JCB announces a major new innovation for the power generation industry by becoming the first manufacturer to make telematics standard on its generators.
The move is set to revolutionise the way customers, including rental companies, monitor and manage their generators to achieve greater performance and reduced cost of ownership. JCB LiveLink will be available on generators from 65 to 600 kVA, which includes QS, QX and Inteli-Hybrid ranges.
JCB Power Products MD Jonathan Garnham said: “JCB LiveLink on generators from 65kVA to 600kVA will radically change the way fleets of generators are monitored and managed. Our competitors cannot offer customers a telematics solution that is capable of delivering so much useful data. It is the ultimate customer benefit and will mean increased uptime, greater profitability and reduced cost of ownership.”
JCB Power Products is making LiveLink available as standard on the QS 20-220kVA generator range, the full line-up of Scania-powered QX models and JCB’s innovative Inteli-Hybrid generators. JCB LiveLink for power generation offers the following features:
- Monitoring the operational hours and fuel levels of generators
- Real-time monitoring of load profiling and load per phase
- Real time notifications to prevent misuse and provision of intelligent fuel management
- Health alerts to minimise operational costs to improve generator uptime
- Remote diagnostics to reduce generator downtime
- Location of generators’ exact locations and setting of curfew alerts for peace of mind
- Generation of usage reports to increase machine performance
Proven Technology
LiveLink has been available on JCB machinery for over five years and is now fitted to over 90,000 machines around the world. A generator is not ordinarily manned with an operator so LiveLink will radically change the way generators are used, to maximise performance and decrease running costs.
While some competitors have limited emergency alert systems installed, none can offer a single portal with a full information offering. JCB LiveLink can deliver all the information needed to maintain a reliable power source.
Fleet Management
LiveLink provides a wide range of information to support fleet managers. A single log in portal to view a generator’s utilisation can be accessed via a number of devices to manage machines remotely, providing the ultimate fleet management tool.
JCB LiveLink can be used in mixed fleets to deliver a total fleet management solution. The new innovation means current JCB fleet owners can seamlessly include generators in their standard fleet management portal. No other competitor can offer this level of detailed knowledge across such a wide product range.
Unlike wheeled and tracked machinery, a generator doesn’t have a specific operator, so JCB LiveLink will allow fleet managers to maintain real-time monitoring and management of equipment remotely, providing all of the relevant information and data that a company requires to maximise uptime and profitability on site.
There is no limit on the amount of time that data can be stored for historical reference, unlike some competitive systems that offer a maximum of two weeks’ coverage. The system can be set for 24/7 monitoring and can automatically alert customers and dealers directly when required.
As well as the fleet manager and the JCB dealer having a constant view of the product, rental customers can create access for their own customers, helping them to monitor and schedule usage and service.
Maintaining Uptime
Maintaining a reliable power source is the overriding priority and LiveLink constantly monitors the generator performance and status. It provides a variety of notification alerts including high coolant temperatures. In addition the system will deliver starter battery monitoring to ensure the machine always starts, fuel level information, including reporting if there is a rapid fuel discharge, which could indicate theft. Information on machine working hours and a countdown to machine service intervals is available and easy to access. LiveLink will provide fleet managers with both location tracking and geo-fencing capabilities, with movement alerts to reduce theft and unauthorised movement of the equipment.
In addition the system will notify if the generator is operating outside of pre-set hours which rental customers have requested.
The most common reported cause of generators failing to start results from the emergency stop button having been activated. JCB’s LiveLink solution will display the status of the emergency stop button at all times to help reduce unnecessary visits to site. With online diagnostics, service engineers have a head start in understanding start-up issues to ensure machines are up and running as quickly as possible in the event of a problem
Optimisation
JCB LiveLink is constantly reporting machine output power and load data to help customers select the most appropriate generator for the application. LiveLink will provide information to allow managers to maximise the utilisation of their generator fleets. The system can be used to generate a host of specific machine and fleet reports, integrating seamlessly with a range of fleet management IT solutions. Managers can design their own reporting schedules, to include fleet and service reports, utilisation and notification alerts. Companies can switch generators to suit their exact power requirements, saving money and increasing machine utilisation.