One of the essential resources in a construction project is the construction tools, assets, and equipment. It is also one of the significant cost drivers of your budget, and keeping track of these resources can save your company from losing money. An efficient and effective construction asset and equipment tracking system can help you keep costs down, boost productivity, ensure employees are safe, and stop theft.
It may not seem very easy at first, but once you have created a system that works for you and your team, you can focus on the more essential parts of the project. In this article, let us discuss how to become an expert at tracking construction equipment and the best ways.
What is a Construction Asset and Equipment Tracking System?
In a nutshell, a construction asset and equipment tracking system lets you and your team get a clear overview of where your asset is, who is using it, and if you still have the proper inventory levels. In a project lifecycle, an asset is often used, kept, and used again. As a result, you will need to track your purchases to monitor their usage and maintenance. This could mean putting asset tags or barcodes on technology and gear to identify them. Monitoring solutions for building equipment or assets usually use construction technology like GPS tracking devices, telematics, or management software to let you see your resources in one place. Together, these tools keep an eye on equipment, software, and processes specific to the company.
Why Is It Important to Keep Track of Construction Assets and Equipment?
With the right tools, tracking your assets can be easy and quick. As mentioned earlier, keeping an eye on all purchases can save you money in the long run and ensure each project progresses according to plan. In this section, let us examine why setting up an efficient tracking system is essential for your business.
Get Valuable Insights based on Reports and Audits
Using a construction management system with asset tracking lets you view real-time reports with just a few simple clients. This can be useful, mainly if you handle multiple projects simultaneously and use the same assets and equipment. In this case, having an asset tracking system lets you see the quality, location, and length of its investments and how it affects your overall productivity.
Boost Asset Life Cycles
An asset equipment tracking system can help make routine maintenance more accurate and efficient by reporting operating health and asset status in almost real-time. A complete and unified asset tracking system gives you full information about maintenance alerts, especially when parts need to be replaced, no matter what brand of tools you have. For example, whenever your crew uses a specific device, they must log it in the system. If the instrument is scheduled for maintenance after several uses, it can alert you based on particular indicators. This way, you can schedule timely maintenance and incorporate it into your master schedules.
Reduce Equipment Downtime
As mentioned, a lot of the money a general contractor or a project manager spends goes on tools or equipment. Heavy equipment is costly, but you can lower the cost and keep them in good shape by ensuring they’re well taken care of. It is essential to monitor your tools to spot damage or problems immediately. When you fix issues quickly, you avoid paying for repairs more often, and the equipment lasts longer. This way, you can improve the efficiency of your building work by making your machines work better.
Save Money in the Long Run
In the traditional ways of managing construction projects, many companies have to rely on their administrative staff to determine the current state and keep track of their assets. Not only is there a chance of human error, which could lead to the loss of valuable assets, but this approach also costs a lot more in the long run. Having a sound asset management system allows you to have a single way to keep track of everything; there is a good chance that they will be misused or mishandled. Since everything is automated, you and your team can focus on the more essential parts of project management.
Boost Productivity
Construction companies can be more accurate and see more clearly when they can track where a specific resource is and how it moves. Your team can make better choices about the most critical assets in your company’s portfolio if they keep track of costs, downtime, maintenance, and other factors. You can always be sure that your team can get access to the right tools or equipment whenever they need it.
Ensure Peace of Mind
A big part of making sure everyone stays safe is making sure you know how to use the tools correctly. Asset tracking can help reduce accidents on the job site by monitoring possible risks and seeing when a specific tool leaves an area. It may seem too tedious, but the right system can help stop problems before they happen and keep your team safe.
Prevent Theft
It is easy for thieves to get into job sites, even if you have good security. Often, tools are not locked up and left out overnight with no one to watch them. With real-time location info, tracking your assets will keep them from being stolen.
Common Challenges When It Comes to Construction Asset and Equipment Tracking
No matter your project’s size, scope, and complexity, part of the project is always buying, renting, and transporting equipment to various sites. Different tools are needed at multiple job stages and stored in other places. Here are some things to look out for when trying to keep track of your gear.
High Investment Costs
No doubt, construction tools and equipment are pricey. A backhoe is a significant cost for your business, even if you buy it used. When you get something expensive, you need to take good care of it.
Integrating New Tools and Equipment
Having your team help you keep track of tools will be helpful. There might be some resistance at first, mainly if your team is already used to the old ways of managing or doing things. Try to start with the most senior employees and make them responsible for updating information. Next, move on to the less old or younger employees.
Skill Development and Training
Keep teaching your team, and always strive for continuous learning and improvement. Try to set training classes as a top priority to stress the importance of safety and taking care of tools. It is essential for your business that you get your team to use the equipment tracking system you set up.
Tips and Tricks to Keeping Track of Your Assets and Equipment
The fact that companies need to know where their assets are is one of the biggest problems with managing building equipment. When work is ongoing, and the team needs help finding the tools they need, it can lead to unproductivity and delays. Because of this, work gets done slowly or not at all, but there is a higher chance of losing assets. In this section, let us look at a few tips and tricks for keeping track of your help.
Ensure Your Assets are in Tip-Top Shape
During construction, a lot of big machinery does a lot of work and keeps going for extended periods. That is why it is important to do repairs on time. It is essential to keep equipment from breaking down suddenly, as this can cause work and activities to be held up and maintenance costs to rise.
Get Essential Data On Your Assets
Securing data about assets is essential for all businesses because it gives them helpful information that can help them work better generally. Organizations can plan how to solve long-term problems with the help of data. With the past of assets, a business can figure out how many times certain pieces of equipment have been serviced in a specific time frame.
Utilize Construction Software
Software for managing equipment can help a business with many problems because it automates maintenance and keeps track of all its equipment. In addition, it gives organizations statistics and analytics that they can use. This kind of software lets you know when repair work will be done. The cloud technology that comes with this program also enables you to access it from anywhere.
Efficiently Assign Tools and Equipment To Individual Job Sites
A lot of the time, machinery is transported around, making it hard to track where it is, where it should be going, and where it should be right now. It would help if you considered sending specific tools to certain job places. You can even make a plan to keep track of where things need to be at certain times and when they need to be moved to another job spot.
Regular Checks and Upkeep
This cannot be stressed enough, but ensure you maintain and check your equipment daily. In the long run, this helps you save money. Buying a new tool is often more expensive than fixing an old one. A proactive method also keeps accidents from happening and ensures workers are safe.
