Agriculture Technology Podcast · RDO Equipment Co.

Ep. 214 - How Connected Support is Advancing Machine Health in Agriculture

·21 min·1 clip

An 8RT370 at Breckenridge had a low engine oil pressure alert, and the team found the oil pump nut had backed off.

1. Agriculture Technology Podcast episode 214 focuses on RDO Equipment’s connected support and machine health work around John Deere and other connected machines. 2. Host Tony Kramer speaks with Jake Livingston, Director of Connected Support at RDO Equipment, and Derek Rigg, Machine Health Manager at RDO Equipment, who also returns as a guest from episode 103 on expert alerts. 3. The episode asks what connected support is now, how it works across telematics and machine health, and why RDO thinks it matters to customers. 4. Jake says connected support starts with telematics on the machine, originally based on hours and location for planned maintenance. 5. Jake says RDO still supports planned maintenance packages, but now also uses field product specialists and telematics specialists to help customers and internal staff understand the data. 6. Jake says Derek’s team handles machine health and focuses on proactive solutions built from connected machine data. 7. Jake says RDO has telematics options through JDLink, Vermeer connections, WeTOS, aftermarket telematics, and devices for battery-less machines. 8. Derek says machine health monitoring at RDO began around 2016 or 2017 and expert alerts started around 2017. 9. Derek says the team of six monitors roughly 50,000 connected machines and receives about 8,000 to 10,000 fault codes every day. 10. Derek says RDO sent about 12,000 proactive solutions to the field and customers last year and saved roughly 200 engines in the last 12 months. 11. Derek explains that an expert alert can come from temperatures, pressures, and fault codes, not only from a code shown on the monitor. 12. Derek says about 50% of the alerts he sees now do not have a fault code on the monitor, which means background machine data is often the only warning. 13. Derek says the first expert alert can be a tough conversation because the operator may not see or hear any obvious problem. 14. Derek says graphs of pressure trends help show customers the yellow caution area before a fault code appears. 15. Derek describes an 8RT370 near Breckenridge where a low engine oil pressure alert led the team to pull the engine and inspect the oil pump. 16. Derek says that case involved a nut backing off on the oil pump gear, and the pressure chart showed the erratic readings that pointed to failure. 17. Derek says a 550K in Irving triggered knock sensor faults, and a customer service advisor scheduled a service call with the right parts in hand. 18. Derek says a 6175R in Hermiston had a pinhole in the oil filter, and quick action helped save the engine. 19. Tony and Jake describe the show as practical and relationship-driven, with examples drawn from agriculture and construction rather than abstract technology talk. 20. Listeners who manage fleets, farms, or dealership service teams should listen, while people looking for light entertainment or non-technical chat may skip it.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Agriculture Technology Podcast