Published:  3.12.2020

Real-time location tracking can reduce fuel costs, rationalise route planning and monitor the location and use of equipment. Mapon, an internationally operating provider of location tracking solutions, utilises Digita’s IoT network in its solutions.

Machines stolen from the construction site, clumsy driver’s logs and unnecessary mileage hiding in transport routes are only a few examples of problems that can be tackled by smart positioning.

Mapon Finland Oy has developed a fleet management programme that utilises Digita’s LoRa network technology. Compared to traditional solutions, the IoT network enables faster data transfer and longer battery life.

Smart location tracking can be used in almost all mobile vehicles, such as transport vehicles, passenger cars and construction site machinery.

– Everything that has to do with machines and vehicles can be tracked. Our customers have diverse location tracking needs: tracking the location and movements of vehicles, automating the driver’s log, monitoring driving style and fuel consumption, and managing fleet efficiency,” lists Jani Asunmaa, CEO of Mapon.

Monitoring driving style and fuel consumption can be used for detecting behaviours that are costly in terms of euros and environmental impact. Fleet efficiency management allows a company to assess the utilisation rate.

Mapon can also be used for route planning and tracking working hours and tasks. The app works on a terminal or mobile device and can also be used to contact drivers on the road directly.

Location tracking prevents theft

Location tracking and smart sensors can be used to keep up to date with the movements and routes of the fleet, and also the temperatures in refrigerator trucks, for example. The location tracking sensors are compact and wireless, and can be mounted on practically any object. Mapon’s customers operate in the transport and logistics, earthworks, machine rental and property maintenance sector.

Location tracking allows the customers to monitor the movements of their fleet in three ways. The sensor can be used to set a specific time window during which the vehicle of piece of equipment is not allowed to move. Any movement within the time window will always trigger an alarm by SMS or email.

The second way is to configure an automatic alarm whenever the tracked vehicle starts to move. The third way is to define a specific permitted area and an alarm for moving beyond it. Examples of such an area could be a parking space or a construction site.

The frequency of thefts highlights the need for fleet tracking. Asunmaa says that Mapon hears about thefts or attempted thefts of machinery after almost every weekend.

– Every Monday, we receive emails that our service has either prevented theft or has helped in recovering the stolen machine.

Mapon’s location tracking solution can be used for monitoring a suspected stolen vehicle in real time and the user can also send a tracking link from the app to assist the authorities in the search. In addition, the Mapon software constantly stores the location of all objects being tracked.

LoRa technology cut power consumption by an order of magnitude

Before becoming an entrepreneur, Asunmaa was a user of a similar service, but felt dissatisfied with it. Mapon was born out of a desire to create a service that actually works. According to Asunmaa, this has been achieved through customer-oriented thinking.

– Our greatest asset is that we listen to our customers. Every solution we offer is based on an idea presented by a customer. In our company, development is “forbidden”, which means that an idea must always stem from a customer need.

This is the approach we also expect our partners to follow.

Mapon’s location tracking solutions utilise Digita’s IoT network, which enables easy-to-use location tracking with a long battery life. Mapon’s cooperation with Digita started in early 2018 with Mapon being the first company to utilise the network for location tracking solutions.

– We knew that a significant advantage in the LoRa network is lower power consumption, which is also attractive to our customers. Location trackers often used in places that require a long battery life, says Asunmaa.

The LoRa network is ideally suited for transmitting very small amounts of data even over long distances. Wireless devices also consume significantly less power than traditional ones.

– The battery of the devices lasts 3–4 times longer than in traditional solutions, estimates Asunmaa.

In Asunmaa’s opinion, the primary strength of Digita’s network is that it covers almost entire Finland.

– That made Digita a sensible and obvious choice. Another extremely important aspect that was discovered later is Digita’s ability to rapidly address regional coverage challenges by increasing the number of base stations as necessary.

Digita’s LoRaWAN network

• A national network that can be used for IoT (Internet of Things) solutions
• Designed for wireless and energy-efficient data transfer
• Based on LoRa (Long Range) technology, which is especially well suited for sending and receiving small amounts of data over long distances
• Key features of LoRaWAN (Long Range Wide Area Network) technology include two-way data communication, portability, tracking solutions and easy deployment
• The sensors used to collect data are lightweight and easy to install wirelessly
• A wide range of sensor solutions available

This article was originally published on the mtvuutiset.fi website as part of a commercial partnership.