Gain logistical insights and improve maintenance intervals of moving assets.

Rail based assets are susceptible to fluctuations in utilisation leading to large discrepancies in the distance traveled each month. The assets might stay stationary or travel many thousands of kilometers and be exposed to considerable stress. As it stands, the rolling stock with all its components must be maintained at regular intervals, not least for safety reasons.

Optimise energy efficiency based on asset movement.

Pointers from the S17 series upwards have an integrated high-precision acceleration sensor that detects any form of movement. With the "start-stop" feature, the transmission frequency can be reduced at standstill to save significant energy. In addition, the Start and Stop events are reported immediately. The reduction of the transmission interval is entered with a configurable factor.

Specify geographical zones and corresponding notifications.

Geofencing generates an event or alarm when an asset (container, freight car, etc.) enters, exits, or crosses a geographical barrier or zone. The geo-zones can be freely defined, either with an editor in the DOT-Link platform or via the associated DOT Unified API endpoint. Notifications can be configured for each type of geofencing event, to instantly notify users about important events.

Deduction of brake states based on mileage and altitude coverage.

The load on freight wagons depends on a variety of factors. A significant factor influencing the wear of the brake system is the meters of height covered. To better estimate this wear and thus optimise maintenance, DOT has developed the X-Rayl DOT-Link Altimeter algorithm, which precisely calculates the meters of altitude covered based on the distance traveled.

Automatic alarms allow for a decrease in downtimes.

Our customers are able to monitor the standing times of their assets (containers, freight wagons) and to generate automatic alarms if certain maximum times are exceeded. In combination with geofencing and load detection, this feature allows for quick notification only where and when desired and necessary.

Ongoing analysis of wagon movements based on predefined locations and routes.

Wagon movements and standstills are the basic indicator of the efficiency of the transport of goods or raw materials. Wagons or containers are rented and usually cost money over time. Wagons or containers that wait too long for filling or emptying indicate potential for improvement. This feature can be used to display sophisticated statistics and tables that can quickly reveal inefficiencies.

Map matching provides additional GIS information beyond the geographical position.

The geographical coordinates (longitude and latitude) are clearly defined but are not necessarily usable in this form immediately. Often, they are subject to inaccuracies. Map matching compares the measured positions with map material and enriches the data sets with additional information such as country or the nearest town. Thanks to Map Matching, you can find out on which track or road segment your assets are located or exactly which route they have traveled.

Load detection and temperature variance analysis for tank cars.

Tank cars are often equipped with temperature sensors. If this is the case, loading and unloading can be detected by a sophisticated algorithm which compares the temperature behavior with stored empirical values and thus allows an accurate estimation of the loading condition. If only the loading condition and not the exact weighing is required, this performance feature renders more complex systems, which detect the filling level via immersion rods or similar, obsolete.

Exact information on the load state of a railcar.

By deploying an X-Rayl Sensor S3DST on a railcar, the distance between the wagons superstructure and the wheel set can be measured with a precision of millimeters. From the measured data, it is possible to determine when the wagon is being loaded or unloaded, as well as provide a rough estimate on the loading level including overload detection.

Avoid overloading assets to prevent damage and improve safety.

By capturing the data of an X-Rayl Sensor S3DST on a railcar not only the loading state (see "Load monitoring") can be detected, but also a potential overload, which potentially leads to damage on the railcar.

Automatically track heating processes and simplify billing.

For some substances, transported by containers and railcars, the temperature must be within specified limits. Tank-containers might require heating to achieve this. The heating process is done by the means of a pipe which runs through the tank-container, guiding hot water or steam. Since this process involves costs and is also invoiced, it is advantageous to record the exact start, the temperature of the heating medium and the end of the heating process.