Progress on telematics standard

The new construction equipment telematics standard from the US Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and Association of Equipment Management Professionals (AEMP) has added key features to facilitate data gathering, together with a test database and manufacturer verification system.

The AEM/AEMP standard is planned to enable equipment users to gather more OEM equipment data into their preferred business or fleet management software. The idea is to provide easier access, improved ability to manage and analyse information across fleets, and to help save time and money on the job site or within operations.

The standard is currently going through the approval process with ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, to be accepted as a global standard.

The ISO review and drafting process to date for the AEM/AEMP standard has resulted in several key changes, including more frequent data polling; more data flexibility; better security; faster load times; more options for customers’ integrators.

The unit of measurement has also been standardised to metric; more data will be available per customer requests; and a new test database and system verification programme is also in development.

In addition, AEM said it would offer a test database that allows third parties, software developers and major fleet owner developers to verify that their business systems are functioning correctly to pull in their desired information. It said the test database would help third parties to more efficiently create new reporting systems by minimising the need to contact multiple manufacturers directly.

And, AEMP said it would offer a program for OEMs and other telematics providers to verify that their feeds are functioning correctly, that each value is flowing into the correct data field. It said the verification programme would help end users be assured they will be able to access the data in the new standard format.

The AEM and AEMP said the two test programs would be designed to work together, as the two organisations work together to provide systematic checks to allow the industry to smoothly address the next generation of efficiency and co-ordination through mixed fleet data collection and management.

Nick Bollweg, engineering manager for WorkSight/ForestSight at Deere & Co, and liaison between the ISO working group and AEM/AEMP telematics committee, said, “ISO acceptance also provides a global governance and maintenance process that can refresh the standard as technology changes or end-users request new data.

“This allows the standard to remain responsive to user needs and helps reap maximum efficiencies and productivity from the machines.”

And Tim Truex, CEM, Kokosing Construction Company and AEMP technology committee chairman, added, “This ISO standard gives fleet intensive companies confidence the format of the data being gathered from multiple OEMs conforms to an international standard, which in turn eases the implementation process to utilise the telematics data in making better informed business decisions.”