This story first appeared in the May issue of DieselTalk – CLICK HERE to download the magazine FREE
The construction industry is going through a period of growth both in New Zealand and Australia but as a result more competition is entering the market.
Competition drives prices down but costs continue to rise. To meet those rising costs and still compete in the industry, contractors need to get smarter about how they do business.
Improving asset utilisation is the key to ensuring plant and equipment are generating revenue, not costing the business. Contractors need to ask themselves:
• Are the machines working? How long are they working for? How much idle time is being accumulated?
• Do I need these machines? Am I charging enough for them?
• Fuel tax credits: am I claiming everything I am entitled to? Having accurate off-road versus on-road data will help ensure that you are not paying too much for diesel.
Telematics technology provides the answers to those questions and many more relating to better utilising assets.
Putting data to work
To stay competitive in today’s market, construction company owners and managers are using data in the decision-making process to see through blind spots in their operation.
Making sense of data and using it as an asset is one of the core functions of the software component of GPS fleet management systems.
Heavy construction firms can either drown in a deluge of data or harness it to gain competitive advantage for their business.
Such systems draw the data together to help organisations measure and manage things like asset utilisation and help them leverage their data for KPI-based decision-making and generate insights into future trends.
In the heavy construction industry, there is a need to capture data from both plant and people under systems that can enable enterprises to drill down further and draw out informative insights.
A telematics system allows a heavy construction company to monitor and manage heavy assets and their operators as well as service vehicles and their drivers to ensure safe and efficient usage.
Being able to observe the distribution and use of all assets in real time across every single job site, regardless of geography, helps companies ensure maximum utilisation. It also helps pinpoint areas of inefficiency such as excessive idling, poor operator behaviour or machines sitting idle.
Preventative maintenance and its impact
An effective preventative maintenance programme can also benefit from a data-driven approach, allowing companies to determine whether they have over-serviced or under-serviced vehicles and assets, and enabling them to fix that.
Proper maintenance improves vehicle performance and safety and reduces costs. A poorly serviced engine runs inefficiently and burns more fuel, while under-inflated tyres or binding brakes are preventable issues that can compromise safety.
Better maintenance reduces unnecessary wear and tear and identifies mechanical issues before they cause unexpected downtime and extra cost.
Tracking maintenance accurately can suck up a lot of time if it’s done manually but a good GPS fleet management system can include a maintenance module that optimises service schedules and takes care of key tasks automatically – never miss an inspection, renewal, tyre rotation or oil change again.
It should also ensure there’s no money wasted in over-maintaining vehicles.
Data-driven decision-making
Knowing when staff members arrive and leave a job site at a glance is a very powerful piece of information that can save construction companies hours in day-to-day tasks and fuel usage. A GPS fleet management solution can give 100% accurate data right to the minute. Your bottom line will be healthier and without surprises, allowing you to price jobs more accurately and to stay competitive.
A GPS fleet management system means data is accessible by computer or smartphone 24/7. The alternative would be to ask every employee directly for updates which is hugely time-consuming and disruptive.
Chasing higher margin work
Traditionally, the construction sector has been less likely to implement new technologies than other sectors and there has been a low level of engagement with innovation and change.
But now we’re seeing contractors changing how they work in order to pursue higher margin work. For example, they’re moving away from large excavators to small to medium excavators.
Savvy contractors are focusing on how they can better compete and improve productivity in order to win the high margin work.
If you think about a complex project in the CBD, the job must be planned and managed so people can still go about their work and move about the city.
There are lots of constraints around such complex, high margin projects, including noise pollution rules, restrictions around times of day work can be carried out and, of course, not damaging existing infrastructure.
Now we’re seeing more contractors realising that in order to efficiently manage such complex jobs with higher margins, they need a lot more information. They need data, lots more data, and they need it on a day-to-day basis to help them make decisions.
Improving asset utilisation, looking after preventative maintenance and pursuing higher margin work go a long way towards running a smarter, more competitive company.
And that counts for a lot whether it’s a small or large construction business. When operating in an increasingly tight market, GPS fleet management is critical to sharpening that competitive edge.
