Knowledge base > User guides > Equipment

ABAX Equipment Control User Manual

INDEX


Installation Guide

In this guide you will find the answers to your questions regarding the administrator interface for ABAX Equipment Control. Need an installation guide instead? Click here for installation.


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 NameDescriptionPurpose
Unit statusOverview of unit power and GPS statusHelp ensure that units are working correctly and fully utilised

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 right-hand menu with the ‘Details’ tab will appear. For the best set up installation, complete at least the following information:

NameName of the equipment
ModelModel of equipment
MakeMake of the equipment
DepartmentName of the associated department

You can customize the equipment list by selecting/deselecting the columns you want to see and changing the preferred order. Click on the cogwheel symbol in the top right corner to open the customise table. You can also sort the list by clicking on any of the column headers.

To organise your equipment, you can filter by department. Click on the filter icon in the Equipment list header to open the filter menu. For more information on departments, see the ‘Departments’ section within the Triplog guide.

Each piece of equipment will show:

DepartmentName of the associated department
ModelModel of equipment
NameName of the equipment
MakeMake of the equipment
Serial no. /PIN/VINThe unique identification number of the asset
Next serviceTime due until the next service (in hours) (if applicable)
Next inspectionDate of the next periodic inspection (if applicable)
Last positionTimestamp of the last reported position. If the last position is in red, that unit has been unreachable for at least 3 days
Geo Fence AreaName of the Geo Fence area that is currently activated for this asset guide
Reg.no.Registration number of the machine
Battery levelIf the unit requires a battery charge or change (if applicable)

Allow your drivers to see equipment in the mobile application “ABAX Driver“


Your drivers can`t see the location of any assets in the mobile application by default.
To allow your drivers to see all the company assets (Equipment control and Mini) you have to enter "Company settings" and tick off: "Make equipment visible for driver in mobile application."

Servicing

Servicing is only available as part of the ABAX Equipment Control Premium package. Servicing 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.

The ‘Servicing-tab’ is found within the ‘Equipment details’ page. To activate, complete the following fields and press ‘Save’:

To activate, complete the following fields and press 'Save'.

Operating hours at installationTime in hours the equipment has been before the ABAX Equipment Control unit was installed
Service interval (hours)Time in hours between service intervals
Notification a head of next service (hours)The number of hours before the next service interval you want a notification sending
Operating hours last serviceOperating hours of the equipment when the last service has been performed. The next service due is calculated from this value + the service interval.
Operating hoursThe current operating hours of the equipment
Overwrite hoursRecalibrate the current operating hours

You can view the number of operating hours remaining to the next service from the main equipment list. Overdue services will be shown in red and as a negative number.

Geofence areas

Geofence makes it easy to keep track of when you came, how long you stayed and when you left a specific area.
This will not only make it easier for you to identify unutilized assets and increase efficiency, but also provide you with accurate data when it is time to invoice your customers.

Notifications will also provide a higher awareness and increased security, get an SMS or email whenever an asset enters or exits your desired area.

Create and manage geofence areas in the live map

  • On the left-hand side under the banner “Geofences” you have all your existing areas.
  • Create new areas by clicking on "Geofence", which is found among the settings at the bottom of the map.
  • Click on the map to set the first corner of the area and work your way around the site, finish the shape by clicking on the first corner or by double-clicking the last corner.
  • Give the areas a name and save
  • Afterwards, you find the geofence on both the map and in the list, you can always edit the size or delete unwanted areas.

Report for Geofence

In geofence now – Provides you with an overview of which asset is currently in which geofence area and how long they have been there.
It’s an effortless way of finding assets that are not being utilized.

Geofence – Provides you with an overview of when the asset entered, how long they stayed and when they exited. If you are searching for a specific area you can filter by searching for this area in “Text search”.


This report is great for invoicing your customers, handling complaints & internal budgeting

Automated purpose

Filtering trips based on purpose is a great way of getting the data you need when it is time to invoice your customers.
Your drivers save time and you as the admin often get a more accurate result if the purpose has been automatically added.

  • Select the desired area and go to Automatic purpose, which is found on the right-hand side
  • Enter the desired purpose on trips that start and end in this area
  • As an example, we often seee that our users add project numbers or the name of their customers as the automatic purpose to a specific site.
  • Click 'Update'

Notifications

Be notified by email and/or SMS if an asset enters or exits a specific area.
One specific asset can be linked to more than one notification and area.
You can have several notifications set up in the same geofence area

  • Select the desired area and go to Notification, Which is found on the right-hand side.
  • Select the desired assets that are to be linked to this specific notifications
  • Choose if the notifications is to be triggered upon entering or living the geofence
  • One by one, enter email or phone number that is to receive this notification and press "+"
  • Click 'Save'

Override address

If the automatically applied address on trips starting or ending in a specific area isn’t 100% accurate or you simply wish to define it yourself, you can predefine the address.

Though we highly recommend that you do not override the address of areas larger than a parking lot since this might cause incorrect data down the line.

  • Select the desired area and go to the 'Override address', which is found on the right -hand side.
  • Enter the desired address on this area
  • Click 'update'

Reports

Types of reports

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

  • Usage report
  • Notification report
  • Units in area
  • Servicing report
  • Equipment Time In Area Report
  • Environment 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.

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.

Environment Report

Only works for equipment connected via Smart Connect. Will show the usage, idling, utilization fuel used and CO2 emissions for the chosen time-interval.

Notifications

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

Types of notifications

  • Geo-fence: equipment out area
  • Low battery
  • No contact (GSM) in 25 days
  • No GPS position in 10 days
  • Service alert (less than 1 month until maintenance)

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

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)

Installation

The position reported by ABAX Mini does not come from the unit itself. ABAX Mini uses a nearby ABAX4/5/6 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.


Your drivers can also use the Driver app to track Minis directly, using the Bluetooth function of the mobile device. https://www.abax.com/uk/kb/user-guides/driver-app#How-do-I-find-my-tools-using-the-Driver-app.

Please refer to the installation guideline to learn how to install the Mini hardware on your device: https://www.abax.com/uk/kb/installation-guides/mini

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 customize the Mini list by selecting/deselecting the columns you want to see and changing the preferred order. Click on the cogwheel symbol in the top right corner to open the Customise table. You can also sort the list by clicking on any of the column headers.

The headings are:

DepartmentDepartment which the ABAX Mini belongs to
NameName of the unit
DescriptionAnything you would like to add to identify the equipment or other related information like location of the Mini unit on the equipment.
ABAX S/NSerial number of the ABAX Mini tracking device
Last seen Timestamp of when the ABAX Mini was last seen by ABAX hardware
Last seen byThe name of the hardware unit that last spotted the ABAX Mini.
'ABAX Global Network' will appear here if the unit was not your own.
TagsShows the attached tags for that Mini (if any)

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. 

Find your MINI

The MINI unit can be tracked trough the app from your drivers.

To add you drivers to see all the company assets you have to enter "Company settings" and tick off: "Make equipment visabel for driver in mobile application."

There is also a "FIND MY MINI- function" that will activate a search mode when you know the asset is gone or stolen.

  • Log on
  • Chose Equipment Control
  • Chose ABAX MINI
  • Pick the lost asset
  • Go to the "Find my MINI" tab in the right-hand menu
  • Activate "Find my mini"
  • Enter mail an phone number in the drop down menu

You will receive a notification, as soon as the asset is reporting a new position.

Wonder how to install HW for Equipment control?

Check out the ABAX Equipment Control 3 wire installation guide here