Caterpillar launches 24/7 equipment operator monitoring service
Leave it to equipment manufacturer Caterpillar Inc. to take monitoring services to the next level. The company announced the launch of a 24/7 equipment operator monitoring service to provide clients the ability to see, mitigate and manage both machine and operator information through in-cab and wearable safety technology.
According to Cat, analysts inside the Monitoring Center will correlate data about the health and productivity of operators and equipment to reveal the magnitude of conditions such as fatigue and distraction and their impact on operations.
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“Our customers want better visibility to the interaction between operators and machines, and how behavior impacts safety and productivity,” said Tim Crane, Caterpillar Safety Services manager.
“This innovative solution offers our customers the opportunity to mitigate risk and improve productivity. No organization is in a better position to provide customers these sustainable improvement solutions than Caterpillar.”
One of Caterpillar’s leading technologies -- Drive Safety System (DSS) -- uses an in-cab camera and alert system to notify the operator the moment a fatigue or distraction even occurs. These events are continuously tracked and crossed analyzed with the operator’s sleep quantity and quality, which is provided through the wrist-worn Cat Smartband.
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The DSS and Cat Smartband are part of the company’s growing suite of tools to assist customers in improving safety by recognizing that some risks are natural, inevitable and fully manageable if made visible. Combined with Caterpillar’s EMSolutions, Cat MineStar System and Cat Vital Information Management System (VIMS), can provide a significant overall picture of fatigue and distraction risk for companies, including the impact on productivity and profitability it has.
“Technology alone is the not the silver bullet for a safer or more productive operation,” said George Taylor, vice president of the Caterpillar Customer Services Support Division.
“In fact, most technologies fail without proper consideration of the organizational culture and a plan to manage change. Caterpillar’s safety solutions bring management and employees together to achieve excellence, providing customers the greatest opportunity for successful implementation.”
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