Getting Connected Part 2 - What do we do with data?

Written by Nigel Adams

Created on Sunday, 06 June 2010 12:11

One of my previous articles – Getting Connected – gave a broad overview of the concept of Command and Control within the machine control environment explaining its purpose and application. Having since been involved at a more detailed level from both the user and client perspectives I thought it worthy of an update of progress within the development of this area and the latest market expectations.

Let’s get one thing clear about the title “Command and Control” – yes it can give the opportunity for the megalomaniacal site commander to run his entire operation from a site office with all the fervour and madness of a third world tinpot dictator, but it’s not about ruthless site control - it’s about controlling and managing the data. Data flow and management are the key to all machine control systems regardless of their complexity. A decent machine control solution is always an obvious necessity (accurate, user friendly etc – see my previous articles), but a machine control system is only the tool with which the data operates. A very good analogy was recently quoted to me (by Randy Noland – thank you sir !) in that machine controlled equipment is nothing different from a printer waiting for its information. They may be very good printers utilising the latest technology, but unless they are provided with workable data then they are of no use to anyone.

So if we are in agreement that machine control relies upon data, then what is it that we want to do with the data and how do we want to see the data flow ? Here are a few suggestions :

• Provide all machine control systems onsite with correct DTM and update regularly
• Have the site office (command centre) receive live updates from machine control systems
• Have machine control systems communicate with each other in real time
• Give complete site visibility of all machine movement to everyone –has huge safety benefits

Key to any of these is getting the data to the machine control system, how do we do this ?

Data can be input :

• manually - some of the more enlightened 3D machine control systems allow simple profiles, trenches etc to be hand edited into the system removing the need for complex DTM as required by the more advanced site designs
• manual data transfer – memory storage device e.g. USB
• remote data transfer – from a handheld unit to a machine control system capable of receiving short range wireless data
• from Command and Control centre – site office - with the capability of transferring the data over long distance to the machine

Small sites, simple designs etc. can all be taken care of with the first 3 items above, however as the site gets larger, the quantity of machine control systems on site increase, and the complexity of the work increases then option 4 becomes the more likely practical solution. I was recently speaking with a client who has many years of machine control experience and has worked on many job sites throughout the world and he talked of having to undertake 30 minutes (or greater) drives from the site office to the nearest machine – these are big job sites. Having to do this with many machines on site and updating (and importantly – collecting) data becomes an expensive, onerous task that can be easily achieved with wireless data transfer.

The things to consider with this data transfer are :

1. Bandwidth – there’s a lot of data being transferred and it needs to be done at high speed for that real time operation
2. Site conditions
3. Local / National radio frequency restrictions

Issue one requires WLAN capability and can be met by using a suitable high speed data transfer system, I would recommend that you look at a system such as the Mesh Network system produced by Rajant to get a more detailed understanding of the subject. Obviously any chosen network system needs to be able to withstand the operating conditions that it will be subjected to and should meet the same qualifying standards as that of the machine control system.

The site conditions need to be investigated and you need to ensure that the machine control systems have complete wireless coverage. This may require the addition of repeater stations to ensure that any RF blackspots are avoided. The repeater stations themselves require careful consideration to ensure that they have suitable power supply and charging capabilities (high capacity batteries with solar cell recharging are very common) and are robust to survive  the environment (including the occasional lightning strike). Having the station on wheels helps as it allows it to be moved if coverage requirements change.

Repeater station installed on a Landfill site :

Note that it is installed on a trailer providing easy mobility. The equipment has been fitted with surge arrestors to protect against lightning strikes. The solar panel can be clearly seen and the lead acid batteries and charging circuits are contained in the box at the rear of the trailer.

With regards to item 3 above, then from my experience most competent manufacturers of RF equipment will comply with the legislative requirements allowing their product to be used internationally – always check this before committing your wallet.

So having fitted the site office command centre and all machines with this capability how do we manage it ?

• We can upload data to any machine we want – all machines can operate from the latest DTM, there is no excuse for any machine to have “old” or incorrect data loaded.
• We can now perform real time monitoring of the progress of any machine on site.
• As the site changes then the updated topo’s can be sent to all machines in real time – this is the true advantage of having the machines talk to each other via a central command point.
• I briefly mentioned that there are safety benefits in using this method of data transfer. The system is now capable of indicating who else is on the jobsite and whether there may be any safety issues due to machine proximity. The system can also monitor for avoidance zones and hazardous areas and warn accordingly. I know that I have mentioned this before, but companies such as Carlson have put a huge amount of effort and resource into bringing this type of technology to reality.

This site data management operation is not limited to the machine control systems but can also be applied to other vehicles such as the articulated dump trucks, wheel loaders, rollers, compactors, haulage trucks etc .

Installing these vehicles with GPS and WLAN gives fleet management capability allowing the vehicle movement and progress to be mapped and monitored. This is an extremely useful feature and one of the benefits of the Carlson Command and Control system (with which I have had most experience) is its ability to maintain a real time log of all site vehicle movement. Having a playback feature of this data that can be selected over any period of the vehicle use and this gives the ability to check the efficiency of the operation of any particular vehicle. It is also an exceptional training aid giving post op analysis which can be presented to the operator as part of training and review of his performance and give the facility to determine if the vehicle use and operation can be improved.

Being able to integrate the command and control network with the output of some non-machine control systems e.g product weighing via wheeled loaders and / or dump trucks would allow the next level of data management to be achieved.

 Knowing details about the material extracted and where it is going to (waste or stock) can give real time calculation of costs and management of the materials. If this is all linked in to the main stock supplies then these can be inspected to see if the relevant materials are in stock ready for supply to the next phase of the construction – e.g. building up road foundation layers.  This allows for real time planning and modification of the project model giving a continuously updated forecast for the job completion and what needs doing to get you there.  This information can also be used such that machines can be contacted automatically to inform them that they are required to be at a certain location at a certain time to receive another load for transportation, start work on the next excavating / dozing / grading phase etc. Think of the possibilities.

I would like to repeat the closing paragraph from the previous article as to gain full site efficiency and optimum productivity in using command and control then certain barriers need to be navigated and overcome :

Imagine you are sitting in the site office, you have all this information within your grasp, look at the desktop monitor and see all the job site activity, see what material has been removed and where it is going, check current stocks and have them automatically replenished if they fall below what is required for the next job phase, you are only using machines as required and can plan to bring / hire in the machines as required to an accurate time and date – machine hire and transportation is expensive, you want minimum downtime. I hope you can see the power of this concept and exactly what it can do for you.

 Many machine control manufacturers are working towards this and can offer command and control in various formats, but not as the complete suite for all site vehicles, only those that fall in their existing product range portfolio are covered, and there is nothing wrong with that, you can’t do everything. This requires either co-operation to reach the panacea of having all machines and systems talking to each other using the same language. This will require the industry itself to form its own working party coalition and produce a command and control protocol that can be shared with all, however I suspect that will be some time yet.

The other option is for some forward thinking manufacturer to produce interfaces that allow non-machine control outputs to communicate on the command and control network  –  now that’s an opportunity for someone ....

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