Advances in technology continue to impact the construction industry year after year. One important technological innovation is GPS tracking. Integrating GPS to ensure equipment safety has significantly become a trend over the years as it economizes operations. As a matter of fact, the 2018 Club Cargo Theft Report done by the BSI and TT Club concludes that the use of GPS tracking devices in the vehicle/trailer, as well as the use of covert GPS tracking devices within the cargo, are important protocols that should be followed to help prevent theft. 

Construction companies embracing the most cutting-edge technology can gain a valuable edge over competitors. Aside from reducing human effort and error, one of the most promising abilities of the global positioning system is real-time tracking. This feature not only prevents theft, loss, and damage. Construction equipment comprise such a large percentage of a construction company’s holdings that asset management is essential for meeting compliance and industry standards. Thus, setting a tracking system that delivers real-time data contributes to a healthy bottom line. 

How GPS Trackers Benefit Construction Companies

Before GPS tracking, the only way for managers to check on construction sites and equipment was by trusting their employees to report accomplished tasks in good faith. This became increasingly unreliable as human error and reports of inside jobs in companies became common. But with GPS technology to perform complex tasks at a higher speed and with higher precision, asset management is now automated, error-free, and cost-effective.

Here’s how GPS trackers benefit construction companies.

Economized operations

Employing more security personnel to guard construction sites can be very costly, which is why most small to medium enterprises avoid hiring a lot, but they also often end up not hiring enough to keep the place safe. Surveillance cameras, besides being expensive, are not enough to eradicate the possibility of equipment getting stolen. So to solve the problem, businesses turn to GPS trackers. Each tracker has an estimated value of $140. Say, a job site has 100 heavy equipment to monitor. The average annual cost is expected to be around $14,000 only. This is way lower than having to spend $26,400 annually on each guard, making GPS tracking devices a more efficient solution to equipment theft.

Reduces theft

More than anything, GPS tracking devices can work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can have a GPS tracker installed into vehicles so the device gets power from the vehicle’s own electrical system. This means there is no need to recharge it when batteries run low. This only requires a quick, simple installation. If you are one of those people who are not comfortable with basic automotive work, you could have the GPS tracker installed and hardwired by professionals, but you can do it yourself if you have the skills.

The purposes GPS tracking systems serve, however, are not limited to tracking and monitoring. Most devices also come with an alert system. On a programmed software or mobile application, business owners can set no-go areas (geofences), so when a bulldozer, loader, or any equipment approaches or exits the area, it will trigger an alert. This is a preventive measure for equipment theft. To ensure you are getting the most out of tracking, get yourself a device that will issue instant alerts if the device exits a safe zone, moves beyond schedule, changes location, or breaches speed limits.

Monitors employees

Various studies show that when field employees are aware that their performance is being tracked, including their driving behaviors, they are most likely to follow rules and therefore improve their productivity. A GPS tracking system can record the number and duration of downtimes, as well as unauthorized usage of company assets as proofs. All you have to do is either have a GPS tracking app installed on your employee’s mobile device or have your employees carry stand-alone GPS devices. Just geofence the building where your business is, and once an employee arrives at the building, the app or the GPS tracker will activate and start tracking their work time.

Vehicle information such as location, speed, acceleration, brakes, RPM, fuel efficiency, and engine data are among the vital information the GPS tracker gathers and analyzes. Its live tracking system allows you to receive this data automatically once the predefined limits are reached. Tracking this data is necessary to avoid unnecessary wear and tear and accidents due to bad driving habits. Suitable GPS tracking devices like Trackimo enable you to monitor all these.

Ensures safety

One of the simplest and most effective ways of keeping your workforce safe is through the use of a GPS vehicle locator. An app or tracker with an alarm button can send an alarm message to the administrator, informing them of possible emergencies. The SOS button in Tracki is a highly important feature to watch out for when choosing GPS trackers as it could save your employees’ lives. Tell them to simply press and hold this button for five seconds when in an emergency to alert the authorities or selected staff members of their current location, including directions. If your equipment travels through a route where there are threats for burglars, GPS trackers can also alert you right away. 

Cuts costs

Construction projects often involve lots of driving. Transporting materials from one site to another, collecting equipment from warehouses, driving waste to a landfill or recycling centre, and simply going on lunch breaks all consumes fuel. Recent studies indicate that businesses have reported a reduction in fuel usage as the biggest advantage of GPS tracking. The use of a GPS vehicle locator mainly gives better route options for your drivers. Choosing which routes to take makes driving more efficient, saving you time and money. In doing so, you can eliminate unnecessary costs and reduce unproductive work. This will reduce the time your driver has to spend on the road, resulting in faster delivery arrival and lesser fuel expenses.

Improves client relationships

A bad habit that most businesses do is attracting new clients all the while neglecting the old ones. This more often than not results in a lack of growth in clientele. With GPS tracking, you can prioritize both new and old customers. Deliver your construction materials on time, improve construction efficiency, and maintain healthy business relationships with all of your customers with the help of GPS technology, which ensures that you would be able to respond to customers in case of delay and calculate the estimated time of operations, hence, increase employee productivity and positive feedback.

Features That GPS Trackers Have to Offer

Real-time worldwide monitoring

Location-based remote monitoring systems help businesses optimize asset movement, reduce transportation costs, and increase the efficiency of assets. With GPS tracking devices like Tracki, location tracking remains convenient and accessible anytime, anywhere, as long as GSM cellular reception exists, ensuring that the equipment or vehicles never go off the radar. Trackimo packs a powerful hybrid of GPS, GSM, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth tracking technology to accurately locate your assets worldwide in real time, whether they are indoors or outdoors.

Multiple-device tracking

Since you’re tracking multiple vehicles and equipment at the same time, you can add and manage several all the tracking devices you’re using on a single view on your desktop, tab, or phone. This makes it perfect for any rental company manager to monitor all the assets being rented at the same time.

Geofences

Whether you’re monitoring industrial assets, pumps, tanks, chemicals, vehicles, sensors, or anything else, your geofences alert you when anything is inside or outside of your custom geofence zones. Geofences create an automatic bridge to recovery by integrating law enforcement services to retrieve stolen property or when equipment is accidentally sent to incorrect locations. Geofencing can alert a dispatcher when a cargo van breaks from his route.

A Final Word

A GPS tracker placed in construction equipment and company vehicles can offer you savings in several aspects of your business. Probably one of the biggest savings will be seen with auto insurance. Many insurance companies out there recognize the benefits brought about by implementing GPS tracking. You are less likely to report vehicle theft as well as accidents because your employees are operating and driving much safer than before. This can actually add up to 15 percent in savings overall on your auto insurance bill. If you have multiple vehicles in your company, this can be an even more significant number.

By using a GPS tracking system, you will be able to not only reduce your employees' downtime and increase productivity but you will also be giving your customers better service. Clients will continue to patronize you for their needs and also refer your outstanding service to other people.

GPS trackers may be worth looking into for just the savings alone, but the benefits from better customer feedback and better employee management to easier records keeping will soon outweigh your increased profit. The technology will help your construction company improve on management, consequently increasing productivity, and ensuring employee safety. As of now, we’re actually only scratching the surface of what this means to our businesses and, ultimately, to our lives.