Proper maintenance and service is critical to long-term equipment productivity. Telematics in today’s machinery, such as Takeuchi Fleet Management (TFM), makes tracking and managing your machinery easier than ever.

“Telematics gives you the ability to know where your machine is in terms of location and hours at all times by computer and/or smartphone, without the need to rely on old ways of doing things such as having someone phone in the information,” said Mark Tadlock, Product Support Sales Representative (PSSR) at Kirby-Smith Machinery Inc.’s (KSM) Kansas City, Kan., branch. “Customers use TFM to set alerts that let them know when a machine is almost due for routine service, track production time for billing purposes, and more. Everyone who uses equipment should be using telematics to keep track of it.”

Tadlock emphasized that TFM and other telematics systems can be good anti-theft tools. They offer a key feature known as geofencing that lets users set up a virtual perimeter around a machine. If the machine leaves that perimeter at any time, an alert is sent to the machine owner and/or the designated representative and Tadlock.

“If a thief knows a machine can be monitored remotely, they are more likely to not take the chance of stealing it,” said Tadlock. “If they do, and we get the alert, that allows us to notify law enforcement and work with it to track the machine to wherever the thief took it. We have recovered several machines over the years thanks to TFM and other telematics systems.”

Simple and effective

Setting up the geofence in TFM is relatively simple, according to Tadlock. The first step is signing up for a TFM account through Takeuchi’s website (www.takeuchi-us.com). Once that’s done and your account is activated, you can register your machine with its serial number. The machine’s location will show up on your device’s screen.

“Using your fingers, you can draw the geofence around it to whatever size you need,” explained Tadlock. “Usually, it’s for the particular job site you are on. It’s a very simple process but very effective. If there is any question on using telematics, setting up TFM or another system, or how to more effectively use it as a fleet management tool, I encourage customers to contact myself or their local PSSR to learn more.