3 Ways to Maximize Construction Equipment Utilization

Tracking equipment utilization...it’s a common scenario we hear from those in the construction industry.

A piece of equipment is needed at a job site on a specific day. But the piece isn’t there. In fact, it’s unknown where the piece is. Likely, it’s at another jobsite – hidden in plain view – so the manager at that site can be sure the equipment is available when it’s needed there.

And while the equipment will be onsite for that future work, for now, it sits idle, when it could instead be in service and making the company money. What’s worse, with work to do and the asset missing, the company had no choice but to incur the cost of renting a similar piece of equipment.

Every time we hear a story like this, the frustration in the voice of the person recounting it is palpable. It’s easy to understand why. Equipment prices continue to rise and construction companies can spend up to hundreds of thousands of dollars on a single piece of heavy equipment.

To recoup that exorbitant cost, the equipment needs to be running every possible day. In the scenario above, that wasn’t happening. But what really makes this scenario so frustrating is that the situation was totally avoidable if the company had only been able to know the whereabouts of all its equipment. Enter, the need for construction equipment utilization.

First things first, what is equipment utilization? Equipment utilization, also known as asset utilization, is measuring the use and performance of equipment on site. Effectively monitoring this can lead to job site productivity and reduced costs.

The good news is that fleet management for construction and the power of its data can help with this and other utilization challenges, including the following.

Tracking and locating equipment. With the right telematics system, you will be able to know with certainty where all your equipment is at any given time. You can use GPS tracking to pinpoint the exact location of every vehicle or asset. You can even set up geofences and be alerted when a vehicle or asset moves outside of this designated perimeter. With this technology, the all-too-common scenario described above can become a thing of the past.

Helping manage logistics. Another challenge construction companies face with their assets is managing the logistics of efficiently moving vehicles and assets where they are in need. With construction telematics and tracking, you can identify the closest asset to the site where it is required, so that it can be quickly moved into place while expending as little time and fuel as possible. This is especially helpful when equipment breaks down and is out of service and needs to be replaced with another like asset.

Using analytics to track maintenance. While all your vehicles and assets are important, when you spend close to a million dollars for a large piece of equipment, plus pay everything from fuel costs to insurance to loan interest to operator labor costs, every hour it is in service will matter. With the analytics capabilities available with a telematics and data system, you’ll be able to track and get reports on the efficiency and utilization of the fleet asset. You’ll also be able to monitor the asset for adherence to regular maintenance schedules and identify needed repairs required to keep the equipment in service.

Ensuring your equipment is being used as much as possible is, of course, a priority for every construction company. With the right construction telematics and data solution, maximizing utilization becomes much easier.

Interested in learning more about equipment utilization? Click to learn more about how you can improve your fleet utilization.