technology into the customer's ERP or backend system. Another feature slated for future release is the opportunity to have automatic online parts ordering.