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Introduction
The biomass and bioenergy industry plays a crucial role in sustainable energy production by converting agricultural residue into bio briquettes. This process requires efficient fleet management to handle the collection and transportation of farm residue from fields to processing plants. The logistics involve multiple fleet assets, including tractors, trucks, and specialized farm equipment such as slashers, rakers, balers, and hydraulic lifters. Given the complexity of these agriculture fleet operations, effective GPS fleet tracking is essential to improve efficiency and maximize fleet ROI.
Challenge
Our client, a leading biomass processing company, faced significant challenges in managing their agriculture fleet and farm operations. The collection and transportation of crop residue involved multiple steps and various specialized implements:
- Slasher – Cuts the farm residue.
- Raker – Gathers slashed residue into rows.
- Baler – Forms the residue into transportable bales.
- Hydraulic Lifter – Loads bales onto trolleys for transport.
Tracking these farm equipment and vehicles manually through phone calls and driver confirmations was inefficient and prone to errors. The client lacked real-time fleet visibility into:
- Which equipment and machinery were in use and where.
- The productivity of each fleet asset and implement.
- Farm-level operational status (i.e., which stage of the process a particular farm was in).
With no GPS tracking for fleet operations or automated real-time data, the client struggled to optimize fleet utilization, reduce downtime, and plan farm logistics efficiently.
Solution
To address these challenges, we implemented SIMHA Smart Fleet, a patented AI-powered fleet management solution that provides real-time tracking and telematics analytics for agriculture fleet operations. Our solution included:
- SIMHA Smart Fleet Device – Mounted on tractors, this telematics device collects and transmits real-time fleet data to the cloud-based fleet management platform.
- SIMHA Beacon – A small, BLE-powered asset tracking device attached to implements, which wirelessly communicates with the tractor’s telematics system to determine which implement is connected at any given time.
Key Benefits
✅ Improved Fleet Asset Utilization – The platform provided detailed fleet analytics on implement usage, helping fleet managers identify overutilized and underutilized assets.
✅ Stage-Wise Farm Visibility – By tracking implement usage, the system classified farm operations based on workflow stages (Slashing, Raking, Baling, etc.), enabling better resource allocation and fleet scheduling.
✅ Reduced Dependency on Drivers – With automated data collection, operations became more transparent, reducing reliance on driver-reported information and improving accountability.
