Human beings have proven themselves to be good at many different things, and yet there remains an awful little that we do better than growing on a consistent basis. This tendency to improve, no matter the situation, has brought the world some huge milestones, with technology emerging as quite a major member of the group. The reason why we hold technology in such a high regard is, by and large, predicated upon its skill-set, which guided us towards a reality that nobody could have ever imagined otherwise. Nevertheless, if we look beyond the surface for one hot second, it will become abundantly clear how the whole runner was also very much inspired from the way we applied those skills across a real world environment. The latter component, in fact, did a lot to give the creation a spectrum-wide presence, and as a result, initiate a full-blown tech revolution. Of course, this revolution eventually went on to scale up the human experience through some outright unique avenues, but even after achieving a feat so notable, technology will somehow continue to bring forth the right goods. The same has turned more and more evident in recent times, and assuming one new discovery ends up with the desired impact, it will only put that trend on a higher pedestal moving forward.

Tenna has officially confirmed the release of a new hardware product called TennaCANbus tracker, which allows you to track third-party powered accessories. Designed to work with heavy equipment, the TennaCANbus tracker hands you the ability to track and monitor idle time, fuel consumption, complete asset information, engine information, battery level, fault codes and decoded messages, environmental data, and tracker analytics. Apart from that, the solution also provides you with information related to location, utilization, and maintenance. Talk about the CAN technology for a second and what all does it bring to the table, CAN (Controller Area Network) is a widely used communication protocol that allows different electronic control units (ECUs) within a vehicle or piece of equipment to communicate with each other. Boasting the means to deliver real-time, reliable and robust communication, the protocol seamlessly facilitates any data transaction between various systems, such as the engine, transmission, brakes, sensors and more. Now, on to the product in question, TennaCANbus leverages the stated protocol to help construction equipment managers be more accurate whenever it’s time to take decisions about rentals, replacements, preventative maintenance, and resource management.​ Not just that, the tracker also lets you track external power take-off (PTO). This, in turn, unlocks the prospect of applying an asset’s engine power to drive any ancillary equipment like hydraulic pumps, generators, winches, compressors, and more, or you can even use it to perform specific tasks.

“This is an evolutionary step for us to have hardware that can get even more data off of a machine,” said Jose Cueva, co-founder, and vice president of product at Tenna. “It also captures any factory installed or after-market PTO, making it a comprehensive device for a wide array of data that can inform better field decisions, maintenance planning, and resource management.”

Now, if we get down to discussing the solution’s possible use cases, it can bring utility across different constructions operations, including maintenance, diagnostic troubleshooting and service planning etc. You see, with fuel use and idling metrics providing information related to the occurrence of waste and excessive wear and tear, one take the necessary measure to prolong the equipment’s life. Similarly, by gaining a deeper understanding of how heavy equipment is being used, including when PTO is engaged, should greatly simplify reporting around compliance. Referring to compliance, the solution in question is also given new Custom Inspections as an add-on to its Safety and Compliance license. Such an add-on is there to help you manage and monitor safety and compliance across an entire equipment fleet. On a granular level, though, these custom inspections allows users to create inspections specific to jobsites and types of equipment, mandate custom fields, and signatures, while simultaneously offering the option to apply new forms to all applicable assets.

“Custom inspections are an excellent way to tailor inspections to unique use cases. If a certain type of asset is prone to leaks, you can add custom fields to an existing inspection form to check for that. If assets on a particular job site seem more prone to external damage, you can create new forms for anything allocated to that site. Inspections become more useful and more meaningful,” said Cueva.