Machinery and equipment, tools, tasks and information often get lost on large construction sites. By connecting you to your workforce and equipment, the Spot-r system, including the recently announced EquipTag, enables your organization and site managers to know in real-time where your assets are located and how they’re being operated at the jobsite.

Compared to telematics, however, which requires GPS technology, the Spot-r EquipTag combines our proprietary network with wearable sensors and a cloud dashboard to track, log and report data on the performance and operation of your construction equipment. Like the Spot-r Clip, data from tagged pieces of machinery and equipment can be accessed via the Spot-r dashboard from any device, at any point in time, to tell you where your equipment is located, who is operating it, and if they are certified to do so.

With the Spot-r EquipTag, contractors can reduce operating risks and costs while improving safety and productivity. Here are the top benefits of using the Spot-r EquipTag to monitor, manage, and optimize your equipment, workforce and overall project execution:

Resource Coordination: Spot-r EquipTag data tells you how much – and how often – each machine is being used at the jobsite, allowing you to determine if you are allocating too much or too little equipment to a specific jobsite. For example, perhaps you have an excavator that you rented for four weeks, but it has been sitting at the site unused for two of those weeks. By drilling into utilization data, you can better coordinate your rentals and/or redeploy that equipment to another site. Alternatively, maybe this type of data tells you that your equipment is being over-utilized – and overworked – at a jobsite. In this instance, you can bring in additional equipment to keep a project on schedule without causing unnecessary wear and tear or speeding up processes and cutting corners that could result in safety incidents.

Operator Certification: Right now, there is no easy way to know who is operating your equipment and whether they are certified to do so. By leveraging the workforce and certification data of the Spot-r Clip, the EquipTag sends automatic alerts for unknown or unauthorized operators. This changes the game, overcoming the inherent risks and hazards of the current “one-key-fits-all” approach of modern machines. When you know that the correct, certified operator is at the helm of your equipment, you reduce risks and improve overall site safety.

Mitigate Safety Risks: Some insurance providers will provide discounts if your equipment has location tracking capabilities installed. The EquipTag’s first-of-its-kind non-GPS, plug-and-play solution allows you to monitor nearly any piece of equipment, at any site – regardless of whether it’s indoors or GPS-capable. What’s more, by linking equipment to a specific worker, and sending instant text message or dashboard alerts if equipment is being used by an unknown or unauthorized operator, you improve compliance, mitigate risks, and reduce the likelihood of uncertified operator error. Monitoring and correcting risky workforce behavior – on the ground or behind the wheel of equipment – can reduce the number of accidents at your jobsites, which could, in turn, help lower insurance premiums.

In addition, in the case of theft, Spot-r EquipTag data allows you to drill into operator data to see who was the last person in the vicinity of a specific piece of machinery, thereby improving your chances of recovery.

Maintenance & Repair: On vast construction sites, it can often take upwards of 45 minutes to locate a single piece of equipment that is being picked up for maintenance or repair. By attaching the Spot-r EquipTag to any piece of equipment, you are able to track its location indoors, outdoors and in dense areas without clear line of sight to the sky. In short, by being “non-GPS capable,” the Spot-r EquipTag overcomes traditional limitations of machine telematics.

Job Estimates: In the same way that automated, accurate time and attendance can help with labor estimates on future projects, analyzing past equipment utilization data can help determine how long a specific task will take on future projects. Together, this information can result in more accurate estimates and competitive bids.

Knowing how, when and where your construction equipment is being used and by whom improves safety and unlocks efficiency at the jobsite. Overworked or underutilized equipment can be better managed to reduce costs and streamline schedules. Unknown or unauthorized operator alerts reduce the likelihood of improper equipment usage and provide the overall site visibility needed to improve risk management. With Spot-r, know where your workers and equipment are at any point in time and how they’re interacting with each other to improve response and resource allocation and keep your projects moving forward.

Learn more about the Spot-r EquipTag here.