A Q&A with Santa, and Fleet Manager Mrs Claus, of North Pole Inc
When it comes to the construction industry, most fleet managers agree that keeping up with vehicle maintenance and knowing where each piece of equipment is at any given time is essential. However, the maintenance upkeep and tracking of smaller vehicle attachments and construction components can often get lost in the shuffle. Luckily, telematics can help identify and prevent the smaller pieces of equipment from going unnoticed. Knowing where each piece of equipment is at any given time is a stressful and time consuming effort for fleet managers and owners – a GPS tracking solution eases that burden with tools like QR codes, performance dashboards, maintenance alerts and more.
Peace of Mind with Equipment Tracking
Heavy equipment theft is an industry-wide issue, with equipment losses totaling $300 million to $1 billion annually, according to estimates from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. Construction equipment is expensive, and that’s why it’s crucial to have a basic understand of its location to ensure nothing is lost on the job, even when it comes to the smallest asset, which are often the easier pieces of equipment to get stolen or misplaced.
Small assets include hammers, shovels, generators, compacters, carts, lanterns, portable work lights, saws, ladders and more. Depending on the nature of the project, a construction site might require hundreds to thousands of pieces of equipment for use on site. GPS tracking technology helps alleviate theft concerns for fleet managers, providing them with the exact location of fleet assets throughout the entirety of the delivery cycle – curbing unapproved use and asset larceny. For example, QR codes give construction companies the ability to track and assign even the smallest tools a pixelated barcode to be scanned in and out of job sites with a smartphone. This eliminates the need to manually log asset information, an often less accurate and inefficient approach to asset tracking. It might seem like a lost hammer here and there is not a big deal in the throes of a larger construction project, but those smaller assets add up and have a real impact on an organization over time.
Preventative Care over Reparative Costs
Telematics solutions enable fleet managers to track maintenance needs for individual asset components. This minimizes the risk of equipment breakdowns and losses and helps get the most out of overall asset performance. That’s why telematics features like maintenance alerts provide managers with insight into overall equipment health, as a result, help managers avoid unsatisfactory equipment inspections and ensure a longer equipment lifecycle. These are all factors that, when not monitored, often delay projects and result in what could have been preventable costs.
Using Machines in More Efficient Ways
Reporting tools display real time performance data of your larger powered assets, which alerts managers of issues and problems immediately, providing the opportunity to quickly correct them. They identify appropriate asset use – highlighting areas that could afford improvement. Real time knowledge and insight into every piece of equipment and every asset can improve the ROI of construction projects – increasing speed, making the most resourceful use of equipment and avoiding construction pitfalls and error.
Construction fleet managers are under constant pressure to reduce costs and produce more for less – increasing output while decreasing the resources. With a telematics solution, managers are able to maximize construction performance, reduce costs and ensure assets are all safe and accounted for.
To learn more, visit: http://www.teletracnavman.com/gps-tracking-benefits