CONEXPO Cometh: Total Fleet Management Through the Power of Cat Product Link (Video)

If you’re a technology buff (and we have to assume you are because you’re reading the Machine Works blog), we suggest you check out Caterpillar’s revamped Product Link and VisionLink web-based interface package. Being launched at CONEXPO (we just interviewed Cat about it this afternoon), Product Link has been updated using robust hardware, improving communication system coverage and providing more data in an easy-to-use format to professionals who are looking to streamline their operations.

“Our older system, EquipmentManager, was a still a web based tool, but EquipmentManager wasn’t as user friendly and just not as a sexy as Product Link,” explained John Thomas, marketing supervisor for Connected Worksite, talking to Compact Equipment at Cat’s press event at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. “You can literally play with this interface in five or 10 minutes and understand this technology.”

With the right information displayed in ways that are simple to access, Cat Product Link enables equipment managers to make decisions that enhance productivity and reduce owning and operating costs.

The VisionLink web-based user interface lets the manager focus on specific equipment through maps and customizable views. The user can easily locate and zoom in on a single machine, tracking the asset over a specified time period. Through monitoring of idle and working time, managers can reallocate equipment to improve utilization, maximizing their return on investment. Through the use of either satellite or cellular networks, managers can monitor exact equipment locations and key machine parameters.

“Cellular brings a whole different functionality to the system,” says Thomas, noting that cellular is totally new for Cat in 2011. “If you can imagine data traveling through a pipeline — satellite is a pretty small pipe. Cellular is a lot bigger.”

The service team can monitor performance and see what maintenance has been carried out on each piece of equipment. A click-through feature allows the user to contact the Cat dealer on-line for parts or other services when required.

VisionLink automatically generates “to do” checklists for common preventive maintenance procedures. Built-in parts lists for regular procedures speed up service department ordering, while the click-through facility automatically places the order with the local Cat dealer. Also, customers with service agreements can allow the dealer to monitor some or all of their equipment, which enables the dealer to provide proactive responses to problems and to ensure that all preventive maintenance takes place on time.

For managers of fleets with more than just Cat equipment, the new Cat system enables them to monitor all of their machines, regardless of make or model, in one secure web-based application. A Caterpillar and Trimble joint venture company, VirtualSite Solutions, developed VisionLink to efficiently manage mixed equipment fleets.

The system also allows managers to set up site boundaries and security alerts to prevent unauthorized use or movement of equipment. By defining geofence working areas, the customer can set alerts for each machine on site. This provides a warning if a machine is being used without authorization or is being moved out of the permitted area. Alerts can be sent directly to the people who need to see them, through e-mail and text messages, ensuring that action is taken immediately to keep the asset secure.

These are all services that more and more customers are starting to use for their expanding operations.

“We mostly have larger customers using these services today — managing large fleets,” says Thomas. “But because this service is more user-friendly and because there’s so much value in it, we hope to see more contractors turning to Product Link in the near future.”

For more information about Product Link, check out this video. Pretty cool stuff.