In a major step toward providing a common set of equipment data across mixed fleets, the telematics standard, which is being developed jointly by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers and the Association of Equipment Management Professionals, received approval on July 21 from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as a global standard.

The mixed-fleet telematics standard, which provides a common set of equipment performance data regardless of manufacturer, will be part of ISO 15143 “Earthmoving Machinery and Mobile Road Construction Machinery: Worksite Data Exchange” under a new section for machine data.

“No additional voting or potential changes should occur, but the ISO approval process has changed slightly, and ISO expects to post the standard to its website in approximately 60 days,” said John Somers, AEM director of product management for construction, mining and utility, in a press statement.

The standard covers the most common data points in telematics systems, including geographic location, operating hours, fuel usage, caution codes and idle time, as well as a range of engine diagnostic codes. The common standard will give fleet managers working with equipment from multiple OEMs a common set of data points to track.

Currently, many OEMs offer their own individual telematics software platforms, with only limited mixed-fleet integration. But many equipment makers, including Caterpillar and Deere, recently have updated their platforms in anticipation of the new standards, with data gathering for other brands of equipment. Incompatibilities between different OEM software platforms is seen by many in the industry as a hurdle to broader adoption of telematics tracking.

“The telematics standard is a significant step to enable OEMs to provide more value,” said Domenic Ruccolo, Deere senior vice president for sales and marketing, in a press statement. “The telematics standard is a significant step to enable OEMs to provide more value. The standard’s common format allows end users to access telematics data from any machine in their fleet and aggregate it in one place. Seeing their fleet and data in one spot makes them more productive and allows them to generate insights and improve decision-making."

The new standard will be published on the ISO website in the coming months. AEM has recommended that fleet managers and equipment owners contact their equipment manufacturers and fleet-management software makers to see whether they plan to support the new API recommended by the new standard.

The text of this article was updated on August 9, 2016.