30 B ULK D ISTRIBUTOR
Asset Management
Where’s my chassis?
A
n unloaded container chassis is up to 10m long and
weighs up to 5,500kg. Yet despite their size, these chassis
still frequently disappear without a trace.
Hamburg-based chassis leasing company UES is now using the
‘Internet of Transport’ to track them down and to assist hirers and
drivers more effectively in the event of a breakdown – made
possible by an affordable tracking system from BPW Innovation Lab.
Mobile phone, glasses, keys to the fl at – people often misplace,
lose or leave behind everyday things; but commercial vehicles
weighing several tonnes? This is part of everyday life for Matthias
Emme, managing director of UES Chassis, one of the leading
container chassis leasing companies. With over 700 vehicles in all
sizes and tonnages, UES covers the entire range of container
transport, from heavy-load to refrigerated transport. This is a fast-
growing market because an increasing number of hauliers are
opting to rely on a mix of their own, leased and hired chassis in
order to react fl exibly to fl uctuating workloads – while keeping
operating expenses predictable.
But as Emme explains, service is a critical success factor: with a
comprehensive service network, replacement vehicles and individual
support packages, UES ensures that the containers can get back on
the road more quickly if the worst comes to the worst.
Flat tyres are quite common, for example, occurring on average
1.3 times a week. Finding the vehicle to provide service has proven
to be particularly time-consuming, as the general lack of drivers has
forced hauliers to hire an increasing number of employees with little
or no knowledge of the German language – which often proves to
be a real problem in the event of a breakdown. UES Chassis now
has the ability to locate the vehicle immediately and guide the
service vehicle to the site without detours or communication
problems.
This is made possible by the ‘Internet of Transport’ and the
‘CargoTracer’ from BPW Innovation Lab: an inconspicuous tracker
the size of a smartphone is mounted to the chassis and transmits its
location data via an innovative, worldwide ultra-narrowband
Hamburg-based leasing specialist UES Chassis uses the BPW CargoTracer to locate its chassis
network developed by IoT supplier Sigfox. Because it consumes very
little power, it is simply screwed to the chassis without any wiring.
The battery lasts up to fi ve years.
This enables the UES service team to determine the location of the
vehicle at the customer’s request, which is also helpful when the
chassis ‘disappear’. This is because drivers, often under time
pressure and stress, park their vehicles outside the agreed parking
spaces at depots or freight centres. Here, they are then often literally
‘misplaced’: the driver, who is already on a new route, can no longer
remember exactly where he parked the vehicle. In the worst-case
scenario, another driver mistakes them for their own and attaches
them to the wrong towing vehicle – or they are simply stolen; a
logistical nightmare for UES Chassis. The hirer is obliged to report
SmartOne Solar
May/June 2019
the loss of the vehicle to the police and authorise them to begin a
search. Now all it takes is one call to the UES service team, which
can immediately locate the chassis with the click of a mouse.
The CargoTracer is so affordable that it not only enables asset
tracking – the tracking of high-value assets – but can also be used
to locate goods carriers and the freight itself and integrate the
information directly into ERP and merchandise management
systems, such as SAP, if required. The Sigfox IoT network, which is
currently being expanded worldwide, also makes sense for UES,
because most hirers travel throughout Europe with their vehicles
– usually between the major northern European ports.
Emme, who contributed to the development of the CargoTracer as
a pilot customer, believes the trend is clearly moving towards
connectivity: “The smarter vehicles become, the more effi ciently we
can reduce the workload for drivers and dispatchers. This is why we
expect to see a growing number of sensors being installed in trailers
and chassis, which will also make predictive maintenance possible.”
For this reason, Emme will continue to contribute ideas from the
fi eld to support the BPW Innovation Lab in its development of new
solutions.
One example of predictive maintenance is BPW’s new ‘BrakePad
Monitor’, a retrofi ttable sensor that, for the fi rst time, gradually
displays brake pad wear in 10 percent increments. This makes it
possible to schedule accurately the service appointment in advance
– for Emme, another interesting step on the path to a smart trailer.
The BPW Innovation Lab offers the CargoTracer via a dedicated
online portal. The BPW subsidiary offers the device for hauliers
under the name ‘TC Track & Trace’ as a low-cost introduction to the
world of telematics, but still fully integrated into the company’s
telematics portal.
The system will be on display at transport logistic trade (Booth 310
in Hall A6).
www.bpw.de
www.cargotracer.de
TM
SOLAR POWERED SATELLITE ASSET TRACKER
The Globalstar SmartOne Solar is a solar-powered, low maintenance, satellite
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By employing the SmartOne Solar, your company can streamline M2M
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VISIT US | TRANSPORT LOGISTIC, HALL A3 STAND 231
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