Imagine a construction company that receives an urgent request to repair a failing dam. The equipment it will take to do the job is deployed across the company’s staging areas and various active projects. Luckily, the fleet supervisor uses an asset management solution like IBM Maximo Application Suite. She can see data about each machine—its maintenance logs, lifecycle status, and who used it last. Unfortunately, when she dispatches a team to pick up a bulldozer for the new job site, the asset isn’t located where it is supposed to be. The system knew everything about the asset’s status except where it was actually physically located.

Managing physical assets involves an array of longitudinal data points, but there are times when the information that matters most is: where is this asset and what is its current status? That’s why Deloitte, an IBM Platinum Business Partner, has developed a new asset tracking solution powered by Maximo that can locate any accountable asset—whether it has a serial number — such as vehicles and construction equipment — or does not —  like office furniture.

This adds a vital capability that has been missing from many public and private sector organizations’ approach to asset management. And even if most scenarios don’t have the urgency of a dam about to burst, they are still critical to the companies that face them. Any business that needs a device or piece of equipment present and operational suffers when it isn’t available. Failing to keep track of how many assets are on hand, where they are, and what condition they’re in can hamper effectiveness today and make it harder to accurately plan for tomorrow.

Asset tracking with IoT and GPS data

Deloitte’s asset tracking with Maximo solution uses the Internet of Things (IoT) and GPS data to generate frequent, periodic or cyclic inventories of assets. It supports tagging, tracking in real time, custody and handoffs, and system-generated reports on asset availability and history. It tracks status throughout an asset’s lifecycle from initial receipt and onboarding, to use and maintenance, to disposal.

Different people in an organization have different responsibilities related to asset tracking, so this new solution offers multiple interfaces. An asset custodian — such as the fleet supervisor in our dam example — would use one version of the standard Maximo interface, while a business unit manager or an inspector would use different versions to meet their unique needs. The solution is also mobile-capable, so field use is seamless.

Converging the trend lines

Knowing where your assets are isn’t a new need. So why is this a new capability? It’s because two trend lines have converged: An organization’s need for this information has become more critical, and the technology to provide real-time answers has become more powerful and affordable. IoT sensors are becoming ubiquitous, GPS is integrated into more hardware, and the bandwidth to access all the resulting data is more available.

Additionally, the analytics capacity to make sense of this information is also more available and affordable. That’s why where is it? is merely the first question this new solution can answer. For example, it can also work with geofences to signal when an asset moves into or out of a defined service area.

Delivering more value with real-time visibility

When an organization has real-time visibility into asset location, status and usage, they can deliver more value. That’s because it’s easier to deploy assets when and where they’re needed without investing in redundant inventory or going through tedious manual counts. The process of inventory reporting — which is important for any organization and mandated in the public sector — also becomes simpler and more accurate. In the end, more efficient operations drive savings to the bottom line.

Interested in learning more about this new asset tracking capability? Check out this overview and watch our live demo and discussion.

About Deloitte and IBM

Drawing on a relationship that has spanned more than 20 years, Deloitte and IBM combine technology leadership, hands-on business experience, and industry knowledge to guide our recommendations and challenge the possible. We use these insights to set up the right infrastructure and connect systems so you can bring the promises of digital solutions to life. Together with IBM, we help you deploy and scale enterprise asset management solutions with confidence.

As used in this document, “Deloitte” means Deloitte Consulting LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of our legal structure. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.