Virtual Machine Monitoring and Asset Management
A “virtual machine” is a computing term, referring to a virtualization technique that permits several different operating systems to run simultaneously on the same host computer. A hypervisor, or virtual machine monitor, is responsible for supervising these guest operating systems. The same concept exists for real, mechanical entities. Virtual machine monitoring software has been developed in order to track the productivity and functionality of industrial machinery in a factory environment. These programs routinely collect, report, chart, and process real-time information from each machine working on the floor. As a result, machinery can usually go completely unattended during working hours, reducing expensive personnel costs and minimizing the chance of human error entering into the equation. Regardless, machine to machine systems usually possess options for manual input, should human intervention be required. Machine monitoring of both varieties tend to come in handy with mobile asset monitoring systems. Basically, mobile assets are items used to move, store, protect and ultimately secure a company’s inventory, either in-house or along a treacherous supply chain. Mobile assets are most often reusable containers that are used to move raw materials and finished goods from the factory of origin to the shelf, expensive tools and other equipment used for performing technical services to certified specifications, electronic items used for tagging merchandise in order to evaluate the product’s status and its availability, tools or objects calling for frequent return for inspection purposes, employees or other people under special threat in the workplace, and finally the products on loan from large rental companies. An enormous concern with the application of mobile assets in a large business setting is that these objects are usually put into the hands of third party entities (suppliers, customers, carriers) not directly connected with the asset owner. As a result, assets are easily lost, leaving their original owners to foot the bill every year. On average, these companies spend 5% of annual revenue on mobile assets. Though no configuration is set in stone, asset management systems are usually made up of a server unit, a database unit, wireless tags for the assets being tracked, illumination bases for wireless communiqué (M2M GSM), and locating receivers (GPS). More technologically advanced approaches do exist as well, like tracking through radio frequency identification, or RFID, which is similar to other machine monitoring systems in that nearly all its processes are completed automatically, machine to machine.
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