Make your spreader smart and control the spreading remotely

Bucher Assist is the innovative two-way satellite monitoring service designed by Bucher Municipal, a project funded by ESA (European Space Agancy) following a European tender won by our group. The installation of the system allows, through the man-machine collaboration, to reduce operating costs and management costs, to reduce the environmental impact and the workload of the operators in charge of the winter service, increasing their safety.

Thanks to the cloud platform it will be possible to remotely control the activity of the spreaders and to dosage the necessary quantity of salt according to the real conditions of the road.

Location

The Assist server logs and analyses geographical data received from input sensors, instantly calculating the correct material dosage value. Once a ‘mission’ is planned, the Assist technology recognises the length and width of the roads that will be gritted on each part of the mission. The system then delivers accurate tailored spreading information for each road without intervention from the driver. Road altitude and geography is accounted for, with salt spreading dosages pre-planned for higher peaks, flatter surfaces with water run-off from adjacent fields, and steep inclines, so salt usage is conserved and correctly accounted for automatically. These additions mean the driver can focus on the road instead of the salt spreading, making the grit-run safer for themselves and other road users.

Route planning

With the accurate planning and real time GPS location, routes can be followed easily. If lost while gritting new areas, or road closures occur, the Assist technology can get you back on track to the original route. This route planning also analyses the normal salt usage on each mission, meaning you get a more accurate idea of how much salt is used for each area, and having an accurate idea of how much salt will need to be loaded at the beginning of the day leading to less wastage over the course of the mission. This in turn help to manage salt stocks at the depot, and Assist can help to automatically inform when salt stocks need to be replenished.

Alarms and Warnings

Due to Assist connecting to the gritter and feeding data back to the fleet/operations manager in real time, if a warning or alarm is triggered on the machine, they can receive this information immediately, as can our Bucher Municipal service support teams. Driver safety is at the forefront of Bucher Assist, and if there is a risk to the driver, or they are in danger, the system can be used to ensure the highest level of priority is taken. Assistance can be deployed to your location quicker and more effectively as they know ahead of time which alarms and warnings have been activated. This means that breakdowns are less likely, and issues are repaired quicker, keeping you safe and on the road. Daily checks can be digitally logged to ensure any faults are captured and a plan to resolve these is put in place.

Weather conditions on the road surface

Data is key and by utilising innovative patrol vehicle and fixed position weather station sensors, Assist can account for the real-time status of the weather conditions on the road surface. Assist sends the calculated dosage data to the salt spreading vehicles, then when one of the units enters an affected area, it will automatically deliver the dosage values based on the actual weather conditions.

The key advantaged offered by Assist is driver safety, and the safety of other road users. The driver can take control of the system to react to any extra conditions they are facing, but in general the system takes away extra decision-making, allowing you to focus on driving and where required, ploughing the road. The notification of issues means support can be sent swiftly to drivers in the event of any incidents arising.

Performance enhancement
Bucher Assist increases performance

Assist's automations allow direct action on spreading parameters. The operators interviewed say they feel safer driving because they no longer have to worry about selecting the amount of salt spread and the asymmetry of the disc. Tests have shown that the amount of salt spread is dramatically reduced during snowfall by up to nearly 50 %, with positive consequences for safety, cost control and environmental impact. Bucher Assist can become your best ally during the winter!

Satellite localization
Real-time monitoring of your fleet with integrated GPS

Thanks to the hardware component installed in the machine's control panel, it will be possible to easily monitor your fleet from a remote location and set functional parameters such as dosing, width, asymmetry, humidification, travel speed. Very useful is the function that allows you to view the weather conditions related to the operating sites to better dose the parameters.

Human-Machine Collaboration
Increase the efficiency of your winter maintenance service with automation

With the dedicated Assist software it is possible to automate spreading and navigation operations, thus simplifying the activities of the operator who can concentrate more on driving. Interesting is the patented geofencing feature with which it will be possible to divide the territory into homogeneous areas for conditions and parameters, thus making the spreading more accurate and precise, reducing operating costs and environmental impact.

Reports and strategy
With a few clicks you can have everything under control

The Assist software is designed to elaborate treatment strategies: the system allows to elaborate, on the basis of the acquired data, treatment strategies to simplify and support decision makers in the implementation of the best operational solutions. All this is supported by the creation of work reports or analysis on Excel files for the elaboration of forecasts and accounting for the monitoring of materials.