The spy in the sky

Nobody wants their plant stolen. Apart from the fact any machine has probably been configured to the particular needs of the owner, there is insurance tape to tie up and a new machine to find. Plus, there is the lingering thought that the fruit of your hard earned cash is languishing in the corner of some foreign field, no doubt in the hands of some toe-rag.

So, it is pleasing to hear that a few stolen machines that ended up in Sharjah are being repatriated back to their rightful owners. This is due in part to the diligence of staff on the ground, but to a greater part because at least one machine was fitted with a satellite tracking tag. This device tracked the stolen cargo from the UK, right across the seas to Oman, and then by road to Sharjah, where the machine was recovered and the criminals caught red-handed. All the while, the owner and the authorities could see exactly where the machine was on their computers.

These tags have been around for a while now, though they are not common across the GCC. We think they should be. Apart from keeping our precious equipment and vehicles safe, wouldn’t it be handy to find out where that errant driver with the mixer truck has really got to? Or to see where the crew bus with fifty workers on board has gone? Would using tech in this way be spying? Well, maybe. It would definitely be useful though.

Greg Whitaker is the editor of Plant Machinery Vehicles Middle East.

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