By Francisco Martins, United Rentals
For contractors, effectively managing the acquisition, operation and maintenance of a construction fleet presents significant challenges. Digital technology in the form of telematics enables companies to automate processes and make data-driven decisions in order to increase fleet productivity and maximize the value of owned and rented equipment.
Older legacy equipment may not have telematics devices installed, but original equipment manufacturers are now including them in most of their machines. Still, the devices are not useful if they are inactive. Some contractors don’t realize their machines are equipped with them. Others haven’t activated existing devices, perhaps because they don’t fully understand the value they can deliver.
Why telematics?
When used in concert with a cloud-based fleet management system, telematics devices provide insight into several facets of equipment operations, including how optimally equipment is utilized, how it’s operated and its state of health. Managers can leverage this data to make more informed, more cost-effective decisions about equipment fleet size and maintenance frequency. They can also identify which operators may need additional training, with the goals of boosting safety, reducing equipment wear and tear and increasing fuel efficiency.
Equipment telematics is instrumental in optimizing the management of both owned and rented equipment, no matter the size of the fleet. Today, leading rental equipment providers are outfitting heavy equipment and other assets such as generators with telematics devices. When these devices are present across a mixed fleet, contractors can see the whole fleet on one software platform and manage it holistically.
Equipment tracking
Contractors who don’t track their equipment location with telematics may be losing money by over-fleeting and losing time by requiring crews to hunt for machines. Seeing the location of every piece of telematics-enabled equipment helps ensure that no machine goes to waste. Location tracking uncovers “misplaced” equipment and discourages hoarding.
Some fleet management platforms show not only where equipment is in real time but also how it got there, courtesy of breadcrumb mapping.
A trail of location coordinates can help answer questions around who left equipment in the wrong spot. It can also be leveraged to increase logistical efficiency. For instance, contractors can potentially adjust the jobsite layout to reduce excavator travel distances, which helps preserve the equipment undercarriage and reduce unnecessary fuel burn.
Fleet optimization
Buy what you need, need what you buy. It sounds simple, but an optimal equipment portfolio is not always easy to achieve. Often, contractors have too much of one type of equipment and not enough of another.
Telematics data enables the generation of utilization reports, which give managers detailed utilization metrics that help them adjust fleets based on usage patterns.
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The ideal fleet may well be a mix of owned and rented equipment. If a certain asset is underutilized, it may be time to get it off the books and rent the equipment instead of owning it. On the other hand, if telematics indicates high usage, investing in more owned or rented units may improve productivity.
To help optimize utilization, managers can configure low-utilization alerts that notify them when equipment has been sitting for too long, possibly forgotten. These alerts may signal that it’s time to return rental equipment or sell owned equipment.
Fuel consumption
Diesel fuel typically makes up at least a third of the operating cost of construction equipment. Reducing fuel consumption cuts costs while minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.
When it comes to better controlling fuel consumption, seemingly small operator behaviours such as long idling and aggressive driving make a big difference. Time-stamped idling reports pinpoint how long each machine idles and uncover discretionary idling. Other reports reveal abrupt braking, fast acceleration and unnecessary stopping and starting. Visibility into these behaviours allows managers to take appropriate corrective action.
Some fleet management systems offer real-time long-idling alerts. These provide the opportunity to react immediately when an operator idles a piece of equipment for an egregious amount of time.
Optimizing maintenance
Developing and adhering to a disciplined preventative maintenance program extends the useful life of owned equipment and mitigates the risk of unplanned downtime, but maintenance is a pain point for a lot of contractors. Typically, it’s not a core competency. Telematics can help.
Odometer and engine-hour readings captured by telematics devices enable condition-based just-in-time maintenance. This approach optimizes maintenance frequency compared to calendar-based maintenance, which can lead to under-maintenance of heavily used equipment and over-maintenance of lightly used equipment.
Over-maintenance wastes time and natural resources such as engine oil. Under-maintenance increases the likelihood of untimely repairs and premature equipment failures, which eat into profits.
In a cloud-based fleet management system, companies can configure automatic maintenance reminders based on engine hours or odometer readings. Other telematics data points can drive equipment diagnostic alerts such as low fuel or battery level, low diesel exhaust fluid (DEF) level, high coolant temperature and, for generators, high/low frequency alerts.
Tracking tagged tools
Tools are distributed assets that can be difficult to track and manage. Telematics devices installed in generators and heavy equipment have a hidden benefit: They can read Bluetooth tags attached to tools as the tools move across the jobsite, creating an efficient, effective method of tool tracking. With greater visibility into tool inventories, asset managers can reduce tool shrinkage and overspending on replacement tools.
Affordable technology
Technology is helping construction become safer, more productive and more sustainable. Using telematics to remotely track and monitor equipment is one of the most affordable and easy-to-adopt strategies for reducing fleet costs, extending equipment life cycles, avoiding unplanned downtime, reducing fuel consumption and ultimately, turning a bigger profit.
Aftermarket telematics devices are relatively easy for experienced professionals to install. A one-stop temporary equipment provider can install them as well as provide a subscription service plan for new or existing devices. Some rental companies give customers free access to a proprietary fleet management platform that allows them to set up alerts, generate reports and otherwise manage mixed fleets.
Francisco Martins is Marketing Campaign Manager, Customer Equipment Solutions at United Rentals. The Customer Equipment Solutions team collaborates with equipment owners in developing service solutions to optimize their owned fleets while lowering their total cost of equipment operations.
