Caterpillar's Vital Information Management System (VIMS) is a powerful tool for machine management that provides operators, service personnel and managers information on a wide range of vital machine functions. Numerous sensors are integrated into the vehicle design. If VIMS detects an impeding or abnormal condition in any of the machine's systems, it will alert the operator and instruct them to take appropriate action, whether it's modifying machine operation, notifying the shop of needed maintenance, or performing a safe shutdown of the machine. This improves availability, component life and production while reducing both repair cost and the risk of a catastrophic failure.