By Matthew Treanor
Fear of an Uber-style takeover of construction is driving Caterpillar and Uptakes IoT transformation.
If youre in the construction industry in the Middle East, youve probably caught yourself peering into someone elses job site to pass a critical eye over how a crane has been positioned or how a fleet of loaders is moving. If you work for a data analytics company, youve probably stared at the same view and imagined all the different moving parts in action and the vast amount of information tyre pressure, speed, incoming delivery schedules, even the weather that could be used to make the project tick ever more smoothly.
The industry has been obsessing over how to best use technology such as telematics to coordinate construction projects for at least two decades but the next step could be the biggest yet. The much uttered but frequently misunderstood Internet of Things (IoT) – the all-encompassing concept of how machines, devices and vehicles loaded with sensors and electronics can share data over a network promises to tie entire jobsites together in a way that the industry is only just beginning to realise. Even a company with the resources of Caterpillar, the worlds largest equipment producer, has had to look for outside inspiration as it tackles the challenge of how this will work in practice.
Enter Uptake, a Chicago-based data analytics firm, which is coming at the problem from the other side. Startlingly, Caterpillar is its first official client (apart from renewable energy company Berkshire Hathaway Energy others remain under the radar) but the start-up is going places fast. Already valued at $2 billion, the company is rated as one of the Windy Citys fastest growing tech companies, and is working with, what it describes as, iconic names in a diverse range of sectors including agriculture, energy and healthcare. Its work with its fellow Illinois-based machine maker client is, for now, the one it most wants to talk about.
Trevor Mecham, vice president of construction and agriculture at Uptake, explained that the construction industry has much to gain from using data to optimise manufacturing, maintenance, logistics and operations.
Its certainly in the billions of dollars, said Mecham. Rather than a one-size-fits-all solution, we are partnering with Caterpillar and other companies to build predictive analytics solutions that solve challenges unique to the industry.
His colleague Bradley Joseph, president of business ventures and blogger on Uptakes site, uses a term familiar to the world of big data houses called collaborative disruption to describe the companys model for working with the behemoths that straddle some of the worlds biggest industries.
Collaborative disruption is the way to make a digitisation partnership truly impactful, he said. In this model, digital expertise meets deep industry experience. And the partners co-create real-world solutions at every step of the innovation journey. It brings together players from multiple industries and areas of expertise. It allows companies and their partners to innovate across a shared ecosystem and align solutions to real-world problems. And to do so faster, with deeper impact, and greater sustainability.
Uptake believes the construction industry with the commoditisation and decreased costs of telematics, both in terms of hardware and connectivity, could save billions of dollars and usher in an era of new efficiencies in operations and capital management.
Its studies of the US construction industry have highlighted a slowness to adopt telematics and the so-called industrial IoT due to several factors that will ring true the world over including a downturned economy and a glut of used equipment that has slowed the purchasing of new machines.
However Uptake feels there are now signs that this is beginning to change and is keen to help Caterpillar and others to start taking control of data-related technologies. The company identifies a recent push from the OEMs and equipment associations to standardise hardware and information throughout the industry, combined with the decreasing cost of telematics and connectivity equipment, as a signal that it is, on the cusp of generating what could amount to billions of dollars worth of increased uptime, better equipment utilisation, and optimised workflow processes and operations.
Likewise Caterpillar wants to ensure that it takes a leading position as the industry moves to an era of data-driven construction. Seeing the benefits of using data to predict repairs and manage equipment on-site CEO Doug Oberhelman has previously stated that he fears that it could lose its dominant position if it fails to adapt.
If we dont do this, somebody else will, he told investors after revealing the company was investing in Uptake to fund development. We decided that maybe we better disrupt ourselves – in our own way – before somebody does an Uber to us.
Using data to increase efficiency and drive revenue for the construction industry could be a real game changer. For example, sensors on a piece of equipment could alert owners to a maintenance need. The equipment is then taken offline for a scheduled repair and its sent to a shop with a waiting mechanic that specialises in the repair and already has the needed part. Back at the jobsite, another piece of equipment has been scheduled to temporarily fill in. The time and hours saved on just one repair are significant.
For Uptake, an example like this barely scratches the surface of what is possible. When data analytics becomes prevalent across the industry, its uses and effects could be staggering, it argues. Contractors could know just how long a piece of equipment can be operated before a repair is needed, down to the hour. Daily job site data gatherings, such as weather, can affect job site preparation and labour. Data can optimise job site schedules; manage fleets of equipment, including their uptime and utilisation; dealers and rental houses can improve logistics and service. Companies can increase equipment utilisation and decrease downtime for themselves and their customers. Construction schedules can be shortened; workforces could be optimised day-by-day; project management could be transformed.
The data gained from construction can be as specific as the tyre pressure on a single machine, or as general as the schedule and budget of an entire project, Meacham explained. Nearly every piece of the construction ecosystem can generate usable data that leads to patterns, and those patterns can lead to predictions that companies can trust.
The Uptake platform gathers both historical and real-time data, and then combines it to be analysed and provide actionable predictions to its users. Results are then fed back into the software platform to further refine and validate its accuracy. This information includes condition monitoring, workflows, logistics fleet management and other streams, such as weather and event-specific information.
To be successful in construction, you really have to know the industry from the ground up, Meacham said. The biggest reason I joined Uptake and think the company will be successful is that we have decades of experience in the space. Sure, we have lots of PhDs and people who specialise in data analysis, but unless we can provide first-hand knowledge of the challenges and opportunities that are unique to this industry, we wont be able to achieve the kind of large-scale transformation were after.
He continued: In the short-term, its all about awareness. Lots of companies in construction know that the power of data and telematics will enable them to work better, faster and longer, but right now, its how will this happen and when will there be an impact. In the long-term, its about transforming the industry. We know there are billions of dollars to be gained from harnessing the power of data. Over the next generation, this industry will see radical change.
Current linking from Cat
At the recent ConExpo event in Last Vegas, Caterpillar launched its new Cat Connect hardware and software to enable equipment managers to connect all of their assets from the largest earthmover to the smallest generator, and including both light and heavy-duty trucks and utility vehicles. New Cat Product Link technologies connect any brand and type of equipment, powered or non-powered, and all report through a single system called VisionLink.
The new technologies offer multiple communications channels mobile, satellite and Bluetoothto best match the type of asset and the needs of the user. And the systems are designed for easy installation using plug-and-play technology and apps for mobile devices. Battery backup for machine-powered devices and long-life batteries for units on non-powered assets help ensure reliable operation.
The new Product Link device for monitoring production machines has scalable features that enable increasing data collected as needed from machine hours and location through machine health parameters and production numbers. In contrast, a new tracking device for non-powered assets, such as attachments and trailers, reports location only. The device uses Bluetooth technology to connect with VisionLink, which enables managers to monitor equipment remotely using their smart phones, tablets and desktop computers.
The new truck monitoring hardware is designed for retrofitting all brands of light and heavy-duty trucks, including pickup trucks, service trucks and materials haulers. Using mobile technology, the system can provide information to enhance driver safety and to assist both production and maintenance managers.