The management of fleets of cargo handling machines primarily aims to improve the performance in the use of these machineries. The gains are felt in different parts of the company’s industrial park. A good example occurred at
the company AmstedMaxion, located in the city of Cruzeiro (SP), at the Paraíba Valley.
AmstedMaxion is the main Latin American reference in the development and manufacturing of steel wheels, railway castings for trucks, and shock and traction systems, such as castings for center sills, E and F type couplers, fixed and rotating couplers, shock and traction devices, connecting rods, crossbars, collars, mirrors, in addition to railway wheels with microalloyed steel technology. They are robust components with high operational performance.
This same high operational performance is also a quality of AmstedMaxion’s cargo handling logistics division. A company that works with Softrack technologies, located in Campinas (SP), has presented significant results, as explained by Vanessa Castro, Logistics Coordinator of the company.
“Immediately, we reduced our fleet by 25% with the optimization of forklift utilization and operators. However, the results go far beyond what is identified at this initial stage,” celebrates Castro.
Indeed, the progress doesn’t stop there. Using the system, it is possible to gather operational and strategic information for analysis with the aim of supporting decision-making in company processes, optimizing the services provided, and reducing costs. In this case, the strategic actions were extremely effective when using the reports. Management meetings were held for Softrack to develop custom adjustments, modeled for AmstedMaxion..
“Our operation is very particular, unique. After consulting and using the appropriate tools from Softrack, the reports fit perfectly into our operations, and the gains were endless,” praises Castro.
The SOFTRACK system is composed of Web solutions and electronic equipment installed directly in the vehicles. The software captures the data from the devices and provides, in a clear and objective way, graphs that show the most diverse information about the fleet, such as planning and monitoring of trips in real time, electronic fences, trips made, exchanges of messages between drivers and the monitoring center – whether it is own or outsourced – speed and stop alerts.
It monitors machines used in warehouses and yards, such as forklifts and industrial elevators.
“Nowadays, if we notice, we find the presence of technology in everything we do. From the continuous use of a smartphone to apps that make your daily routine easier, even outside of work. Fleet management and its benefits cannot be left out of these advancements, and many companies have already noticed this advantage, as was the case with AmstedMaxion,” explains Mario Neto Bavaresco, director of SOFTRACK, a company providing systemic and operational solutions in fleet management.
In addition to operational gains and, consequently, cost reduction, the company faced other indirect advantages. The reports proved everything that was happening
in the company, and today there is a complete view of the industrial park. Even after 3 years, reports are generated that serve as a source of reference and evolution parameters.
Recently, AmstedMaxion migrated to a new technology, “Power BI”. “We approve without any doubt, because today we are confident that Softrack and its team of professionals deliver everything they promise. We receive excellent service,” concludes Castro.
For Softrack, the project with AmstedMaxion was a major success case. The company now has access to information that it did not have before, as data on asset tracking and utilization, operational drivability, asset idleness, and equipment speed in operation have been exposed. “We operate in Brazil and Latin America today and have reached nearly 4,000 assets with our technology,” Neto concludes.
(*) With information from AmstedMaxion
