Every machine generates valuable data

CAN data: the nervous system of modern machines

Virtually every modern vehicle or machine is equipped with a CAN bus, an internal communication network that continuously exchanges data between the systems on board. Engine management, transmission, hydraulics. They all communicate with each other, producing a continuous stream of signals.

For a long time, that data was accessible almost exclusively to the dealer or manufacturer. That is changing, thanks to the collaboration between GPS-Buddy and Beijer Automotive. Beijer develops and maintains the CAN Library, an extensive software solution that enables GPS-Buddy hardware to unlock real-time vehicle and machine data. The name "Library" is not a coincidence. It indicates that, in principle, an unlimited number of signals can be made available, tailored to the specific vehicle, machine, or installation.

That CAN Library is integrated into GPS-Buddy's XT-4 hardware. As a result, signals such as fuel consumption, operating hours, AdBlue level, and DPF status can now be retrieved, interpreted, and translated into usable insights in real time. Not abstract technical parameters, but management instruments for anyone responsible for a fleet of machines.

The light tower that tells more than expected

Take a mobile light tower. Traditionally a passive tool. It gets driven to the location, switched on, with the hope that there is enough fuel in it. Little data, little grip.

But a modern light tower has a CAN network. Reading that network through the Beijer CAN Library and the GPS-Buddy XT-4 changes the picture completely. Fuel consumption per operating hour becomes visible. It becomes clear when the DPF filter needs cleaning. CO₂ emissions per project can be calculated, which is relevant for tenders where sustainability requirements are increasingly part of the assessment.

GPS-Buddy and Beijer Automotive work together structurally and have already connected hundreds of machines and installations to the platform. A mobile light tower from VM Solid Group, rotary mowers from SIGHT Landscaping, and a milling machine from Freesverhuur Ommen, for example. Each of these objects delivers usable, real-time data.

Organizations that learn to listen to this data first build an information advantage that translates into lower costs, less unplanned downtime, and stronger documentation toward clients.

Measuring for accountability: the CO₂ dimension

Sustainability has long stopped being a PR topic in the construction and infrastructure sector. It is a daily reality. Clients, and governments in particular, increasingly set requirements for the CO₂ performance of projects. The question is not whether reporting happens, but how accurately it can be done.

This is exactly where GPS-Buddy makes a difference. Through Flowter, GPS-Buddy's central platform, all data from vehicles, machines, and tools comes together in a single overview. Fuel consumption, operating hours, emission status: the platform automatically translates all these signals into a complete picture of the emissions of an entire operation. Per project, per period, per object. Without manual calculations, without estimates.

The result is a CO₂ report that is not only accurate but also verifiable. And that difference, between an estimate and a measurement, is exactly the difference between a vague sustainability promise and documentation that holds up with a client or in a tender.

The future: more machines, more insight

What already applies to light towers, milling machines, and lawn mowers today will be the standard for the entire machine fleet tomorrow. GPS-Buddy continuously expands the platform with new machine profiles, new signals, and new ways to translate data into action. Flowter grows alongside it, increasingly becoming the intelligence layer on top of the physical world of vehicles, machines, and installations. Beijer Automotive supplies the CAN knowledge needed to get machines talking. GPS-Buddy, through Flowter, translates this data into concrete actions and insights.