Robyn Grimsley
Kyle Dutton , project manager for SAMAR .
Robyn Grimsley
SAMAR will be going live this year as a register for all moveable assets that cannot legally be registered on eNatis . scale , although SAMAR has also approached other OEMs , including South African Hyundai distributor HPE Africa , in the hopes of getting as many on board as possible . Dutton explains that Babcock makes full use of SAMAR , with every single asset that they bring into South Africa — including all Volvo equipment — is registered on the system . “ The reason Babcock has come on board so early is because they receive financing from the Bank of Sweden [ where Volvo is based ], who made it clear that the financing is subject to their making use of a registry of some sort ,” he says .
The register includes make , model , colour , the vehicle ’ s registration number ( unique number from manufacturer / importer ), a unique SAMAR ID ( tied to the SAMAR label ), the title holder and owner . It is highly customisable in terms of the information that can be included , and they are adding categories as they are requested , so any additional security features , such as GPS tracking , can be indicated on there as well . The status of the asset was also recently introduced — ‘ stolen ’, ‘ wrecked ’ or ‘ reintroduced ’ — after the banks had recovered a stolen asset that they wanted to reintroduce .
The details of the title holder and owner are not shared with anyone except for the title holder and owner . So , for example , banks can only see the details of their own customers , not those of the other banks ’ customers . The only other people who can see it are those working on the SAMAR helpdesk . “ While we would like to give every person their own access to SAMAR , that won ’ t happen for a variety of reasons , and so the helpdesk is there to facilitate the registration and change of ownership processes ,” says Dutton .
Going live
Once the system goes live this year , the banks will be able to stipulate that financing for an asset above a certain threshold will be dependent on that asset being registered with SAMAR . While this process is relatively straightforward for new machines or those receiving financing from one of the banks , it becomes more complex when it comes to older machinery that is already part of a fleet .
SAMAR plans to partner with microdotting companies , which already have field agents going out to mines or construction sites to microdot the vehicles , to apply the SAMAR label at the same time . “ We have developed an app – currently only available for Android although we are working on developing one for iOS – that allows the agent to scan or take photos of the label when they apply it , and then take photos of the vehicle to capture all relevant data , such as size and colour . Often , even the manufacturers won ’ t have all the photographs they should , so we ’ ve made sure that the app has that capability and we ’ re training the field agents to take all the necessary photographs to provide the information we need ,” says Dutton .
“ We can then update the details to reflect who owns the vehicle and who holds the title . So , with a big mining company , for example , with a fleet of 100 vehicles , 50 financed and 50 owned outright , all 100 vehicles would be loaded on SAMAR with the mining company as the owner , and then title holder details updated to reflect the banks ’ interest in the 50 financed vehicles ,” Dutton explains .
While the SAMAR label is designed to be difficult to remove , it is possible for it to be accidentally removed , through the sandblasting that some mines use to clean their vehicles , for example . While a new number and label can be issued , owners must be aware of the process . The register will also capture details such as label destruction to ensure that fake numbers do not become a problem in future .
“ The unique SAMAR ID number is tied to the label , and the unique microdotting number would be tied to it as well . So if the sticker is removed , or sandblasted off , we can provide a new sticker with a new unique number and link it to the previous one , but we ’ ll never re-issue an existing number ,” says Dutton .
Once the testing phase of the project is complete and the banks have signed it off , the system will take a while to implement fully . In addition to the challenges posed by existing unregistered fleets , the lack of knowledge regarding eNatis legislation and the registration of non-roadworthy vehicles , the next big hurdle will be getting all the MIBs on board .
“ We have gone the extra mile to make this as seamless as possible by not including a fee for introducing the asset to the system . A small fee of R80 will only be payable when an asset is first titled or when a transfer of ownership takes place ,” says Dutton .
In the long term
SAMAR aims to provide a complete history of an asset ’ s lifecycle . If the asset gets stolen , it can be marked as such on the register . If the asset is later recovered , then it can be reintroduced to the register and marked as ‘ recovered and reintroduced ’. While the initial focus is on the highvalue , high-risk yellow metal equipment , the eventual goal is for people to be able to register all moveable assets . SAMAR is working with the banks to determine where they are experiencing the biggest losses to prioritise asset categories .
According to Dutton , the UK uses something similar to the SAMAR label for construction equipment . “ The triangular
14 _ QUARRY SA | MAY 2017