The customer

Our client is a machinery rental company in the Autonomous Community of Madrid with more than 200 machines including lifting platforms, generators and small machinery. The reduction of thefts in its fleet of machinery was a priority due to the high incidence of these.

The challenge

In recent months, there had been a significant increase in thefts that occurred regularly in all the works where this type of machine works. The increase from the previous year had been more than 40%.

Although the machines had GPS tracking devices in order to locate them in case of theft, the thieves located such equipment due to its large size, making it impossible to locate the machine in case of theft. Additionally, the client encountered several problems:

1. The GPS devices used required connection to the machine’s battery (machines with built-in battery) and were of considerable size, which prevented them from being effectively hidden.
2. The devices that did not require a connection to the battery were large, which prevented their concealment and required to be disassembled every 4-6 months to recharge them.
3. Due to the size of such devices, it was not possible to use them in small machines without grinding battery, small generators, etc., as they were easily located by thieves.
4. The devices used emitted constantly, which made it easier to detect them by the scanner used by the thieves.
5. In addition to preventing theft, it was important to know the location of the machine, as well as the work periods of the machine to be able to invoice previously unbilled periods (for example, when the machine works on weekends) and thus be able to justify the investment in fleet management. Additionally, it was possible to automate the collection of machine hours to reduce manual tasks and thus increase productivity.

 

The solution, reduction of machinery thefts

To reduce theft of machinery, B’Smart installed its device for thefts with dimensions of 48 x 42 x 16 mm and an autonomy of 3.5 years (one geolocation / day), which does not require a battery connection and can be installed in all types of machinery, regardless of size. This device works with the same B’Smart fleet management platform and has the ability to send and receive reconfiguration SMS if necessary. In addition to geolocation through GPS, it allows geolocation through triangulation using telephone towers, which has proven very useful in cases where thieves hide the machine in an industrial warehouse or a parking lot where there is no GPS connectivity.

The great advantage of this device is that being so small in size and does not require a battery connection, it can be hidden anywhere in the machine pretending to be another piece. In addition, it is undetectable by the scanner, since under normal conditions it emits only once a day.

“Since we worked with B’Smart We have achieved the reduction of theft of machinery. In addition, we have the possibility of hiding them in such a way that it is impossible to find them by the friends of others. These devices are so small that they look like just another piece of the machine. We have, therefore, reduced theft to practically zero, as well as the time we invest in its installation and change of batteries.” At the same time, the investment is justified by being able to invoice periods of machine work that were not previously invoiced. Consequently, we have not only achieved a reduction in theft, but also an increase in productivity, a reduction in costs and an increase in turnover thanks to the periods of work that we could not charge before.

1. The device used has 2 digital inputs and outputs that allow you to know when a machine is working (e.g. on weekends) and even stop it remotely or set an alarm in motion in case of theft.
2. The device has a rechargeable battery with a duration of 30 days on standby and that recharges when the machine works. In addition, it can be recharged even if the machine does not have a battery.
3. Having a long battery life, the system can warn immediately in case of motion detection (with time discrimination), warning through SMS or through the B’Smart IoT App.
4. The system configures the theft detection geo-barriers automatically.
5. The device has Bluetooth, which allows you to collect information through Bluetooth sensors with battery up to 5 years.