Month: July 2024

With a small beginning in 1953 as a regional gathering of fleet managers, Electric Utility Fleet Managers Conference is now regarded as an essential opportunity for learning and growing for fleet professionals, manufacturers, suppliers and service providers alike. Below, check out three key takeaways from this year’s event and see how Altec is supporting customers as they navigate these industry trends.

Although there are still obstacles for fleet electrification, momentum toward more EVs continues to grow.

While the charging infrastructure and cost of EVs can be obstacles for fleet electrification, the market is still showing a desire for the product, whether driven by legislative initiatives or customer sustainability goals.

It’s important to plan for future purchases now, especially as legislation is adopted in some areas that requires a percentage of chassis sold by OEMs to be electric. Altec is working with customers to understand those timelines and purchasing requirements.

From an engineering perspective, Altec is working with OEMs to make sure the electrification solutions it offers provide customers with the high-quality products they expect. Altec’s EV solutions offer an integrated battery system that powers both the chassis and equipment, making it familiar and easy for operators to use. Altec is also targeting specific applications that allow batteries to be the right size for the job, providing sufficient range while reducing size to free up valuable payload.

While some customers may have range anxiety, targeting specific applications allows crews to work confidently within the range of a truck. On average, only 10 percent of a truck’s range is used at the jobsite, and audible range alerts can be configured at various levels to keep operators informed of the state of charge.

Telematics and data solutions are increasingly more valuable and important to customers.

There are many aspects that make data solutions appealing to customers—fleet efficiency and safety, to name just a few. These products allow customers to know their equipment is ready to work and they have the right operators on the right equipment for the right job.

Altec’s two newest telematic solutions, Op-Ready and Altec Insights, offer customers a valuable picture of their fleet. Op-Ready is a digital report that combines data from telematics and Altec equipment to identify assets that are at risk of going down. With this report, customers can address issues today to prevent downtime tomorrow. Reports are customizable to allow users to receive the information they need relative to their jobs.

Altec Insights is a powerful tool for understanding equipment safety and performance. Insights are created using data and Altec expertise, and the result is simple and actionable information designed to help answer essential questions and reduce downtime. To improve safety, Insights allows customers to receive an alert if safety systems are activated so they can asses whether the equipment is right for the job, or if operators might need safety guidance.

There is a continued focus on products and solutions that improve safety in the industry.

The importance of safety in the industry cannot be overstated, and customers are always looking for new and innovative ways to improve operator safety on the job. While some of those safety solutions are based on telematics, such as Altec Insights, product design is also playing a key role in safety improvements.

For example, Altec’s AA55E is designed with extended side reach. This extended reach can help operators reach their work area without as much repositioning and allow them to set up further way from traffic. The platform can also reach the ground in the non-over center boom position, making it easy to enter and transfer material into the platform.

Another key safety innovation in recent years is Altec’s lanyard interlock system, which has been well received by the industry. Given this customer feedback, Altec is working to add the system to additional aerial devices.