SUPPLY CHAIN NEWS
KOMTRAX ® provides key key for professional rental management
KOMTRAX ®, Komatsu’ s advanced remote equipment and machine monitoring system, has become an indispensable tool for the management of an extensive fleet of capital equipment operated by Old Lady & Son( OL & S) Plant Hire.
The company, based in KwaZulu-Natal, leases equipment to the construction industry and recently extended its footprint into mining and quarrying. The system offers operations managers and hire operators increased control over their operations by providing easy access to the information they need for daily management of their fleets.“ Wireless, secure, and user-friendly, the web-based application places a wealth of information at the user’ s fingertips so that they can enhance utilisation, minimise downtime, and reduce operating costs,” says Toshi Ohtsuka, Komatsu manager for sales and marketing.
KOMTRAX ® delivers user support that includes parameters like equipment hours, average hourly fuel consumption, idling times, water temperature, and fuel levels. With machine conditioning being essential, the system also provides users with regular updates on routine maintenance needs.
OL & S Plant Hire owner Dave Haines makes extensive use of KOMTRAX ®, to the point where it is now an integral part of the operation:“ As our business is equipment rental, we are concerned with hours— the billable hours we charge our customers for the use of our machines. Maintenance is a non-negotiable issue and we strictly observe the minor and major service procedures notified by KOMTRAX ®. A short-term costsaving gained by skimping on an oil change is nothing compared with the financial consequences of an expensive machine standing idle.”
At OL & S, it provides the data to support three core functions: financial controls; engineering and maintenance; and marketing and costing. It enables the company to help customers optimise the efficiency of hired equipment and keep their costs under control, which has a direct beneficial effect on OL & S’ s business.
In terms of operational costs, diesel consumption is by far his customers’ biggest consideration.“ They may have two identical excavators both working a nine-hour shift, but the operating costs can vary enormously. The first may be used for pipe laying and burn diesel at a rate of 13.4l / hr. The second may be used for bulk earthworks and continually load trucks, which would
40- CEC October 2018 likely consume fuel at a rate of 17.5l / hr. The difference of 4.1l / hr over a month of operations would equate to more than R10 000, which the customer must account for when costing operations,” says Haines.
KOMTRAX ® data enables OL & S to better advise customers on anticipated fuel consumption relevant to their particular jobsite applications, thus improving their competitiveness when bidding for tenders.
The all-important energy-saving report that comes with the company’ s excavator models details actual operational hours as well as inefficiencies denoting idle time, times worked in power or economy mode, and light or heavy load applications. Every month-end, OL & S sends this report to customers for each unit, with advice on how to improve machine utilisation.
Reporting daily fuel consumption based on injector volume, KOMTRAX ® also enables OL & S to advise customers on the possible incidence of fuel theft by comparing fuel burn with volumes dispensed from diesel bowsers.
Furthermore, O & LS practice is to rent out each item of machinery with its own operator. KOMTRAX ® offers the ability to monitor operator performance and habits. This functionality provides accurate productivity and utilisation information and can be used to elevate training for new and existing operators. ••
From left: Jacques van der Sandt, senior operations manager at Komatsu South Africa – Pinetown branch; Dave Haines, owner of Old Lady & Son Plant Hire; and Ravi Naidoo, sales rep at Komatsu South Africa – Pinetown branch.
Komatsu