Caterpillar has made a minority investment, for an undisclosed sum, in Chicago-based technology company Uptake. The aim is to reduce machine downtime and maintenance costs for customers. Uptake, established by Groupon co-founder Brad Keywell, has built an analytics platform that will examine data captured from Caterpillar machinery around the world. The two companies will use this data for predictive diagnostics, to catch potential problems before they occur and to plan maintenance.
Uptake, established by Groupon co-founder Brad Keywell, has built an analytics platform that will examine data captured from Caterpillar machinery around the world.
The two companies will use this data for predictive diagnostics, to catch potential problems before they occur and to plan maintenance.
“Customers use our current technology for fleet monitoring and to track fuel efficiency, idle times, location and more,” said Doug Oberhelman, chairman and CEO of Caterpillar. “Our existing solutions are effective, but it’s time we take it to the next level. We want to empower our customers with the insight necessary to shift from a reactive ‘repair after failure’ mode to a proactive ‘repair before failure’ stance. The end result will be more efficient operations and increased fleet availability for our customers.”
Caterpillar plans to deploy the system over the next two years, making it available for both Cat and non-Cat branded machinery.
“Our platform takes massive data provided by sensors, combines it with data science to understand signals and patterns and deploys insights in real time that save money, optimize performance and prevent unplanned downtime,” said Keywell.
