IoT Tech Expo: Interview - Christine Billaud of Volvo CE Shares How They're Using IoT to Change the Face of the Construction Industry

IoT Tech Expo Europe speaker Christine Billaud is Director of Business Technology at Volvo CE, focusing in particular on ‘connected solutions,’ one of the five areas in which the company specialises, alongside ‘harder’ products. In a pre-event interview with the IoT Tech Expo, she explains how “IoT represents a fantastic enabler allowing the delivery of value both for customers and also internal stakeholders,” and compares their latest system to the equivalent of “Tesla in the car industry.”

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Part of the challenge for Volvo CE is that the different equipment in which the company specialises vary widely, from excavators, to wheel loaders, to articulated haulers. They come in all shapes and sizes and with different features, from wheels to rollers, and as a result, one recent product, of which Billaud says the company is ‘very proud’, is Co-Pilot.

Co-Pilot was launched last year during the Bauma exhibition in Munich, and enables users to take the same Android tablet across any equipment, with plug and play functionality, and utilise several apps such as digging guidance, load measurement, and density measurement. “Volvo Co-Pilot is the first step towards an integrated, holistic solution for worksite optimisation and for helping the operator be more efficient,” explains Billaud. “The system offers the equivalent of Tesla in the car industry – state of the art technology that combines a touchscreen interface and perfected UX design content that can be updated using mobile telecommunications technology.”

Alongside this, Volvo partnered with Trimble and Topcon, both leading companies in connectivity and global positioning technology, to enable more seamless 3D constructible models. “Our customers today are already running Trimble and Topcon 3D machine control systems,” says Billaud. “They are used to that – they trust this application. What we are telling our customers is that they can continue to use Trimble or Topcon, but directly on the Volvo Co-Pilot to benefit from a seamless integrated platform that can be installed when the customer orders Volvo machines.”

The company also has interests in predictive maintenance and proactive machine monitoring, safety, and fuel efficiency – and these partnerships and innovations certainly go some way to advancing Volvo CE’s mission to, as Billaud puts it, be ‘a global OEM supported by a very efficient distribution network [which] wants to grasp the opportunity to position itself as the preferred solution provider that contributes to the success of its customers.’

Yet, as with any such process, there are always roadblocks to navigate, whether right now or a few miles up the road. One which Billaud notes in particular is the upcoming EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), set to be implemented on May 25 2018 – just 396 days away – and can result in a fine of up to 4% of turnover if businesses are caught out. “It’s impacting all types of industry,” Billaud says. “We are at the moment assessing the impact on our business, so that’s something we are of course working on extremely closely with our legal and compliance team.”

Billaud is speaking at the IoT Tech Expo Europe event in Berlin on June 1-2, and wants to focus on the changing face of the construction industry through emerging technologies, focusing on digitalisation – connectivity, analytics, and the IoT – autonomous operations, and electrification. “Construction equipment and machines are becoming commodities, and we have to bring value through the combination of machines and services,” says Billaud.

“Volvo CE has a clear vision: zero downtime, zero emission, zero accidents, and 10 times more efficiency.”

If you would to attend the IoT Tech Expo Europe, and hear from Billaud, you can register for a conference pass (gold/ultimate) here: https://www.iottechexpo.com/europe

NOTES FOR EDITORS

About IoT Tech Expo

The IoT Tech Expo World Series (www.iottechexpo.com) hosts top level content and discussion, introducing and exploring the latest innovations in the Internet of Things arena. It brings together key industries including Manufacturing, Transport, Health, Logistics, Government, Energy and Automotive.

To learn more about the IoT Tech Expo World Series, visit the corresponding sites:

IoT Tech Expo Europe – 1-2^nd June, Estrel, Berlin

IoT Tech Expo North America – 29-30^th November, Santa Clara, Silicon Valley

IoT Tech Expo Global – 2018, London

For speaking, sponsorship and exhibitor enquiries please contact the team at enquiries@iottechexpo.com or call on +44 (0) 117 980 9023.

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Contact information

IoT Tech Expo
Sarah Wheeler
+44 117 980 9023
sarah@iottechexpo.com