Off-highway telematics: Over the air in Norway

Norway is famous for its impressive natural beauty. Fjords many kilometers in length, high mountains, countless islands, lakes and rivers leave an unforgettable impression on tourists. At the same time, however, the rugged landscape is a geographical hurdle when it comes to servicing off-highway machines on location in remote regions. With the help of Bosch Rexroth, Qmatec has found a solution for remote diagnostics and maintenance which prevents unplanned downtimes and helps to boost business.

At the start of the telematics project in 2019, it was clear that Qmatec could not develop such a technically complex solution itself and would not be able to enlist a provider that was unfamiliar with the design, functions and areas of use of its machines. “We immediately thought of asking our partner Bosch Rexroth as the company had already provided a range of support when we were developing our application software,” recalled Tor Olav Kyrkjebø. “The company has also provided pump units, control units and drive motors for our drilling rigs for over 15 years.”

On the basis of Bosch Rexroth’s BODAS Connect telematics solution, a pilot project for the first intelligent terrain rig soon began. “Any insight into an off-highway machine is only as deep as our understanding of it,” said Øyvind Kjølberg, Qmatec’s account manager at Bosch Rexroth. “Our telematics systems offer small and medium-sized companies in particular a major advantage – they combine application knowledge with large-scale production-proven IoT components that we have specifically adapted to the needs of off-highway vehicles. This is the basis for an open, scalable ecosystem whose modules reduce the development work to a minimum.”

Qmatec opted for BODAS Connect All-in-one Connectivity, a proven end-to-end telematics solution which would allow a quick market launch. It comes supplied with sensors and the Rexroth Connectivity Unit (RCU). The processor-based telematics unit is used to collect vehicle data as needed and to transmit them efficiently. It is also the central component for device management including the over-the-air services which are so important to Qmatec.

The telematics solution from the BODAS Connect ecosystem logically separates device and data management. This helps to improve security because the user groups for machine and operating data can be separated cleanly and the relevant authorizations can be assigned in detail. The individual functions can also be easily distributed among various people or departments in order to improve usability.

Via a dashboard, Qmatec’s service department can view all necessary information, for example a list of machines with a location graphic. There is also a detailed view with service-relevant data for each machine. Additional tabs provide information regarding the status of the telematics units, diesel engines and working hydraulics. Graphical curves visualize changes in vehicle data over time so that critical values such as pressure peaks, oil temperatures or filling levels can be viewed quickly in context. Alarms or messages are triggered if specific threshold values are exceeded.

With the help of the XOTA services, Qmatec can not only make a range of changes quickly and easily from a remote location. They can also set up complete machines in just an hour, something which in the past was only possible with a locally connected PC. “Our customers thus benefit from reliable operation with optimum operating times,” said the service manager. “The XOTA services not only reduce maintenance and repair costs – they also reduce travel costs because many cases can be solved remotely instead of spending two or three days carrying out servicing work on location.”

Qmatec initiates regular maintenance on customers’ premises and the customers are then given a countdown until the next service is due. A predictive maintenance application is also a possibility in the future in order to extend the operating life of monitored components and thus optimize the cost of maintenance and spare parts.