SOUTH AFRICA · AGRICULTURE

Verifying Tractor Shifts and Fuel Use in South Africa

A farm connected driver shifts, RPM-based engine hours, tractor movements and fuel readings to check reported work across 13 Massey Ferguson tractors.

South Africa · 13 Massey Ferguson tractors

Explore the solution View the tracker

Massey Ferguson tractor with its hood raised in a farm yard — edited illustrative photograph

Solution device

SMART S-4533

Driver identificationRPM-based engine hoursBluetooth fuel sensors

Market: South Africa
Equipment: 13 Massey Ferguson tractors
Application: Agriculture

THE CHALLENGE

Separate a registered shift from actual tractor use

A large farm needed to check whether recorded driver shifts matched actual tractor use.

A driver signing in did not necessarily mean the tractor was working. The farm operator needed to distinguish time registered on a shift from engine running time and review whether the tractor’s movements matched its assigned task.

The farm also needed starting and finishing fuel levels for each shift so fuel differences could be investigated with the responsible driver.

THE SOLUTION

Link driver shifts, tractor activity and fuel

The farm installed SMART S-4533 trackers with Bluetooth fuel-level sensors, driver-identification readers and engine RPM monitoring.

Defining each driver’s shift

Inserting the driver’s personal card marked the start of the shift. Removing the card ended it: the reader detected that the card was no longer present. A connected relay enabled engine starting after authorization. These events established which driver was using the tractor and the period to review.

Checking activity against the assigned task

A tachometer signal connected to the tracker input supplied RPM, allowing engine running hours to be calculated separately from the card-defined shift duration. The operator reviewed these hours alongside location and movement history. This helped identify shifts where a driver was signed in but the engine remained off, extended periods with the engine running while stationary, or movements that needed explanation. The operator then compared the recorded activity with the assigned farm task. Stationary operation was reviewed in context, since some tractor tasks require the engine to run without the vehicle moving.

Connecting fuel use to the shift

Bluetooth sensors recorded tank levels, allowing the operator to check fuel at the beginning and end of each driver’s shift. Any refuelling during the shift was considered alongside the level change. The operator could then review fuel use against engine runtime, movements and the assigned work before following up with the driver.

RESULTS

Review shifts against recorded activity

The farm operator could compare the registered shift with engine runtime, movement and opening and closing fuel readings.

Periods that did not match the assigned task could be discussed with the driver. The records supported that review rather than automatically labelling all engine-running time as useful work.

WHY SMART S-4533

Check shifts against tractor activity

S-4533 let the farm operator compare a registered shift with engine runtime, movement and fuel changes. A card left in the reader was no longer the only evidence available when discussing whether the assigned work had been carried out.

The operator could identify a period that needed explanation and raise it with the responsible driver. RPM supported runtime checks, not proof of useful work; the task and activity records still needed to be reviewed together.

SMART S-4533

YOUR PROJECT

Tell us about the work you need to measure

Share the vehicles, routes, sensors and decisions you want this data to support.

Talk to Sales