If rounding up your fleet of construction vehicles, equipment, and other assets ever feels like you’re playing a game of chess while blindfolded, you’re not alone.
The good news is, you don’t have to navigate your operations in the dark anymore. Today’s construction fleet tracking software helps you see every move your assets make, from the moment they leave the yard to when they arrive on site. With it, you can turn blind spots into clear insights, giving you the upper hand in managing your operations.
What is construction fleet tracking?
Construction fleet tracking is the process of monitoring and managing construction vehicles, heavy equipment, and other assets.
Historically, this was done manually, but with construction fleet tracking software, construction leaders no longer have to record construction asset location in spreadsheets, only to have the data become obsolete a few minutes later when the equipment is moved without notice. With fleet tracking software for construction companies, you can know what’s happening with every vehicle and piece of equipment on or en route to all your jobsites in just one glance.
How does construction fleet tracking software work?
Construction fleet tracking software uses real-time GPS insights paired with geofencing and telematics technology to gain real-time visibility into the location, usage, and health of your construction fleet.
When you install a gateway, like Motive’s Vehicle Gateway, in a construction vehicle or heavy machinery or an asset, you can see where it is and how it’s being used without being onsite yourself. Built-in cellular connectivity continues syncing data back to a main dashboard so that you can track over 200 telematics, like usage, location, and fuel consumption.
How the construction industry uses tracking software
The construction industry uses construction fleet tracking software to improve overall efficiency, productivity, and revenue.
1. Improve efficiency and increase productivity
At its most basic level, with construction fleet tracking, you get an immediate and accurate inventory of what assets you have — and that’s not usually an easy task. You’ll know what you have, where it is, what needs to be retired or acquired, all in one single dashboard.
2. Scale fleet tracking easily
If your company is growing, all you have to do to add equipment or vehicles to your tracking system is equip them with a gateway and start monitoring it in your dashboard. Installation is quick. For example, All Chemical Transport found it takes about 20 minutes per truck to install Motive solutions.
3. Know where your equipment is
Open your central fleet management dashboard to find your vehicles and equipment at once, so that you can move them around strategically to increase their return on investment. Fun fact: Motive’s live equipment location updates are as frequent as two seconds.
4. Prevent theft
Construction fleet tracking software keeps those expensive assets from wandering off the job site (and if they do, helps you find them again). You can even put up a geofence around a jobsite to alert you if any asset leaves an established boundary. Or, you can have it let you know when they arrive.
Key features of construction fleet tracking software
Construction fleet tracking software just needs GPS to work — but the best construction fleet tracking software should provide much more than that, in order to help you achieve all the benefits described above. Here are features to look for in a fleet tracking software solution:
- Live GPS tracking. Modern construction fleet tracking relies on GPS triangulation to identify locations of your fleet. This technology should sync back to a centralized dashboard where you can track assets, vehicles, and equipment in one place.
- Geofencing. A geofence is a perimeter you create around a location so that you can determine when equipment enters or leaves the premises, helping you identify correct or incorrect usage.
- Telematics. Construction fleet tracking isn’t just about location. Fleet telematics should be part of the software to help you monitor your fleet’s health, including fuel consumption, emission levels, time spent on site, usage, speed, battery, etc, all mapping back to your dashboard. These indicators are crucial to optimizing your fleet’s health and productivity at each jobsite.
- Integrations to dash cams. Dash cams work hand-in-hand with tracking. They give you a full view of what’s happening on the road and at the jobsite. Look for ones that show both the road and the driver, and connect with your tracking devices so you can link safety info to specific vehicles.
According to Motive data, improving safety can have a positive impact on your bottom line. Forward-thinking fleets that have implemented an AI-powered safety solution to prevent crashes saved anywhere between $91,000 and $1.72M in 2022.
- Asset gateway pairing. To help you keep track of vehicles, equipment, and assets at once, make sure your vehicle gateway pairs with your asset gateway. For example, the Motive Asset Gateway and Vehicle Gateway pair automatically, so you can see which vehicle is hauling a particular asset in real-time.
