This article first appeared in the The hidden power of Volvo Productivity Services – Quarry (quarrymagazine.com)
More visibility brings insight, additional opportunities for growth and improvement, and new capabilities to manage operations and proactively enhance site safety and efficiency.
In discussions between contractors and heavy equipment manufacturers, the focus often centres on cutting-edge machine technologies to enhance efficiency and safety on job sites. However, amidst the excitement over new machinery, the critical role of supporting services in optimising machine performance can sometimes be overlooked.
While high-quality machines lay the foundation, coupling them with value-added services creates a holistic solution that gives businesses a competitive edge.
In a discussion with Andrew Minty, CJD Equipment’s Productivity Services Manager, Andrew states that “It’s not a one size fits all when it comes to productivity services, from understanding your business, your fleet, the direction of where you want to take your business and how to improve that, we can then assist in putting a plan in place to get your business there.”
“It’s important to understand the foundation of your business and equipment and its needs and benefits.”
Volvo Construction Equipment advocates the synergy of the right services with machines to deliver the best solutions. Their new services are aimed at facilitating work completion and accelerating it, reducing costs, and maximising uptime.
Connected Maps
Streamlining transport operations is crucial for cutting travel times, minimising material mixing and reducing fuel consumption and emissions. The connected map provides a real-time digital mapping of all the site’s machines, vehicles, and personnel, allowing for enhanced visibility and informed decision-making. This service boosts productivity and improves safety by identifying bottlenecks and optimising traffic flow.
With Connected Map, all machines and vehicles can see each other, and you can see what the site looks like from a computer office. Connected Maps Office Portal provides a visual overview of all machines, operators, and temporary visitors on site and allows site managers to react to the prevailing site conditions. Site managers can introduce measures such as one-way traffic or restricted zones and communicate these changes to all users instantly, helping to improve awareness, reduce accidents and increase productivity.
“Connected Maps gives insight into all the machines and your overall site view. It can be tailored to your overall needs, what you require that is visible on your site,” Andrew explains, “If your focus is on reducing accidents on site, or the productivity of your equipment, looking to improve operations, or you’re looking to replace older machinery, Connected Maps helps understand the losses and gains in your site and where to improve efficiency.”
Services Volvo Site Solutions
Performance Indicator
For detailed insights into production processes, Performance Indicator utilises on-board weighing and machine data to deliver performance metrics in real-time. With customisable dashboards, users can monitor production, fuel efficiency, and machine cycles, empowering them to make informed decisions to improve operational efficiency.
“Performance indicator creates graphs, information and data to be analysed; this can be shared with operators, site managers or CEOs to understand where your losses and gains are. CJD Equipment can come in and help you understand what this data means and give suggestions based on the data to improve your operations,” says Andrew.
With Performance Indicator, site managers can visualise their operations with clear, easy-to-create dashboards, assess whether production is on track and be forewarned of any production or operational issues you can take quick and appropriate action if needed. Performance indicators take the guesswork out of observing operation performance metrics so site managers can make better decisions to improve efficiency and productivity.
Speed and location are obtained from the machine’s Connected Map. Production data is captured automatically for Volvo machines with Volvo Co-Pilot and On-Board Weighing.
“Performance Indicator can also highlight if your team needs Volvo’s eco-operator training, so it can highlight what needs to be reverse-engineered to ensure your site runs as efficiently and productively as possible. This tool will enhance features of the Volvo product that you may already have, but your operators may not know about,” Andrew explains.
Task Manager
Designed for overseeing larger-scale projects, Task Manager provides visualisation tools to track project progress and manage tasks efficiently. Offering real-time updates accessible from any device, anywhere, Task Manager enables effective planning, ensuring timely completion of tasks and coordination among multiple stakeholders.
“Task Manager is another insight program that can be tailored towards the three tiers of operation a site can have – operators, site managers, and CEOs/owners of the business.”
“Task Manager can track the materials and efficiencies and allows for targets to be present for people involved in the whole productivity services overview, including Connected Map. Task Manager allows you to set targets and goals, which could be anything from production, fuel or utilisation of the machine,” says Andrew.
This tool aids site managers in planning, providing foresight into project timelines to determine if they’re on schedule or facing delays. Given the interdependence of tasks on a job site, effective planning is paramount, especially when managing numerous machines and coordinating multiple companies on the same project. Task manager proves invaluable for this user demographic, offering compatibility with machines of any brand. While operators using Volvo machines may benefit from a more streamlined experience, those utilising other brands can access it via mobile phones.
Connected Load Out
“Connected Load Out is tailored for road transport operations and gives insight into how you can meet targets for your customers that require materials to be delivered on time, reduce downtimes and idling, and complement your sales techniques by capturing data you wouldn’t have previously.
“Both the loader and the truck on site can be assured that the correct material and weight of the material is being moved, increasing efficiency.”
This service revolutionises the efficiency of material loading processes, facilitating seamless communication between loaders, site offices and truck drivers. By allowing truck drivers to place orders via a mobile app and coordinate loading operations, Connected Load Out optimises workflow, reduces downtime and enhances overall site organisation.
These innovative services represent Volvo’s commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions to optimise business operations. Complementing existing services like Site Simulation and Active Care empowers businesses to enhance productivity, efficiency, and safety.
Contact your local CJD Equipment branch to explore how Volvo’s services can transform your business operations and drive profitability.
