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The construction sector accounts for a significant amount of CO2 emissions worldwide, and is still far behind in the green transition. With all Volvo machines now available in ABAX Smart Connect, the digitalisation of the industry can accelerate and help reduce climate emissions - using technology that is already installed and ready for use.

CHEAPER SOLUTIONS OVER SUSTAINABLE

A new report conducted by Ramirent* in Sweden shows that cheap alternatives are often chosen in favour of sustainable solutions, even though the cheap alternatives rarely prove to be cost-saving. With the right sustainability measures, which can be easily implemented, climate emissions from the construction industry can be drastically reduced.

TOP FOUR LEADING HEAVY EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURES AVAILABLE

ABAX is a telematics company that has minimised the digital threshold for the construction industry. With ABAX Smart Connect, they have made it easier for fleet owners to be aware of their emissions. 

The top leading manufacturers** such as Catepillar, Hitachi and John Deere are already connected to ABAX Smart Connect. When Volvo now joins, the service will be available for a significant number of machine fleets worldwide. Through ABAX Smart Connect, construction companies receive ongoing status updates on their machines. In practice, this means greater control of unnecessary operating and service costs, and a daily status update on consumption and compilation of CO2 footprints. The technology is already installed in all Volvo machines, and the only thing required to use the digital tool is a connection to ABAX Smart Connect.

Volvo is a significant supplier of machines to the Scandinavian market. The opportunity to be able to connect to technology that is already installed in Volvo's machines will enable major gains for both the environment and costs. We must all take responsibility and take advantage of the development opportunities that exist, not least in an industry with a major impact on society. We want to inspire others in the industry to make a difference and expand their digital services, says Paul Walsh, CTO of ABAX.

According to the Paris Agreement, today's emissions of greenhouse gases will be reduced by 40 % by 2030. Emissions from the construction industry have a direct impact on how all of the individual countries will contribute to the common goal for the EU. A prominent method of improvement is digitisation.

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Further Reading:

• Read more about Service Innovation and Design @ www.fieldservicenews.com/service-innovation-and-design
• Read more about Sustainability on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/automation
• Read more about Volvo CE on Field Service News @ www.fieldservicenews.com/topcon
• Find out more more about Volvo CE @ www.volvoce.com 
• Learn more about ABAX @ www.abax.com
• Follow ABAX on Twitter @ twitter.com/ABAXUK

As field service tools become increasingly Internet based connectivity becomes an ever more significant challenge. We look at how Volvo Construction overcame their connectivity woes...

About Volvo                                                  

Volvo Construction Equipment was established in Great Britain in 1967. A division of the Volvo Group, it has established a reputation for market leading quality equipment and customer support.

A supplier to the mining and construction industries, Volvo provides an extensive range of equipment including wheeled loaders, articulated haulers, excavators, utility equipment and pavers.

The business operates eight customer support centres throughout Great Britain, supplemented by strategically located home-based engineers. Its headquarters are located in Duxford, Cambridgeshire.

The challenge

Volvo Construction Equipment’s team of field engineers travel across the UK each day responding to customer queries – from initial fault diagnosis to servicing and updating equipment. These engineers are largely dependent upon access to internet-based tools, hosted on the company’s network, for diagnosis and configuration purposes. Yet visits can often take place in remote or inaccessible areas of the country with poor mobile signal.

Previously, engineers were provided with a single-network USB dongle that could be plugged into laptops for network access. The limited geographical coverage meant that this had proved hugely unreliable, with engineers often unable to find a strong signal from the network provider.

 

Without access to the internet, engineers were often forced to return to the nearest depot – which could be up to 60 miles away – or in some cases, seek out a local café or restaurant offering free Wi-Fi.

This inability to complete the job on the first visit was also frustrating for customers unable to progress a project due to a broken down machine.

Richard Shelford, IT Operations Manager at Volvo Construction Equipment, said: ‘‘Engineers would often arrive at a job and carry out the initial diagnosis only to find that the network signal was too weak. From a customer-service perspective this was really tricky, as they would be forced to abandon a job and drive off to seek Wi-Fi access somewhere else.”

He added: “This process was proving hugely costly for us in both time and mileage but also for our customer whose downtime costs can run into tens of thousands of pounds.”

The solution

Volvo Construction Equipment was recommended to contact M2M Intelligence to see if they could suggest a more efficient way to operate.

M2M was able to supply a Multinet roaming 3G SIM which enabled field engineers to create a local hotspot with a Wi-Fi router in their van. The M2M-i Multinet SIM enables the router to connect with any available UK network so Volvo engineers are no longer reliant on a single provider’s ability to supply a constant signal in all areas of the country.

These hotspots allow staff to connect and use the online diagnostics virtually wherever they are working.

 

A trial across eight vehicles was tested by senior engineers, with extensive experience of the industry - including first-hand knowledge of some of the challenges that the business was facing. Following a successful trial, the solution was quickly rolled out across the Volvo Field Service team.

The results

Volvo was able to vastly improve its customer service by eliminating wasted site visits and reducing equipment down-time. This has also had a number of additional benefits in regards to productivity, cost savings, employee satisfaction and internal communications.

Productivity increased

M2M’s Multinet roaming SIMs have ensured field engineers are connected virtually anywhere. This has had a major impact on productivity as engineers are now able to increase the average number of campaign updates, including diagnosis or configuration, each day.

Cost savings

The solution has also driven significant cost-savings for the business – both in terms of vehicle expense and staff time. Field engineers no longer have to drive back to the depot or a local restaurant to gain Wi-Fi access – and are operating more efficiently as a result.

Employee satisfaction rose

Increased productivity has removed many of the frustrations experienced by field engineers. Rather than facing obstacles around limited network signal or the associated stresses of having to find a nearby location with access, they can focus on the task in hand. This means delivering a speedier service to customers and getting equipment and projects back up and running as soon as possible.

Better internal communications

The business has also seen an improvement in internal communications. Staff can use internet-enabled video conferencing more frequently to communicate with product specialists and between different depots. This is allowing field engineers to tap into company resources – and quickly.

The company now has plans to continue a phased roll-out across the wider business, including product specialists and sales teams.

‘‘Almost immediately after trialling M2M’s solution, we knew we had to have it!’’ said Richard. ‘‘Our engineers were previously carrying out approximately two campaign updates per day. Using M2M’s solution, they can double that - so to say it’s had a big impact on productivity would be an understatement! To quote one of our own engineers, ‘it’s simply brilliant’.’’

 

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