Construction fleet vehicles are a massive investment for any building or construction business and play an instrumental role in the success of an organization’s operations. As a fleet manager in this industry, looking for ways to cut costs without sacrificing efficiency or driver safety is always a top priority.
That’s where fleet management software is a valuable and effective solution that can help you boost both productivity and safety while also minimizing waste and removing inefficiencies. GPS tracking technology can provide peace of mind and comprehensive insight into your construction fleet’s performance—empowering you to make informed decisions regarding equipment and scheduling.
Ready to learn how an investment in GPS tracking can empower more effective fleet management and ultimately improve your bottom line? Let’s get started!
Quick Links:
- What Is a Construction Fleet?
- Challenges with Construction Fleet Management
- How to Reduce Fleet Costs for Construction Vehicles with Fleet Management Software
What Is a Construction Fleet?
First off, let’s define what is a construction fleet and construction fleet management; a construction fleet can include anything pertaining to a construction site or project, including:
- Equipment and tools
- Drivers and construction workers
- Cargo and materials
- And more!
Construction fleet management entails managing, coordinating, and monitoring these various components in a manner that is streamlined, efficient, and secure. Ensuring your site is secure and that your employees are safe is of the utmost importance. For example, construction theft is no joke—losing important heavy machinery or equipment to theft can put a huge strain on your resources!
Challenges with Construction Fleet Management
With so many factors to consider and factors that might change at the last minute, there are a few challenges that come along with working in the field of construction fleet management; some common challenges include:
- Maximizing construction fleet efficiency, especially in terms of fuel costs
- Ensuring your equipment and other assets are safeguarded from theft—but not having an effective way to track them down if they do go missing
- Lack of accountability with drivers responsible for transporting important cargo
- Manually tracking maintenance schedules for construction fleet vehicles, heavy machinery, and other equipment
These are just some of the cornerstone components that construction fleet managers have to manage every day! Keeping construction operations streamlined and optimized takes a lot of time, effort, and handling stress.
How to Reduce Fleet Costs for Construction Vehicles with Fleet Management Software
If you found yourself nodding your head while reading about the challenges that construction fleet managers have to overcome on the job, then you’ll be glad to know that fleet management software can handle a huge portion of these challenges!
With effective construction fleet management software, you can:
Eliminate Excess Fuel Costs
Fueling large, heavy vehicles is one of the biggest expenses in nearly any construction fleet. Wasteful fuel consumption only amplifies these expenses, and typically occurs from a combination of excessive idling, unsafe driving habits (like hard acceleration and braking), and poor maintenance scheduling. Fleet management software can help you identify these problems so you can quickly correct them and eliminate unnecessary fuel costs.
For example, by using GPS tracking to pinpoint the exact location of your vehicles and heavy construction equipment, you’ll be able to quickly identify unauthorized use. This way, you can quickly put a stop to any vehicle misuse that is adding additional miles to your assets.
Additionally, with the ability to build the most direct optimized routes between service sites, you’ll be able to minimize both frustrating travel time for your drivers and fuel consumption in your fleet. Plus, access to automated fuel usage and mileage reports will enable you to make more accurate cost calculations rather than having to rely on manually-reported data from employees that may have errors.
Quickly Recover from Construction Equipment Theft
Heavy construction equipment can be very valuable and is, therefore, a big target for theft. In fact, construction equipment theft results in over $1 billion in lost product every year. If you don’t realize that a theft has occurred for days, the chances of recovering your assets are very slim. Luckily, modern fleet management software and GPS tracking technology can help.
With geofencing, you’ll be able to set virtual boundaries for real geographic locations. Then, whenever your construction vehicles tagged with vehicle tracker devices enter or leave those virtual boundaries, you’ll be automatically alerted by text or email. This way, if something seems out of the ordinary or an asset is not where it is supposed to be, you can notify the authorities almost immediately and continue tracking the stolen item. This greatly improves the likelihood that you’ll be able to recover it and avoid the cost of replacing it!
Monitor Driver Safety Habits
Operating a construction fleet vehicle is a big responsibility, and a distracted driver can put both themselves and others at risk for an accident that can drive up your worker's compensation, insurance, and legal costs. Plus, poor driving habits such as hard braking or harsh turning can be incredibly hard on your vehicles, resulting in higher maintenance and repair costs. It can be difficult to monitor driver habits when you aren’t always available to be on-site and can’t physically be in each vehicle with your drivers—but luckily, fleet management software can help!
Our fleet management software will provide you with comprehensive reports on acceleration and deceleration rates, breaking patterns, driving speeds, turn frequency, and idle times in each of your construction fleet vehicles. Plus, in instances of hard braking or turning, you’ll receive an immediate alert via text or email. This way, you can quickly identify if one of your drivers has developed a pattern of unsafe driving so that they can be reprimanded and given additional safety training.
By proactively correcting dangerous driving habits rather than waiting for an accident to happen, you can avoid the many costs associated with unsafe driving that can be detrimental to your business.
Optimize Fleet Maintenance Schedule
Maintenance is another huge cost for construction fleet vehicles. While you may think it’s nearly impossible to know if a vehicle is about to break down, these insights are now a reality with fleet management software.
By installing fleet tracking devices in your construction vehicles, they will connect to the onboard diagnostics system to monitor and report on their condition. You’ll receive comprehensive, up-to-date information on each vehicle’s hours of operation, engine mileage, oil and fuel changes, fuel usage levels, and more.
This enables you to optimize and strategically plan your fleet maintenance schedule, which in turn helps you proactively identify when small repairs need to be made. By handling minor, less expensive repairs before they result in total vehicle failure, you’ll be able to save big on larger repair costs down the road. Plus, preventing a situation where one of your construction fleet vehicles breaks down in the middle of a project boosts efficiency and keeps your drivers safe on the job.
Partner with Rastrac to Keep Your Construction Fleet Secure!
Want to learn more about why so many construction fleets are turning to our valuable fleet management solutions? Ready to start implementing fleet management software that will transform the efficiency and financial performance of your own fleet?
Contact a Rastrac expert now! Our comprehensive construction fleet management solutions will maximize your productivity without maxing out your budget.
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