The Digital Earth Moving Contractor

Funded by: VINNOVA, The Swedish Innovation Agency
Time period: 2018-2021
Project members: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SAM Samarbetande konsulter AB, Maskinentreprenörerna, VSM Entreprenad AB, Carterpillar/Zeppelin
Project contact persons:

Background:

Digitalization is a dominant, society-changing driving force that affects almost every industry. However, the way in which various industries and businesses will be affected is still ambiguous. Evidences from industries that were exposed for digitalization early, such as media, travel agencies, and music, how this technology shift have had profound impact on business models and industry structures. However, now digitalization moves further and will probably affect almost all layers of business and society in the future.

The industry of earth moving contractors is working to dig, blow and move large shaft masses to create the conditions for building houses, roads, bridges, tunnels, wires and much more. The excavators, dumpers, and other heavy equipment used in the industry, go through a rapid technological development and is today equipped with various sensors and digital systems. Extensive amounts of data are stored in the different systems, but the use of these data is undeveloped. However, there is significant potential in using the data collected by the equipment’s embedded IT systems.

The project aims at investigating how digital data stored in the equipment 's embedded system can be used in a contractor's business development. Analyzing various operating data, and combining this with contractors’ business and market experience, will create insights into how operating data can be exploited in order to increase productivity, profitability, and lower costs.