From trailer dollies, to storage containers, to dumpsters unpowered assets play an important role in the day-to-day operations of a fleet. However, tracking these unpowered assets often goes overlooked. As a manager, it can be tricky to know how many of these unpowered assets you’ve got floating around, and even trickier to know when they go missing. Since lower cost assets aren’t typically tracked as closely as trucks or powered equipment, they can be a big target for theft.

And one thing all our fleet managers have in common? From the largest to the smallest fleets, everyone can agree that the little costs associated with replacing lost assets can really add up.

That’s why Samsara has developed a new tool for unpowered asset tracking: wake on motion tracking for the Asset Gateways. Wake on motion allows asset managers to set different check-in rates for when an asset is sedentary, versus when it’s in motion. So, when an asset is not moving, you can set it to check-in less frequently, for example, once a day. But when it moves, even unexpectedly, it can be programmed to automatically switch to check-in every 5 minutes. Using this new feature, we’ve dropped the potential recovery time on a stolen asset from a max of 24 hours to virtually real-time.

Recovering Stolen Assets Using Wake on Motion

The standard check-in rate for the Asset Gateways is once every 12 hours, or twice a day. Today, a manager can set an alert for when an asset seems to have been stolen (for example, when the asset is detected outside of a geofence) and immediately adjust the device to check-in every 5-minutes. Higher frequency check-ins help track down assets faster. However, without wake on motion, the check-in change doesn’t go into effect until the sensor’s next check-in.

With wake on motion, the check-in rate will automatically increase as soon as the asset moves, drastically improving your chances of recovering your assets. Now, you can get virtually real-time GPS on a stolen asset as soon as it goes missing. This functionality is immediately available, at no additional cost, on all Asset Gateways as a cloud-based update — all you have to do is go into your dashboard and set your check-in rates.

Pro Tip - Customize your check-in rates based on your business needs

The Asset Gateways relies on battery power, and increasing check-in frequency will drain the battery faster. Most customers will happily trade a few dead batteries in order to recover their assets. However, to maximize the battery life on your Asset Gateways, we recommend setting your check-in rates thoughtfully. For example, if you have an asset that rarely moves, you may want to reduce the sedentary check-in rate to once a day to conserve battery.

Improve Visibility, Improve Operations

While tracking down stolen assets is a major use case for unpowered asset tracking, the wake on motion functionality gives unparalleled insight into any logistics or operation business that relies on unpowered assets. Gaining visibility into how all your assets are being used is critical for finding efficiencies in your fleet, reducing yard hunts, and increasing utilization.

Whether you’re trying to reduce overhead costs associated with theft, utilization, or simply have your sights set on a reduced insurance premium, wake on motion makes tracking your unpowered assets a no brainer.

Not tracking your unpowered assets today? Learn more about getting started with Samsara here.