Berco, a leader in the production and supply of undercarriage components for manufacturers of tracked earthmoving machinery, is launching new versions of its Bopis Life mobile and web applications.

Bopis Life is a cloud-based platform allowing customers to monitor the rate of wear of each undercarriage component and, thus, to know the parts’ remaining service life. As well as providing extremely important information for end users, the data collected in the field and archived by Bopis Life allows Berco to improve its own technology constantly, in terms of product development and production processes, the company says.

Luca Bellintani, Berco’s Field Engineer, explains: “The undercarriage is a source of high maintenance costs for owners of tracked machines. Berco is, therefore, continuing to develop more user-friendly, all-round digital solutions to monitor the wear of components. Bopis Life allows the customer to monitor the wear of components, and to optimise planning of warehouse provision and operational efficiency, leading to a significant reduction in TCO (total cost of ownership)”.

The updated version of the Bopis Life application, which can be installed on any PC, tablet or smartphone, allows dealers or field engineering technicians to upload the properties of the machine inspected, along with the location data. With a clear context for analysis, technicians can begin the inspection, and record on the Bopis Life app all the data gathered from measurements of the undercarriage parts. Assessments can be taken with manual tool kits, or with ultrasound devices connected via Bluetooth to the tablet or smartphone. Ultrasound devices give more accurate values and cut the time needed for measurement and data processing, Berco says.

The data gathered using the Bopis Life mobile app is uploaded to the cloud and compared with the wear limits shown in the Berco (Bopis) online product catalogue. This gives the rate of wear and the remaining service life of the component concerned. The undercarriage parts measured are the chains and their sub-components (links, bushing and shoes), carrier rollers, track rollers, idlers and sprockets.

On the Bopis Life web portal, the accredited user will find a dashboard showing the geographical details of the location of the machines and the list of individual inspections, with the details of who carried them out. A second display shows the condition of each component and any sub-components, identified with photos; position on left and right side of the machine; code; operating hours; and rate of wear and remaining lifespan, calculated at 100% and 120%. The latter limit is identified by Berco as that beyond which structural collapse may occur.

In the updated web version of Bopis Life, graphs are given showing hours of use for each component, and remaining service life expected for each sub-component (chains) and most worn part, with warnings appearing when the wear rate exceeds 100% and 120%. Further graphs are present, showing the wear rate of each component, measured on the right and left sides, so that any deformities are noted immediately. All the information is then available to the customer, together with suggestions for minimising the need for emergency intervention.

The Bopis Life platform is used throughout the world and can be widely accessed, according to the company. Berco also uses data relating to the numerous inspections carried out up to the present collected through Bopis Life for benchmarking, they confirm the performance levels of its products as similar to and in some cases even better than those of the leading manufacturers, it says. The Platinum Line for the Aftermarket within Berco, developed to operate in extreme conditions, of high impact and high abrasiveness, belong to the latter category: having exceptional results, with performances 25-60% better than on original installation, according to the company.