In a connected, digital world, using relevant data is key to success. Green Cubes Technology has more than 5,000 lithium batteries deployed with customers and those users were looking for data on the usage of the batteries in their fleet.
“This data is very important for small and enterprise fleet managers alike. When eGSE started to gain popularity, a demo or power study helped fleet managers make decisions about what size battery to deploy in their operation,” says Jerry Crump, director of business development – GSE at Green Cubes Technology. “This became the norm.”
That demand for data prompted Green Cubes Technology to create Maestro IoT, an Internet of Things (IoT) technology solution for the GSE market.
“We have developed a cloud-based telematic system, Maestro IoT, for our batteries that allows our customers to review their battery fleet’s performance from a high level all the way down to the individual battery,” Crump explains. “This includes data on battery location, enterprise wide, battery status, current and voltage, throughput, charge and discharge cycles, battery runtime and many other metrics.
“The data reporting can be customized for specific needs,” he adds. “This system is now in use with multiple customers that review and track their batteries daily.”
Using a cloud-based system allowed Green Cubes Technology officials to overcome the project’s biggest challenge – how to receive the data. Green Cubes Technology representatives solicited helpful feedback about connectivity issues brought on by firewalls and determined alternative connectivity methods for customers.
“With internet security a concern, it can be challenging to access the ports in a firewall to put a system online. With a cloud-based system, strong and safe internet connectivity is required to display the collected data,” Crump says. “Green Cubes Technology offers alternative set-up methods of data transmission by using cellular modems to provide alternative Wi-Fi transmission, or sim cards to transmit independent of a Wi-Fi network.”
A system with telematics allows fleet managers to see data on how their equipment is performing. This information allows for making informed purchasing decisions for battery sizing, fleet sizing and common infrastructure issues, such as proper charging capabilities.
“Our IoT technology gives fleet managers the ability to capture months of operational data that is housed on a cloud server, and can be exported to evaluate trends, and operational changes based on time of year, or peak seasons,” Crump says.
This same technology could be rolled out to other platforms down the road, or even integrated with fleet management software through exports if the company's customer base saw value in this type of integration, according to Crump.
In the meantime, Green Cubes Technology officials continue to fine tune the solution to best suit specific customer needs.
“In our experience, we’ve found it’s important to always keep in mind operational constraints at each individual customer location,” Crump says. “A one-size-fits-all solution approach to capturing data at our very diverse customer locations will not work.”
