Run Hours + Odometer

Created by Leo Costello, Modified on Tue, 4 Jul, 2023 at 10:10 AM by Leo Costello

Run Hours + Odometer in TLX portal

The system can calculate run hour and odometer estimates based on device data. It does this in the following way:

Run Hour Calculation

The time for which an asset's 'Ignition' input is active is added up by the system to provide the result. 

Accuracy

Provided the ignition input accurately detects changes in ignition, this figure should be 100% true to reality. In order to calculate run hours all that is required is 2 points from a 'trip'

  • Usage Start Time (Trip Start log)
  • Usage End Time (Trip End log)

On hard wired devices, provided the white ignition wire is wired to the correct place - run hours will be highly accurate.
For battery powered devices, we may want to use jostle mode so that trips are started/ended based on accelerometer activity. Note though that the 'trip end timeout' will be included in the run hour reading.

Odometer Calculation:

The total trip distance is calculated by the system. This is the distance travelled while the ignition input is active. 

The distance is calculated based on all the positions (lat/longs) during the trip. As such, devices which report infrequently will be less accurate. Our hard wired devices report regularly when on the move, tracking heading change, cornering etc such that the odometer reading is accurate.


Add Run Hour/Odometer Entry

Via Web

When a new asset is created in the system, its run hour/odometer readings are both 0. Generally we aren't installing on a brand new asset - so we need to enter the current readings. This is done via the Odo/Hours menu.

  • The Odo/Hours readings can be entered
  • The Reading Date Time defaults to the current time. However you can manually change this to an earlier date. Perhaps the installer took a reading 1 week ago, and it is only being entered now. The system will automatically calcutlate the right hours based on this. 

Via App

Asset readings can be captured via the mobile app, meaning a reading can be entered at the time of installation. 


Towing Trips

Most devices use the concept of 'emulated ignition'. This means if movement is detected (based on the accelerometer or GPS) they will set Digital Input 0 (ignition) on. To the system, this looks like usage and as such run hours/odometer values are incremented. 

To avoid this, disable the emulated ignition input under the Movement Trips tab in system parameters.

The System will still show the trip in its Trip List, but it is marked as a Transported trip - meaning that the asset was moved but the ignition was not active. This will typically be the case when a piece of equipment is towed or moved on a flatbed trailer for example.


Secondary Run hours

Telematics Guru can also keep track of secondary run hours. Secondary run hour functionality is intended to track hours from a digital input. For example; if you connect input 1 to a pump on a truck, the pump on time will be accumulated in the secondary run hour counter. You could use this to record the pumps use for billing or to schedule maintenance.

This feature is simpler than primary run hours. The hours are not reportable on a trip by trip basis. Only the total is kept.

The secondary run hours can also be edited/updated on the asset directly. 

Go to Manage Assets → Edit Asset → Advanced → Enter Current Secondary Run Hours.

To set this up, an input needs to be linked to the feature. Follow these steps:

  1. First create an event. Go to Admin->Event Types->New. Give it a name and be sure to tick Log Duration To Secondary Run Hours.
  2. Then link the event to the asset's Inputs/O. Go to Manage Assets->Edit Asset->IO Mapping. Under Digital Mappings, click Add. Select the relevant input and name it. Under Event Type, specify the event you created.
  3. When the IO is on, the event will be active and the duration will be added to the secondary run hours number. 

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