Construction and Industrial Tracking

In the earthmoving industry, which consists of construction and industrial tractors, GPS tracking plays a major role in streamlining and simplifying operations. For this very reason, heavy equipment manufacturers have long been collaborating with GPS tracking solution system manufacturers to develop customized tracking solutions that can help make the company make decisions based on the analysis of GPS position data of their equipment. Due to the advanced nature of these technological collaborations, highly customized and highly accurate positioning and data analysis technology has been developed for construction tracker solutions over the past decade or so.

Why are companies investing so much and spending so much on these GPS tracking solutions? Let us understand the advantages they offer.

◦It gives the management the ability to locate the equipment in the field at any given point in time, providing an automated means of maintaining the fleet
◦Construction tracker solutions can be customized to provide updates regarding each asset’s use at periodic intervals as per the requirement. There can be hourly updates or daily updates or any particular periodic updates as required.
◦Through monitoring such periodic updates, the management can tackle various issues like off-hour usage or theft of heavy equipment, thus making the operations more secure.
◦By measuring a relevant parameter such as engine-hours, the engineer can schedule service updates and maintenance checks for heavy equipment accordingly. This helps automate the process to a certain extent, reducing the manual effort expended on such actions and also minimizing human error.
◦Reports generated on parameters such as idling time or usage time of assets helps assess the usage patterns of various equipment and analyse performance-related issues that may arise at any point during operation
◦The software tools available help generate comprehensive reports that detaileach asset’s activity and performance in any given period. This enables the management toassess and review each asset’s productivity and take decisions accordingly.
◦For equipment that may be given on rent, the industrial equipment tracking system assists to a great deal in automating the billing mechanism by using the usage statistics such as time and distance
◦Periodic billing and usage metering achieved through the tracking system optimize the cash flow process for the company, which is very significant for any operator of a cash-intensive sector such as construction and industry
GPS equipment for tractors can also be of functional use in its operation. For example, sensors to calculate the depth of digging, measure the angle of the ground’s slope etc are integral components of most advanced tractors.
◦Hard usage data collected as a result of the industrial equipment real time gps tracking system ensures that any disputes with client rentals can be resolved with more accuracy
◦The increased security of all the heavy equipment through construction equipment tracking solution means that the insurance premiums are brought down, which is beneficial for any company whose insurance premium payments are always a significant portion of their running expenditure

The Challenges

◦The technology employed for this purpose would have to be rugged and weatherproof since heavy equipment is often subjected to extreme conditions and the GPS equipment has to survive such an environment.
◦GPS data can be accurately transmitted only in a non-obstructied view of the sky, meaning it is not really weatherproof. In addition, construction work indoors can also affect the working of GPS equipment, as the roof can sometimes block its transmissions, creating certain “dead zones” on the construction site.
◦One of the vital factors in using a construction tracker solution is the availability of an accurate site design to be integrated with the GPS system. This ensures more accurate and optimal utilization of the GPS trackers installed on the industrial equipment.

The Solution

◦Recent advancements in technology mean that there are solutions available on the market that can deal with various kinds of rough treatment as well as weather, just like the equipment they’re supposed to track
◦In order to improve the quality of GPS transmission, a company can choose to invest in a base station. But a downside is that investment in a base station is expensive and can only be managed if it is in sync with the scale of the company’s operations.
◦Typically engineering firms create site designs as part of their documented drawings, the GPS system needs to be capable of importing the same and be able to integrate it into the GPS mapping solution for the client. Many advanced tracking systems on the market now have that capability.