Anti-Theft Device Becomes Automatic Information Management Tool

Crane owners now have a method to make real-time fleet management decisions, increase equipment utilization, reduce operational costs and protect against equipment theft. Originally designed as a theft deterrent, the recently enhanced Titan Equipment Monitoring System by DPL America now enables crane owners to continuously and accurately track the location, activity and operational status of their mobile construction cranes. It also offers the industry's first flat-rate automatic updating telemetry solution.

“Given the high-dollar value of mobile cranes, it's a justifiable investment,” simply as a theft deterrent system, says Tony Nicoletti, National Sales Manager for the San Francisco, Calif., company.

“The system was initially designed as a theft system to help curb the estimated $1 billion annual equipment theft epidemic,” he explains, but the computer has transformed it into a multi-purpose tool for telemetry, or the remote measurement and reporting of information.

Customer input had a great deal to do with the changes, he says. They wanted to know where the machine is located, but how much it's being used and what time it's being shut down. That was DPL's impetus for adding functions to remotely disable a piece of equipment, indicate whether it is moving or idle, and how productive it is.

The System's features now include automatic and on-demand location updates, remote starter disable capabilities, real-time updates of machine on/off/in-transit status, hour meter reporting with daily run time log, service scheduling with past due notices, and digital inputs for sensor alarming. Designed to allow managers to track assets via an Internet-based software package, it communicates over North America's largest pure digital data network, the GPRS network.

And, by offering a flat rate monitoring plan, the Titan becomes the construction industry's first telemetry system to break from the traditional mobile phone billing model. DPL America's new structure includes all data on a flat rate with no overage charges, no activation fee and a month-to-month service agreement.

“To really see the most return on the technology, it must become a part of the everyday operations, not just a once-in-a-while lookup” says Nicoletti. “Using the data captured will improve many facets of the company,” he adds.

For more information, go to www.dplamerica.com.