ABAX Equipment Control User Manual

Equipment

Equipment Control Dashboard

The dashboard is a new, easier way to keep track of your equipment by offering a one-page overview of the most important information regarding your equipment. Each administrator within a company has their own unique dashboard.

The available widgets to support the ABAX Equipment Control service are:

Widget Name	Description	Purpose
Unit status	Overview of unit power and GPS status	Help ensure that units are working correctly and fully utilised

 

1. Equipment

To see a list of all your equipment, click on the submenu ‘Equipment’ under the menu ‘Equipment Control’.

When logging in for the first time, the list will only show the active ABAX Equipment Control units on your account, so you must assign each unit to the corresponding piece of equipment. To create the relevant equipment, click on one of the rows and the pop up window ‘Equipment details’ will appear. For the best set up installation, complete at least the following information: 

Name	Name of the equipment
Type	Type of equipment
Object description	Description of the equipment
Department	Name of the associated department

To organise your equipment, you can categorise by department. Clicking on a department will show a list of equipment within that department. If no department structure has been created, a full list of all equipment will be shown. For more information on departments, see the ‘Departments’ section within the Triplog guide.

Each piece of equipment will show: 

Department	Name of the associated department
Type	Type of equipment
Name	Name of the equipment
Description	Description of the equipment
Serial No	The unique serial number of the unit
Next service	Time due until the next service (in hours) (if applicable)
Last position	Timestamp of the last reported position. If the last position is in red, that unit has been unreachable for at least 3 days
Status	If the equipment has a Geo-fence activated
Battery change/charge	If the unit requires a battery charge or change (if applicable)

1.1  Usage log

Usage log is only available as part of the ABAX Equipment Control Premium package. Usage log is similar to the ‘Service notifications’ feature for vehicles. The feature allows you to monitor the amount of usage on a piece of equipment and set up automatic notifications for when a service is due.

‘Usage log’ is found within the ‘Equipment details’ page. To activate, complete the following fields and press ‘Save’:

Initial usage time (hours)	Time in hours the equipment has been before the ABAX Equipment Control unit was installed
Service interval (hours)	Time in hours between service intervals
Hours before sending notification	The number of hours before the next service interval you want a notification sending
Accumulated usage time at last service	Time in hours when the previous service was carried out
Accumulated usage time	Total number of hours the equipment has been used. If this value is incorrect you can adjust using the 'Calibrate usage time; button
Calibrate usage time	Recalibrate the 'Accumulated usage time'

You can view the number of operating hours remaining and the date the next service is due from the main equipment list.

1.2. Activate/Deactivate GEO-fence

If the equipment stays within a specific Geo-fence area, you can activate area-control to receive a notification if the equipment unexpectedly leaves. In order to use this function, you must have an active Geo-fence created. A Geo-fence is created under the submenu ‘Geo-fence areas’ of the ‘Equipment’ menu. For more information see the ‘Geo-fence’ section within this guide.

To  ‘Activate / deactivate Geo-fence – Area control’ navigate to the ‘Equipment details’ page from your ‘Equipment’ list. You have the option to add or remove Geo-fence areas specific for each piece of equipment. Select the relevant area from the dropdown list and click ‘Save’. When the unit leaves the Geo-fence, it will activate a notification that is sent to the administrator system and, if set up, also deliver by SMS and/or email. How the notification is delivered is customised from the ‘Notification settings’ menu.

1.3. Notifications - Forwarding of notifications

If you require notifications from a specific piece of equipment to go to a specific person, you can do this from the ‘Notifications - Forwarding of notifications’ section of the Equipment details page.

1.4. Active tracking mode

If your equipment is lost or stolen, it is possible for the unit to send its location more frequently than normal. By entering active tracking mode, you will receive an update every 5-minutes for 2-hours. Extended usage of this mode will affect internal battery life.

‘Active tracking mode’ is found within the ‘Equipment details’ page.

 

Map

2. MAP

See the ‘Fleet Management’ section.

 

Geo-fence areas

3. GEO-FENCE AREAS

Geo-fence area work the same as ‘Area administration’ for ABAX Triplog.Geo-fence areas allow you to create a virtual area that overlays the map. This area is given a name and used to help control your equipment. This area can be used in reporting features or help protect your equipment in the case of theft.

