Making full use of forklift telematics involves going beyond the basics and starting to integrate the analysis provided through integration with other systems. Users will benefit by combining telematics data from forklifts with operational data or real-time location information.
Forklift telematics technology shines by turning forklifts into connected assets. The core functions of these solutions include impact monitoring and providing digital records of safety accidents. These systems digitize safety checklists rather than forcing operators and supervisors to fiddle with paper records.
In short, forklift telematics solutions have become popular because they digitize key aspects of forklift use.
However, as far as it is concerned, telematics technology does not have all the necessary integrity to optimize the fleet operation environment, such as cross comparison with the data of warehouse management system (WMS) or human resources system or labor management system (LMS).
Now, suppliers of telematics and fleet software are using application programming interfaces (APIs) and higher-level business intelligence tools to combine telemetry data with other data sources for analysis. According to telematics technology providers, these solution suites are increasingly connected to other systems and provide deeper operational insight through the use of business intelligence (BI) and analysis tools, with the ultimate goal of providing a safer and more efficient fleet.
Telematics functions such as digital safety checklists remain valuable, but integration and analysis are seen as an important part of gaining additional value from telematics and related fleet software.
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API (Application Programming Interface) can automatically import data from systems such as human resources solutions, so as to simplify the induction process of new operators.
"Functions such as impact monitoring, access control and digital OSHA security checklists have become quite important now. If you don't provide these functions, you can't provide all the solutions that operators are interested in," said John Rosenberger, technical director of iwarehouse gateway and global telematics at Raymond.
Operator assistance technology
Rosenberger explained that today, telematics and fleet software can be combined with other systems such as real-time location services (RTLS) to alert operators to hazards and keep them in the appropriate operating area. For example, Raymond's iwarehouse suite uses RTLS to automatically alert the operator if the forklift enters an area that is divided into restricted areas or height restrictions due to high-altitude obstacles such as elevated sidewalks or crane structures.
Rosenberger said that this "operator assistance" function is similar to the technology on many consumer cars and forklifts. They use camera and sensor technology to remind drivers of possible dangers. For the forklift, it may be another vehicle in the driver's blind spot, while in the field of forklift operation, it may be a reminder to pedestrians walking in the middle of the warehouse aisle, or a reminder to the operator to drive in the restricted area designated by the system.
Rosenberger said: "it's helpful for operators to understand their service environment in real time." People are still interested in traditional telematics data processing, but there is also a growing demand to support what we call operator assistance. "
By combining real-time location data with telematics, users can define areas that can improve the safety of forklift operators and pedestrians.
Raymond's telematics suite supports configurable areas that either keep the operator away from areas that pose a hazard or within the scope of a designated route. Rosenberg said that due to the development of e-commerce, this type of function will become more and more attractive. Rosenberger said: "e-commerce really promotes the requirements and further proliferation of operator assistance functions to help remind operators because all temporary workers and new operators enter these facilities."
He believes that operator assistance involves different enabling technologies. The iwarehouse RTLS function uses a series of fixed anchors and labels installed on movable objects - such as Raymond forklifts, pedestrians or other assets - to determine the position of objects within plus or minus 3 feet. Another feature of the solution suite, known as iwarehouse objectsense, is the use of sensors mounted on forklifts to warn operators of unexpected hazards. If the object is too close, the detection system can even slow down the forklift to a complete stop. In addition to helping avoid accidents at this moment, you can also analyze data from functions such as RTLS or objectsense in iwarehouse to identify areas where you need to improve the process. "You can't optimize what you don't measure because you don't have a measure or basis," he said "That's why all data can enter an integrated system, because I may want to provide this information to the facility planning team or for the improvement of lean production. Integration can help in many ways. For example, if the telematics system is integrated with the human resources system that keeps training records and RTLS, the operator can understand not only how many impacts or accidents have occurred, but also it The location where they took place, the forklifts and operators involved, and access the training records to see if the operators were fully trained. "
This integration may indicate the need for further training, or conversely, the problem has nothing to do with training or speed, but may require a reassessment of the layout or workflow of an area.
Rosenberger added that by combining telematics and RTLS with labor management data, an enterprise can dynamically understand the time required for tasks and better grasp the cost of services. For example, if a region's inventory is reallocated, the integration between telematics, RTLS and labor standards in LMS or WMS can be used to automatically measure how much time a task such as order picking takes after reallocation without time research. We believe that it is best to have self-adjusting labor standards, and the service cost is accurately known without the cost of time research. Through integration, during normal operation, you can use the data generated by your system to update labor standards. “
Make full use of business intelligence
Collin rush, director of InfoLink customer support at crown, said that as more technologies such as automation, collision avoidance and real-time positioning options become part of telematics, more data can be analyzed for improvement, which is the ultimate goal of users.
"What customers want is the data generated by these newer technologies. They want to know whether the data generated by these technologies can make operations more effective or safer," rush said
For users of the InfoLink telematics solution of Cologne, there are three main requirements. Rush believes that it supports API based integration into other systems to obtain a more comprehensive trend; Better business intelligence and analytical skills; And help customize reports and key performance indicators (KPIs).
In some cases, API based integration can save users time. For example, API based integration between InfoLink and human resources systems can reduce the administrative burden of new operator entry, because data from human resources systems can be automatically entered into telematics systems.
Rush said that integration can also bring together different data sources to provide a more comprehensive fleet utilization and productivity situation. For example, a remote information processing customer of crown is using its quickpick remote order picking technology and WMS, and can use the API to introduce these InfoLink data sources into their database to analyze the proportion of time that the operator uses the remote order picking function (which allows the operator to keep walking when pushing the forklift wirelessly to the next task location for faster picking) and the traditional manual order picking. Rush said that this integration and related reports help to determine and monitor the optimal percentage of time for operators to use remote order picking to achieve the target picking rate.
