Construction: Building A Case For Telematics

There will come a point when machines, and the people operating them, won't be allowed onto a construction site without being fitted with some form of telematics. Safety will be the primary driver of this trend, but some of these wearable technologies have the potential to transform how the industry operates.

Consider this piece of equipment developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). ReMoTe connects onsite workers with experts anywhere in the world using a wearable computer, a mounted camera and a near-eye display. Gloves that accurately measure distances, hats that monitor air quality; we'll see lots of these technologies deployed onsite over the next few years.

Yet in today's industry, it's surprising how many construction companies do not take advantage of technologies already available to them. Technologies that will help make them more productive, more efficient and ultimately more profitable. Many bids are still based on what a company did last time in a similar environment. Here are five reasons they should be using telematics:

Improve safety

This should be the number one consideration for everybody. A construction site typically has machines from a variety of contractors operating at any one time. These, coupled with service and supply vehicles entering and leaving throughout the day, create risk. Fitting all of these vehicles and machines with telematics reduces potential dangers. The ability to see all vehicles and plant in real time identifies potentially hazardous congestion points, while geo-fencing enables a contractor to enforce speed limits and make the site safer.

Increase accuracy

There's real value in knowing the actual cost of moving a cubicmetre of dirt from A to B as opposed to the estimated cost. Many project load counts are still manually recorded on paper, which leaves them open to inaccuracy that is eliminated through the use of telematics. Armed with accurate information about cycle times and the load being carried, the real cost of moving materials can be calculated. This improves bidding accuracy and helps contractors win more business.

Boost productivity

Access to more accurate, real-time data helps control costs and frees people up to be more productive. Decisions based on real-time information also improve overall site efficiency. Monitoring cycle times will highlight problems and show which operators need additional training. Reducing those cycle times increases productivity and reduces costs.

Fuel efficiency

Having machines parked up and idling costs money. It's also not very good for the engines. A telematics system will deliver a 15-20 per cent reduction in idle time. This generates immediate fuel savings but also increases productivity, so you may get a job done with fewer machines. Improved fleet management is the best way to reduce overall fuel costs.

Asset management

If you can demonstrate excess capacity you can move machines to where they are needed. Big projects are generally broken down into individual sections, and much of the skill in managing a project with multiple sites is moving costs around effectively. You want to avoid bringing unnecessary assets in. If you hire an excavator for a site, when you have one idling elsewhere, you're paying twice as much and only getting 50 per cent asset utilisation.