The Value of Fleet Tracking for Construction Companies

Companies rely on their fleet of vehicles to get equipment and materials to job sites, finish projects on time & stay within budget. From heavy civil contractors to utility contractors and more, construction companies rely on their fleet of vehicles, trucks and trailers to get equipment and materials to job sites, finish projects on time and stay within budget. That’s why more and more construction firms are employing digital asset management systems like Tenna to capture the data they need to efficiently manage their fleets.

Managing a construction fleet requires knowing where your vehicles and equipment are and what they’re doing – not some of the time, but all the time. That’s where Tenna asset tracking excels. We make it easy to obtain real-time updates on the location, movement and performance of every asset in your fleet. We provide the data you need to optimize fleet utilization and performance. And we do it in a way that actually lowers costs in many areas of your business.

Tenna fleet tracking for construction companies can help you:

• Minimize downtime and improve asset utilization
• Improve maintenance scheduling and lower repair costs
• Improve asset acquisition planning for new or used fleet assets
• Improve accountability
• Help win more work by virtue of reducing costs

To assist your business in achieving these outcomes, Tenna offers a variety of asset tracking technologies ranging from human interactive solutions to passive/autonomous solutions to meet the unique needs of your fleet. These include:

• QR Code Asset Tags and Labels
• RFID Trackers, Scanners and Gate solutions
• Bluetooth Asset Trackers
• Tenna ONE Trackers – GPS asset Trackers that have the option of Cellular LTE Cat M1 or LoraWAN technology

For example, our Bluetooth tracking devices are well-suited to short-range tracking situations, while our Tenna ONE GPS trackers provide reliable long-range tracking.

When tracking trucks and fleet vehicles, Tenna tracking devices capture location, movement and performance data in real-time and automatically store it in your Tenna fleet tracking system. By connecting to global navigation satellite systems and cellular networks, our tracking devices provide reliable fleet monitoring no matter how far or wide your vehicles may roam.

When properly deployed, our tracking devices provide complete visibility into every aspect of your fleet’s performance. As a result, you know where your trucks and heavy-duty vehicles are at all times. Using Tenna’s “Route IT” functionality, you can map out and coordinate the routes of your drivers. This helps you get them where they need to be faster and more efficiently, so they will be ready for use where when your teams need them. And you can do it all while staying compliant with electronic logging device (ELD) requirements. You can also receive information on speed, fault codes, and important diagnostic information, which enables you to better maintain your fleet with preventative maintenance.

Managing inventory with Tenna can be a lifesaver in certain situations. Suppose you’re nearing completion on a large project and a critical piece of equipment breaks down. Since all your asset data is on Tenna, you can quickly identify the location and availability of every other piece of equipment of the same type so you can send in a replacement until the broken equipment can be repaired. That way, you can stay on schedule without incurring the additional expense of renting replacement equipment.

How QR Tracking Works

QR tracking technology has transformed asset management for many industries, including construction. It works by placing tags on your assets and scanning them with smartphones or other mobile devices. The user then gains access to their Tenna platform and can update information about the asset, including but not limited to location, project assignment, miles/hours, schedule maintenance, and inventory quantities.

Since Tenna is a cloud-based system (versus installed on individual’s computers/systems), the information is available to anyone in the organization who has user access. This means managers in the field or corporate office can analyze the data to make informed asset management decisions based on hard data rather than guesswork.

QR is considered “passive” asset tracking because you scan and record the information only when you need it.

How RFID Works

RFID solutions can include using handheld scanners and/or installed readers in strategic locations at a site, otherwise referred to as Gate Solutions. RFID is perfect for tracking equipment entering or exiting your locations. In conjunction with Tenna’s RFID antennas, you can automatically track assets moving past your antennas, without any human involvement. Common use of RFID tracking systems include inventory control, preventing unauthorized use, location tracking, and deterring theft.

Benefits of Bluetooth Asset Tracking

Tenna’s Bluetooth trackers are most useful for small tools and equipment. These trackers have the option to include our rugged casing for tough conditions or the just the internal beacon, which gives you the flexibility to customize your installation based on which assets you want to track. With the Bluetooth trackers, your employees’ smartphones will automatically identify each asset’s location, without manual involvement.

Tenna’s Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Beacon sends out regular heartbeats which are recognized by Tenna’s Android and iPhone asset tracking apps. These apps automatically record the location of the assets and stores the data. As with all the information you are gathering with Tenna’s tracking devices, anyone within the organization who has access to their Tenna system can see real-time information from any location.

Tenna ONE Trackers – GPS options

In contrast to the interactive QR tracking options, the Tenna ONE GPS tracking devices send out their own continuous radio signals that don’t require scanning by field personnel. Instead, they use Cellular LTE Cat M1 or LoraWAN technology to automatically transmit asset location, movement, engine performance and other types of asset data.

Designed to track assets over large geographic areas, Cellular tracking can be used anywhere you have a cellular signal. A highly versatile tracking tool, Cellular is ideal for construction companies that use large fleets of vehicles and equipment to service many different projects at the same time. From small pickup trucks to the largest dump trucks and cement mixers, Cellular provides real-time tracking without the need for human assistance. It also provides a much larger scope of asset data than QR tracking. For example, a Cellular tracker can automatically map and transmit the route taken by a truck driver, including the speed and direction of the truck. A Cellular tracker on heavy machinery at a construction work site can do the same.

For construction companies that struggle to control maintenance and repair costs, the biggest benefit of Cellular tracking may well be the ability to connect directly to a vehicle’s onboard computer. Doing so provides a wide variety of performance and diagnostic data, from the speed and direction the vehicle is traveling to fuel efficiency and engine fault codes. With large equipment, Cellular tracking can transmit data relating to hours of operation, condition of the equipment, maintenance due dates and more.

With Cellular tracking, you can:

• Lower repair costs due to improved maintenance scheduling
• Lower fuel costs through reduced idling and better route planning
• Improve safety by monitoring speed, fast braking, and other information related to driving activity
• Easily review logs, hours of service, vehicle records and more
• Stay on schedule by getting the right assets to the right job sites at the right time
• Improve billing accuracy
• Reduce capital investment by extending the service life of your equipment and vehicles
• Improve inventory management

Cellular tracking also provides two important fleet benefits that are unique to the technology. You can minimize breakdowns by responding to automatic diagnostic trouble code alerts, and you can recover stolen assets by tracking their location and movement.

As you can see, standard Cellular tracking provides a powerful tool for managing your fleet and your business more effectively. But at Tenna, we go beyond the basics to ensure you can use our fleet tracking devices to their full potential. For example, we offer battery-assisted tracking devices for equipment that doesn’t have its own power source.

Our LoRaWAN tracking devices enable you to track fleet assets in areas where you can’t receive cellular coverage. And if you only want to collect location data, we offer tracking devices that don’t require an onboard diagnostics connection.

We understand that the nation’s infrastructure – roads, bridges, buildings and more – is a rugged business, so we design our asset tracking devices to withstand the dirt, grime and harsh conditions common to most construction job sites. Plus, our tracking tags are manufactured with lasers, so you can count on the scanned data to always be accurate.

At Tenna, our primary goal is to help you get more out of your assets by knowing where they are, what they’re doing and how you can utilize them more efficiently. Hear what some of our customers have to say in our case studies. Or, simply schedule a demo or give us a call at (833) 508-3662.