Rush said that in essence, API realizes the data integration and business intelligence of telematics technology, thus providing a more complete picture, because you can analyze forklift related data, such as driving time and lifting time, according to the operation data from WMS and other systems. He said:
"Remote sensing technology tells you what's going on on the forklift, and the customer's WMS tells them what's going on from a picking perspective - how many products they're shipping. More advanced users may want to link these data sources and create key performance indicators to help them improve productivity. Taking full advantage of telematics and fleet software can be daunting, especially when it comes to reporting and business intelligence Part of Lang's focus is to help InfoLink users create custom reports and dashboards. "
The integration between forklift telematics solutions and systems including WMS can provide a more comprehensive understanding of fleet utilization and productivity.
For example, a user wants to closely track when each operator drives and lifts at the same time (called "mixing"), because this poses a safety hazard in some applications. Cologne helped the user create a mixed time report in the format and frequency he wanted. "Sometimes users just want to get a KPI that they don't have to add to security or take advantage of the bucket, so we help them create it in the format and frequency they want to drive better decisions," rush said.
In addition to helping create reports, Cologne also provides users with "performance services", including regular reviews, coaching courses or monthly dashboards to show customers how to make more effective use of the system. Rush explained that consulting services for these telematics technologies are usually provided 90 days after starting using the solution.
"When customers buy telematics solutions, they may not be ready to take full advantage of all the data they can capture and integrate, especially on day one. These services are designed to help all users, including operators and managers, maintain interaction with the system and guide them to use it for greater success," rush said
Analysis is valuable, but it is important to recognize that basic telematics and fleet reporting can greatly improve compliance with safety regulations and help improve safety, which should remain a focus. Tom Ryder pointed out that TFs is the chief business officer of onpoint group and a brand independent turnkey fleet management service provider.
Ryder said that as part of its services, TFs uses telematics to integrate data directly into its proprietary fleet management software. Ryder recommends that core telematics functions such as access control, security checklists, impact management and operator monitoring remain the right starting point for most facilities - especially for large, multi shift fleets, although the analysis can follow these "four" functions. He said:
"When using all-round technologies such as labor management, preventive maintenance scheduling, utilization planning, hourly cost, indoor / outdoor vehicle tracking, route density, material flow, operation monitoring and task selection, we can unlock a large amount of data and bring exponential value to high-speed facilities. With the help of fleet management software, these normative analyses can provide insight and promote operators' performance improvement and incentive plans to achieve more safety , more productive facilities, such as the case of moving by man hours. "
Ryder suggested that safety improvements should remain the main focus of managing the forklift fleet. "The security data is worrying," he said. "One person is killed in forklift related accidents every three days, and 25% of industrial accidents occur in the loading and unloading area. Telematics can quickly promote compliance and safety improvements, and we suggest that the team start there. Then, cost and productivity indicators can become additional leverage and investment after initial victory."
Ryder said that part of the value of outsourcing fleet management arrangements is that companies can focus on operations rather than learning how to deploy and make full use of telematics and fleet software. "That's why we have established a complete team to design, implement and manage telematics solutions as an add-on service and integrate with our fleet management solutions," he said.
Security driven by artificial intelligence
Mark Stanton, general manager of supply chain solutions of powerfleet, believes that although the digitization of access control (who is authorized and trained to operate forklifts and which operators use specific forklifts) is a mature telematics function, covid-19 pandemic pays attention to it again for the reason of "supervision chain". Since access control generates a digital record of who operates each forklift and when, the record supports contact tracking when the operator signs up with covid, and the operator wants to find out who uses the same equipment. "It's not necessarily the most advanced feature we offer, but having this digital chain of custody on the device to help track contacts is an additional benefit of the technology, and it's something some customers use during the pandemic," he said
Stanton agrees that fleet analysis is a fast-growing area and that some users of powerfleet solutions use analysis to help understand the link between safety and productivity or throughput. By 2021, many of our customers have been focused on really understanding their utilization and productivity, and then striking a balance between security and safety, "Stanton said. "We help them identify the peak opportunities to continue to improve productivity without compromising safety.
Stanton added that integrating fleet telematics data and fleet analysis with WMS or enterprise resource planning (ERP) data is the best way to solve problems such as whether the composition of the fleet meets the tasks and work requirements from the business system. "Integration with back-end business systems provides an overall picture of whether I have the right type of machines available, not just in terms of the number of machines, but in the right area at the right time. Large enterprise customers of powerfleet solutions often use system KPIs to compare the operation of different sites. "We provide a set of indicators to clearly understand the operational characteristics of each site and allow enterprises to compare their best sites with poorly performing sites to see if there are websites with standard operating procedures that work well in their best sites and can be applied to other websites."
Camera information provided to AI based software has the potential to alert the operator to undetected or unnoticed hazards
Stanton said that overall, telematics and fleet software are expected to continue to make progress in Bi and analysis, as well as sensor and operator assistance technologies.
Powerfleet has been testing on-board camera technology, which uses artificial intelligence to quickly detect and assess hazards and warn operators in time to avoid accidents. This AI based camera technology can be used as another pair of eyes and risk awareness of operators to help avoid collisions with other forklifts and walkers.
The same technology can interact with forklifts and apply brakes when needed as a last resort, although its purpose is to assist busy operators rather than control forklifts. "We are trying to provide them with more information so that they can actually see more information and make better decisions in a timely manner," he said
