United Rentals deploys Triax Spot-r and EquipTags allowing customers to monitor crews and machines

Updated Jun 11, 2018
Tag your people, tag your machines and start collecting safety and productivity data.Tag your people, tag your machines and start collecting safety and productivity data.

United Rentals and Triax Technologies announced this week they have teamed up to bring cutting-edge worker safety and management technology to United Rental customers.

The partnership will make available across United’s 1,000 branches an Internet of Things (IoT) based system that gives construction firms a comprehensive look at equipment utilization, operator identity and site safety.

At the heart of the system are Triax’s plug-and-play Spot-r Clips and EquipTags worn by workers and attached to equipment. Spot-r’s mesh network collects and transmits real time data from these sensors to automate worker time and attendance and provide real time location and safety information, says Pete Schermerhorn, president and chief operating officer, Triax Technologies.

The mesh network eliminates the need for Wi-Fi or GPS location data. The Spot-r network hardware is installed around a jobsite to connect a specific site layout, says Schermerhorn. “Data collected from our sensors is uploaded in real-time to the Cloud. There, it combines with our intelligent software to display workforce, resource and project safety data in our central Spot-r dashboard,” he says. The system works indoors or outside.

The EquipTags also detect whether or not equipment is running and determine operator identity by proximity to the Spot-r Clip, says Schermerhorn. With worker certification information maintained in the Spot-r dashboard, customers can receive notifications when an unauthorized or unknown operator is near a piece of tagged equipment.

To boost safety, the Spot-r Clips are equipped with an accelerometer, gyroscope and altimeter to detect falls and automatically trigger location-based notifications in a text, email or dashboard format, to designated personnel. And a push button on the device lets workers report on hazards or unsafe conditions anywhere on the site. When gas leaks, fires or other unforeseen hazards erupt, supervisors can trigger an 80-decibel evacuation alarm on each worker’s device, which can also be reinforced by alarms on EvacTags placed around the site.