Telematics devices may seem like a form of technology that belongs in the future. But believe it or not, telematics technology is transforming the construction industry through increased fleet visibility and efficiency. Fleet managers can acquire enhanced visibility into construction operations like fuel usage and asset location. These insights offer a massive competitive advantage by allowing you to accurately bid on jobs and skyrocket your productivity and profitability.

Cleveland Brothers helps to create a cohesive workforce no matter the size of fleet. We know how busy job sites can be with different crews, equipment and materials all working toward a single goal. With fleet telematics, you can effortlessly manage each step of a project and asset to increase productivity and boost your bottom line.

What Is Telematics in Equipment?

Construction telematics gives you real-time insights to help streamline your daily operations managing heavy machinery, vehicles, compliance, materials and workers. With the most valuable information at your fingertips, whether in the office or on site, customers gain a competitive advantage over others in the industry.

In simple terms, equipment telematics tracks your fleet on every level. For example, telematics monitors different data analytics like equipment location, engine utilization, idle time, maintenance schedules and more. This type of software collects each bit of data about individual assets and breaks it down into accessible chunks of information. With this, you can create a more profitable, safe and smoothly running operation.

The global construction market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23%, which equates to about $14 trillion by 2025. As the industry continues to grow, telematics helps your company remain a competitive force and consistently turn profits.

How Does Equipment Telematics Work?

Telematics connects your assets to the cloud or another web portal while providing the location, status and activity of each asset thanks to the support of GPS, monitoring sensors and onboard diagnostics. By combining these technologies to form a single system, telematics grants you the ability to report, track and log crucial data. You can keep track of the operational and performance levels of your entire fleet, whether you manage a diverse set of machines or a few pieces of heavy equipment.

Telematics systems allow you to do the following:

• Be aware of safety alerts.
• Check idle time.
• Keep track of maintenance schedules.
• Look at usage hours.
• Manage each project and work site.
• Monitor driver behavior.
• Observe asset utilization.
• See the location of each asset.
• Track fuel usage.

With these valuable insights, project managers can better understand how each project is progressing and what changes need to be made to maximize productivity.

10 Benefits of Equipment Telematics

With construction telematics integrated into your fleet, you can monitor each asset on a single platform while automating maintenance schedules, accessing critical information and implementing safety measures.

The top 10 advantages of using telematics data to monitor and control your fleet of heavy equipment include the following.

1. Allocate and Locate Assets

Using equipment telematics to know where each piece of equipment is and how much it's being used can help you see how you’re allocating your machines. Over time, you can determine if you need to invest in more machines to keep up with high work demands or how to utilize your assets more effectively.

Additionally, you will know where your heavy machinery is and the position of other tools and non-powered assets like trailers. Seeing the location of every asset in real time also gives you access to a quick inventory. Knowing where everything is can support you in making quick and accurate decisions, plus, reduce any incidences of asset misplacement.

2. Estimate More Accurate Job Costs

With detailed information regarding machine hours, fuel usage and labor costs from equipment telematics, you can more precisely determine your operating costs for accurate billing. You can take both current and past data to predict how much different tasks will cost for your future projects. With more accurate estimates and job costing, you can submit more competitive bids.

3. Gain Tax Refunds and Insurance Premiums

If you use your construction equipment for off-road purposes, you may be eligible for tax refunds from the federal government and most state governments. Telematics can even help reduce insurance premiums and deductibles. Because GPS tracking can geo-fence your equipment, set off alerts and monitor operator behavior, it safeguards your assets and reduces theft and equipment accidents. Both aspects help to lower insurance costs.

4. Manage Maintenance and Repair Schedules

Identifying maintenance issues early on saves time, money and uptime in the long run. Sensors and onboard scales capture data from various equipment systems like fault codes and fuel consumption. They also log engine usage hours and notify users when a machine reaches specific milestones.

Monitoring your equipment by using inspection reports can help you schedule better maintenance programs and know when to conduct preventive maintenance. With accurate tracking telematics systems in place, you will know when to pull each piece of equipment for inspection and be alerted if certain machines aren’t operating at peak performance. Preventive maintenance management through telematics reduces equipment repairs and failures.

5. Observe Driver Performance

Knowing each safety hazard that occurs and if certain workers are misusing equipment allows room for driver training and retraining. As you identify bad operating habits like hard stops, prolonged idling, machine overloading and speeding, you can encourage better equipment usage to help improve efficiency levels and reduce safety incidents. Observing driver performance can also lead to reduced labor costs and less wear on your assets.