- Electronic logging device. The vehicle gateways you use should also be ELDs, providing built-in cellular connectivity to continuously sync driver and vehicle data with your centralized dashboard to give you up-to-date compliance records (if compliance is a requirement for you).
- Wifi hotspot. The top trackers even offer a Wi-Fi hotspot for remote areas, helping your drivers stay connected when they’re out in the field.
What are the benefits of a modern tracking solution?
So how does construction fleet tracking software help construction professionals prevent accidents, address equipment theft, and operate more efficiently?
- Improved productivity. Managing a fleet of any size is much easier when you have the connectivity provided by construction fleet tracking software. An accurate inventory and comprehensive visibility of all your assets and maintenance leads to a streamlined fleet tracking process. You can build a meaner, leaner operation for reduced costs and increased revenue, where jobs are completed on time and on budget.
- Prevent theft. Your equipment is always findable with construction fleet tracking software. No more guessing games or potential losses from theft.
- Cost reductions. With more data about your construction fleet, you can cut costs in a wide variety of areas. For example, as your knowledge about fuel usage grows, you can cut down on idling and optimize routes for drivers. Or, you can see when equipment is sitting idle for long periods of time and relocate it to a jobsite where it’ll get better utilization. Overall, cutting costs in this way leads to improved jobs and better bids—resulting in financial growth for your company.
Construction fleet tracking examples
Here’s how a variety of companies use construction fleet tracking to grow their businesses.
Subcontractor scales with fleet tracking
Hardy & Harper, an asphalt paving contractor in Southern California, struggled with reactive fleet management and inaccurate tracking data. Equipment Manager Adam Stowers highlighted issues such as a lack of consistent collision detection, inability to track accurate mileage, and no integrated fuel card or AI-powered dash cam footage. Adopting the Motive Integrated Operations Platform, powered by AI and automation, provided “complete visibility” into their fleet and spend.
Adam described how the software has transformed his job and their company, “This visibility means we have the freedom and scalability to grow responsibly. Instead of growing our management team to oversee more vehicles on the road, our existing team can get a bird’s eye view and zero in on specific aspects of our expanded fleet’s operations, continuing our long tradition of running lean and mean while investing in our field workforce.”
Materials manufacturing company cuts costs with safer operations
Ernst Concrete, a family-owned business specializing in ready-mix concrete, took construction fleet tracking to the next level by investing in dash cams to increase driver and jobsite safety. As Director of Risk and Safety at Ernst, Paul Fly led the charge to invest in Motive dual-facing AI Dashcams and video-based coaching to revolutionize its operations, improve safety, and dramatically cut costs.
In 13 months, Ernst achieved a 2,000% return on investment, including a 97% reduction in cell phone use, an 81% reduction in close following events, and an 83% reduction in distraction events.
Fly explained the difference: “Motive has changed everything for us. It gives us the feedback we need to really see what’s going on in your fleet.”
Equipment rental companies get a comprehensive look at their fleets
Equipment rental companies constantly deal with the headache of keeping track of all their different machines. Finding specific equipment, preventing theft, increasing utilization, and proactively maintaining machines is labor intensive and eats into profits.
By putting in a smart, all-in-one construction fleet tracking system, this equipment rental company could get a full picture of their vehicles’ location, usage, and health. With real-time info on how machines are being used and if anything’s going wrong, the system would let them set up maintenance ahead of time. This means fewer surprise breakdowns and better productivity.
Make it easier to grow
Construction fleet tracking software isn’t a fancy add-on; it’s a game-changer for any construction business looking to stay ahead. By bringing together live GPS tracking, telematics, and integrations, you get a complete, live picture of your entire fleet.
This means less guesswork and more accurate decisions, helping you improve efficiency, prevent theft, and cut down on costs everywhere. If you’re ready to stop playing blindfolded and start building a safer, more productive, and more profitable operation, it’s time to see what modern construction fleet tracking software like Motive’s can do for you.
It’s easy to learn more. Check out our on-demand webinar: Intro to Motive for Construction Fleets.
