Predictable Fuel Costs & No Unplanned Shutdowns
What happened?
A rail company in the Middle East invited suppliers to bid on a rental contract for 80 generator sets. The company had selected another manufacturer’s product for a previous project based on a lower bid. However, those assets had consumed more fuel than expected, driving operating costs higher than planned. As a result, the rail company approached this bid from a total cost perspective, specifying that the units had to deliver continuous operation at 75% load, while consuming no more than 0.248 liters of fuel per kilowatt hour. Failure to meet the requirements would result in costly penalties.
The local Cat® dealer was the only supplier able to meet the requirements. The dealer provided 80 Cat C32 generator sets equipped with Cat Connect technology so they could be monitored and managed remotely. The assets ran efficiently for 2.5 years without an unplanned shutdown and used just 0.233 liters of fuel per kilowatt hour.
What was the underlying cause?
The dealer surpassed customer expectations by:
- Monitoring performance remotely to ensure the 75% load requirement was met
- Tracking fuel consumption data electronically and sharing it with the customer to demonstrate the target was being achieved
- Creating alerts to identify and resolve potential problems before shutdowns or failures happened
- Using data to plan and execute a maintenance and repair strategy that maximized uptime and lowered cost per hour
What was the value?
The dealer used Cat Connect technology to exceed customer expectations for performance, reliability, and fuel efficiency. Costs were controlled, no large capital outlay was necessary, and no unplanned shutdowns disrupted operations. The entire customer experience was so positive that the rail company ordered 24 additional generator sets and is considering 30 more.
