March/April 2016
Asset Management
BULKDISTRIBUTOR
7
The transformation of bulk transportation
As pressures mount for bulk logistics firms to improve efficiency and reduce ongoing costs, leveraging IoT asset monitoring
systems can help, writes John Felty, of IONX / Amsted Rail
G
PS tracking and monitoring systems have been
commonplace in the trucking industry since the 1990s
when progressive logistics departments were for the first time
able to secure economical powered tracking devices that
could provide seamless real time visibility over their
operations.
And they did so in droves. Today, it would be hard to find a
successful trucking company that did not rely on GPS as a backbone
for its fleet logistics department.
Today, technological innovations have made it possible for shippers
using tank containers, bulktainers and railcars to get the same level
of asset visibility previously enjoyed only by truckers, and this is
helping to even the playing field for those companies taking an
aggressive approach to employing Industrial Internet of Things (IoT)
technology on their fleet assets.
The timing for these developments coincides with a global push to
create smarter supply chains through using telematics data and
cloud-based computing systems. These systems are transforming the
way we do business and fast becoming the staple of industry.
Next generation
The benefits from the technology cover many areas, but can be
summarised in two broad categories; 1) supply chain visibility
with concurrent security benefits; and, 2) condition-based
monitoring.
The fleet optimisation aspect of supply chain visibility is a common
reason many shippers deploy tracking technology because they can
receive dynamic ETA’s that are based on current asset location
information rather than historical data. Units can be configured to
provide reports at any location along a route, enhancing a shipper’s
ability to understand why and where delays may occur. Having
access to historical trip information across a fleet can allow for indepth analysis of routing issues, bottlenecks, and seasonal variations
so that fleets can be sized to better match requirements. Knowing
the status of many individual assets allows an operator to determine
if fleet assets are being used or idle at any given point in time and
makes it easier to manage yard operations.
As shippers use IoT systems for fleet optimisation, they find
additional ways to use the information to enhance their
operations. A monitoring system can be used while a train is
operational, to monitor various operational parameters of the
railcars and to communicate alert conditions to an on-board
operator or off-train. ‘Seeing’ an entire train as a single unit helps
Self-powered tracking device on a covered hopper car (Photo: Wascosa)
Analytics for monitoring tank container fleet utilisation and asset availability
IONX, an IoT division of Amsted Rail, is pioneering the next
generation of technology extending the useful reach of IoT solutions
in new and exciting ways. These breakthroughs are enabling
co