6. Reduce Fuel and Maintenance Costs

As a fleet manager, you’re always seeking ways to save money—and here’s one of the best ways when using telematics. With equipment telematics, you can see which machines sit idle for long periods and which ones consistently perform work. Monitoring idle vs. work time allows you to see which operators waste the most amount of fuel. This opens a window for you to implement the best practices that reduce idle time to gain improved fuel efficiency and a more productive work day.

Less idle time also extends the life span of your equipment while reducing maintenance costs. The better your assets are operated, the fewer repairs and replacements you will have to worry about.

7. Reduce Theft

With GPS tracking integrated into your construction telematics, you can know the exact location of your heavy machinery, which can help prevent theft and unauthorized equipment usage. For example, with a geo-fence or time-fence in place, the system can physically limit a machine from leaving a specified work zone. Notifications will alert you if an asset leaves an area and from there, you can see if an operator is moving it to a different site or if theft is occurring. Some systems even allow you to remotely shut down engines in these instances.

8. Track Operating Expenses

Operating expenses include repairs, preventive maintenance, wages, fuel and track or tire costs. With detailed information about the daily efficiencies of your fleet, you can understand how to stay within or under budget, increase efficiencies and keep the progress of your projects on time according to your schedule.

Managing your operating expenses also grants you access to knowing whether your machines are exceeding ownership costs. In this case, the life cycle of an engine may be near its end.

9. Undergo Fewer Safety Accidents

You can better protect your workers with the support of telematics. Knowing where each asset is located, how it’s being used and if it’s up-to-date on maintenance can help keep your crew, machines and the public out of danger. In congruence with understanding driver performance, this can also help reduce the number of job site accidents.

10. Upsurge Productivity and Profits

Having real-time insights that range from preventive maintenance and idle time to operational intelligence and fuel usage provides a detailed yet broad view of how your company is operating. With fleet data analytics, you can see how each asset is performing. From there, you can see what is and isn’t working to make changes and increase productivity levels, uptime and profits.

With all these benefits, you can stay on top of your company’s needs, both at the office and in the field. You can access telematics via your phone, laptop, tablet or desktop.

Make Your Fleet More Efficient With Help From Cleveland Brothers

Contact us online to learn more about how our team of experts can help integrate equipment telematics into your construction fleet. Find a Cleveland Brothers location near you, or call a representative at 1-866-551-4602 today for more details.

Telematics devices may seem like a form of technology that belongs in the future. But believe it or not, telematics technology is transforming the construction industry through increased fleet visibility and efficiency. Fleet managers can acquire enhanced visibility into construction operations like fuel usage and asset location. These insights offer a massive competitive advantage by allowing you to accurately bid on jobs and skyrocket your productivity and profitability.

Cleveland Brothers helps to create a cohesive workforce no matter the size of fleet. We know how busy job sites can be with different crews, equipment and materials all working toward a single goal. With fleet telematics, you can effortlessly manage each step of a project and asset to increase productivity and boost your bottom line.

What Is Telematics in Equipment?

Construction telematics gives you real-time insights to help streamline your daily operations managing heavy machinery, vehicles, compliance, materials and workers. With the most valuable information at your fingertips, whether in the office or on site, customers gain a competitive advantage over others in the industry.

In simple terms, equipment telematics tracks your fleet on every level. For example, telematics monitors different data analytics like equipment location, engine utilization, idle time, maintenance schedules and more. This type of software collects each bit of data about individual assets and breaks it down into accessible chunks of information. With this, you can create a more profitable, safe and smoothly running operation.

The global construction market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23%, which equates to about $14 trillion by 2025. As the industry continues to grow, telematics helps your company remain a competitive force and consistently turn profits.

How Does Equipment Telematics Work?

Telematics connects your assets to the cloud or another web portal while providing the location, status and activity of each asset thanks to the support of GPS, monitoring sensors and onboard diagnostics. By combining these technologies to form a single system, telematics grants you the ability to report, track and log crucial data. You can keep track of the operational and performance levels of your entire fleet, whether you manage a diverse set of machines or a few pieces of heavy equipment.

Telematics systems allow you to do the following:

• Be aware of safety alerts.
• Check idle time.
• Keep track of maintenance schedules.
• Look at usage hours.
• Manage each project and work site.
• Monitor driver behavior.
• Observe asset utilization.
• See the location of each asset.
• Track fuel usage.

With these valuable insights, project managers can better understand how each project is progressing and what changes need to be made to maximize productivity.

10 Benefits of Equipment Telematics

With construction telematics integrated into your fleet, you can monitor each asset on a single platform while automating maintenance schedules, accessing critical information and implementing safety measures.

