Agreement reached on telematics standard

The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and the Association of Equipment Management Professionals (AEMP) have agreed on a set of machine data for on-board telematics systems.

Many manufacturers offer telematics systems to allow machine owners to remotely monitor their equipment. Such systems include an array of data such as temperatures, hours worked alarms & warnings, and geographic position if a GPS element is included. However, the increasing number of systems on the market and the lack of a unifying standard on common data and reporting, has made it increasingly complex for owners to use these asset management tools.

The associations have identified 19 data points will be part of a standard being developed and maintained by the two Associations and their members. The new standard will also define a format for fault codes. However, the standard will not be applicable to cranes and, “possibly other niche products.”

The AEMP said its original telematics data standard be incorporated into this wider initiative. Data will be provided to the end user via an Application Program Interface (API) server to server data sharing standard. The data sharing standard will include standardised server to server communication protocols for the transfer of telematics information in mixed equipment fleets to end user business enterprise systems.

These protocols will allow end-users to employ their own business software to collect and analyse asset data from mixed equipment fleets without the need for customisation work across multiple telematics provider applications.

The AEM and AEMP went on to say a developer group would be set up to work on industry-wide integration of the standard, future versions and introduction dates. Another task force will be brought together to set the data transfer/conversion security plans and a governance group will also be assembled to ensure adherence to technical specifications.