In many construction companies, sustainability has moved from buzzword to business priority. Leaders recognize that reducing waste, conserving energy and lowering carbon emissions benefits workers, projects, companies and communities. These goals are ambitious, however, and knowing where to start can be challenging. Equipment telematics, paired with robust fleet management software, gives companies the data they need to make strategic decisions with sustainability in mind.

Telematics features such as GPS, equipment utilization tracking, emissions tracking and remote jobsite control enable project teams to closely monitor and improve their environmental impact. Read on to learn more.

Boost your equipment utilization

Having more equipment than necessary on a construction site not only increases costs but also wastes natural resources. Utilization reports enabled by equipment telematics help construction managers identify underutilized equipment that could be sent to another project site, or even sold. When equipment isn’t needed on a regular basis, renting a similar machine may be a greener alternative.

Equipment may be so overutilized that workers hoard it, or so underutilized that it’s left somewhere and forgotten. GPS tracking makes it easy to locate your entire fleet on a map so you can more efficiently allocate resources and avoid purchasing or renting equipment you don’t need.

Track your emissions

With the exception of electric equipment, most construction equipment generates greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing those emissions is essential to boosting sustainability, but transitioning to a greener fleet requires planning.

An emissions tracking feature in Total Control calculates estimated emissions of greenhouse gases and source pollutants such as carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides and particulate matter. Armed with this data, fleet managers can begin to understand which pieces of equipment generate the most emissions and when to consider sourcing lower-emissions or zero-emissions alternatives.

Monitor your heaters remotely

Controlling the environmental conditions on a jobsite is crucial to protecting humidity-sensitive materials such as drywall and flooring and successfully curing concrete. During cold weather construction, this often requires setting up multiple heaters, which consume a considerable amount of fuel.

Remotely monitoring and adjusting jobsite temperatures is a fuel-saving alternative to continuous, costly heat. It’s possible with an environmental monitoring solution such as WEDGE™ from United Rentals. Sensors placed in strategic locations record the conditions and transmit them to a dashboard accessible on any smart device.

With the addition of Smart Heater hardware attached to your rented or owned heaters, you can remotely adjust the temperature setting, or turn off the heater, via the dashboard.

Right-size your generators

When generators are equipped with telematics devices, it’s possible to track not only utilization and emissions but also machine loading. Tracking the AMP load of a generator provides a sustainability benefit. The reason: Many people oversize their generators, which wastes fuel and, in the case of generators with Tier 4-compliant engines, poses a risk of mechanical damage. With telematics and the right fleet management software, you can set up notifications and receive an alert if the load remains too low over an extended period, a signal to downsize the generator.

Improve your preventive maintenance

Telematics provides useful data for better managing preventative maintenance. Manufacturers typically suggest maintenance on schedules such as every six months, but time-based maintenance leads to over-maintenance of equipment with low utilization, which can waste machine oil and other resources. For high-utilization equipment, time-based maintenance can lead to a lack of maintenance necessary to keep the machine running cleanly and efficiently.

Telematics data such as engine hours or usage hours enables just-in-time maintenance. Additionally, fleet management software can send service alerts that notify you of upcoming scheduled maintenance for telematics-enabled equipment. A properly maintained machine will operate more efficiently and may generate fewer emissions.

If your owned equipment doesn’t have telematics devices installed, adding after-market devices is relatively easy. Most equipment you rent from United Rentals will come with a telematics device and be ready to track and manage remotely for better safety, productivity and sustainability.

Discover how to see, manage, measure and optimize your fleet with Total Control.