3.1. Create an area

The ‘Geo-fence areas’ submenu is found under the ‘Equipment Control’ menu. To begin, move your map to the location you would like to create an area and click ‘create a Geo-fence area. Manipulate the rectangle to a desired size. When you have drawn the area, you need to choose an ‘Area name’ and ‘Area address’. This information will override the usual address information, so choose something recognisable. Press ‘Save’ to save your area, or ‘Cancel’ to cancel and start again.

3.2. Delete an area

A list of the areas created by the administrator is displayed on the left. When clicking on one of these areas it brings up further information and moves the map to the area site. From here, you can delete the area. You cannot edit the drawn area, so if the area is incorrect, you will need to delete and redraw.

 

Reports

4. REPORTS

‘Reports’ are located under the ‘Equipment Control’ menu. You can choose between four reports:

Usage report, Notification report, Units in area and Servicing report. To generate a report, select the report type, a date range and then click ‘Generate report’.

Reports can be printed in PDF or saved for use in Microsoft Excel.

4.1. Types of report

Usage report:

Displays the number of hours the equipment has been in use and at which location. The report is split by equipment and includes the usage start and stop time, the address the usage took place and for how long.

Notification report

An overview of all the notifications on the equipment. It can be sorted to see all notifications or one specific notification.

Units in area

An overview of the number of hours the equipment has been in your Geo-fenced areas. It can be generated to display via department or area.

Servicing report

An overview of the servicing information for your equipment.

Equipment Time In Area Report:

Displays the equipment’s time of entry, time of exit, total time in the area and the time since last visit.

Notifications

5. NOTIFICATIONS

For more information see the ‘Notifications’ section within the Triplog guide.

5.1. Types of notification

Geo-fence: equipment out area:

A unit has moved outside of its Geo-fence area. An instant notification can be sent via Email and/or SMS.

Low battery:

A unit has low battery. An instant notification can be sent via Email.

No contact (GSM) in 25 days:

The unit has not recorded a GSM position in 25-days. The alert disappears when a new position comes. An instant notification can be sent via Email and/or SMS.

No GPS position in 10 days:

The unit has not recorded a GPS position in 10-days. This is a common notification to indicate if the system is faulty. The alert disappears when a new position comes. An instant notification can be sent via Email and/or SMS.

Service alert (less than 1 month until maintenance):

A unit has less than 1-month until a scheduled maintenance is required. In order for this notification to work, you need to set up ‘Equipment control – Usage log’ for each piece of relevant equipment. An instant notification can be sent via Email and/or SMS.

 

Asset Tracking

6. ABAX MINI

ABAX Mini is a type of Equipment Control hardware. ABAX Mini is a smart, cost-effective way to

monitor power tools and portable equipment. The position of ABAX Mini is visible in the live map (see Fleet Management section of the ABAX Triplog guide).     

6.1. Installation

To install, first activate the ABAX Mini hardware by pressing the middle for 2-seconds. The red LED light is the sign of a successful activation. Then place the ABAX Mini on the exterior of the equipment as high up and far away from metal as possible. Placement should be in line of sight when walking around the equipment. If concealed placement is required, do not hide the ABAX Mini behind metal, as this blocks radio signals.

The position reported by ABAX Mini does not come from the unit itself. ABAX Mini uses a nearby ABAX4/5 unit to report its position. These units can either be your own or one of the ‘ABAX Global Network’. The ABAX Mini range is about 30-metres, but this varies depending on unit placement.

6.2. ABAX Mini set up

Navigate to the ‘ABAX Mini’ submenu under the ‘Equipment Control’ menu. This list will show you an overview of all of the ABAX Mini units associated with your account. You can sort the list by clicking on any of the column headings. The headings are: 

Department	Department which the ABAX Mini belongs to
Name	Name of the unit
Serial No	The unique serial number of the unit
Last seen	Timestamp of when the ABAX Mini was last seen by ABAX hardware
Last seen by	The name of the hardware unit that last spotted the ABAX Mini. 'ABAX Global Network' will appear here if the unit was not your own

From the ABAX Mini inventory, you can click on any unit to add specific details. You can also toggle the unit on/off of the live map.

From the live map, you can click on any ABAX Mini icon to view further details. These details include; which unit was the last to see the ABAX Mini, its current address location, its GPS position in LAT/LON and a timestamp of its latest position. 

To find out how to activate your ABAX Mini, click here

Check out the ABAX Equipment Control 3 wire installation guide here