The top 10 advantages of using telematics data to monitor and control your fleet of heavy equipment include the following.

1. Allocate and Locate Assets

Using equipment telematics to know where each piece of equipment is and how much it's being used can help you see how you’re allocating your machines. Over time, you can determine if you need to invest in more machines to keep up with high work demands or how to utilize your assets more effectively.

Additionally, you will know where your heavy machinery is and the position of other tools and non-powered assets like trailers. Seeing the location of every asset in real time also gives you access to a quick inventory. Knowing where everything is can support you in making quick and accurate decisions, plus, reduce any incidences of asset misplacement.

2. Estimate More Accurate Job Costs

With detailed information regarding machine hours, fuel usage and labor costs from equipment telematics, you can more precisely determine your operating costs for accurate billing. You can take both current and past data to predict how much different tasks will cost for your future projects. With more accurate estimates and job costing, you can submit more competitive bids.

3. Gain Tax Refunds and Insurance Premiums

If you use your construction equipment for off-road purposes, you may be eligible for tax refunds from the federal government and most state governments. Telematics can even help reduce insurance premiums and deductibles. Because GPS tracking can geo-fence your equipment, set off alerts and monitor operator behavior, it safeguards your assets and reduces theft and equipment accidents. Both aspects help to lower insurance costs.

4. Manage Maintenance and Repair Schedules

Identifying maintenance issues early on saves time, money and uptime in the long run. Sensors and onboard scales capture data from various equipment systems like fault codes and fuel consumption. They also log engine usage hours and notify users when a machine reaches specific milestones.

Monitoring your equipment by using inspection reports can help you schedule better maintenance programs and know when to conduct preventive maintenance. With accurate tracking telematics systems in place, you will know when to pull each piece of equipment for inspection and be alerted if certain machines aren’t operating at peak performance. Preventive maintenance management through telematics reduces equipment repairs and failures.

5. Observe Driver Performance

Knowing each safety hazard that occurs and if certain workers are misusing equipment allows room for driver training and retraining. As you identify bad operating habits like hard stops, prolonged idling, machine overloading and speeding, you can encourage better equipment usage to help improve efficiency levels and reduce safety incidents. Observing driver performance can also lead to reduced labor costs and less wear on your assets.

6. Reduce Fuel and Maintenance Costs

As a fleet manager, you’re always seeking ways to save money—and here’s one of the best ways when using telematics. With equipment telematics, you can see which machines sit idle for long periods and which ones consistently perform work. Monitoring idle vs. work time allows you to see which operators waste the most amount of fuel. This opens a window for you to implement the best practices that reduce idle time to gain improved fuel efficiency and a more productive work day.

Less idle time also extends the life span of your equipment while reducing maintenance costs. The better your assets are operated, the fewer repairs and replacements you will have to worry about.

7. Reduce Theft

With GPS tracking integrated into your construction telematics, you can know the exact location of your heavy machinery, which can help prevent theft and unauthorized equipment usage. For example, with a geo-fence or time-fence in place, the system can physically limit a machine from leaving a specified work zone. Notifications will alert you if an asset leaves an area and from there, you can see if an operator is moving it to a different site or if theft is occurring. Some systems even allow you to remotely shut down engines in these instances.

8. Track Operating Expenses

Operating expenses include repairs, preventive maintenance, wages, fuel and track or tire costs. With detailed information about the daily efficiencies of your fleet, you can understand how to stay within or under budget, increase efficiencies and keep the progress of your projects on time according to your schedule.

Managing your operating expenses also grants you access to knowing whether your machines are exceeding ownership costs. In this case, the life cycle of an engine may be near its end.

9. Undergo Fewer Safety Accidents

You can better protect your workers with the support of telematics. Knowing where each asset is located, how it’s being used and if it’s up-to-date on maintenance can help keep your crew, machines and the public out of danger. In congruence with understanding driver performance, this can also help reduce the number of job site accidents.

10. Upsurge Productivity and Profits

Having real-time insights that range from preventive maintenance and idle time to operational intelligence and fuel usage provides a detailed yet broad view of how your company is operating. With fleet data analytics, you can see how each asset is performing. From there, you can see what is and isn’t working to make changes and increase productivity levels, uptime and profits.

With all these benefits, you can stay on top of your company’s needs, both at the office and in the field. You can access telematics via your phone, laptop, tablet or desktop.

Make Your Fleet More Efficient With Help From Cleveland Brothers

Contact us online to learn more about how our team of experts can help integrate equipment telematics into your construction fleet. Find a Cleveland Brothers location near you, or call a representative at 1-866-551-4602 today for more details.