The use of rental equipment such as boom lifts, scissors lifts and forklifts by operators who aren’t properly trained or certified poses significant safety issues. Equipment access control in the form of a keypad ignition lock can increase jobsite and worker safety and also help owners and contractors boost productivity and reduce costs.

These keypads, available on United Rentals machines, let you limit who can access the equipment and track who uses it and when.

When you set up access management in an online platform, you can assign PINs to specific individuals or to groups. You can also grant access using RFID-enabled ID cards. To start the equipment, the operator enters an assigned PIN or swipes the ID card, unlocking the keypad ignition lock.

The benefits of equipment access management are wide ranging.

Equipment access management enhances jobsite safety

Keypad ignition locks limit machine access to a custom list of authorized users. They are a way to prevent workers who don’t have the knowledge, training or certification required to use the machine from operating it.

Equipment access control not only keeps your own unauthorized workers from accessing a machine, it also prevents unauthorized people from “borrowing” equipment when your crew is not working.

Access management increases productivity

For owners and contractors, a keypad ignition system can be used to boost productivity as well as safety.

If a contractor or subcontractor uses your rental equipment without permission and abandons it when they’re done, the crew it’s assigned to may lose time hunting it down and moving it back to where they need it. With a keypad ignition system, unauthorized users won’t be able to start the ignition; so the equipment will be right where the crew parked it.

In addition, access control can aid in tracking the productivity of individual workers and crafts by providing insight into who used the equipment, when they used it and for how long. For example, comparing the number of hours or days of equipment use to the amount of work completed in that time provides insight into how quickly and efficiently work is getting done.

Another productivity benefit: Equipment usage data offers information as to whether certain crafts or subcontractors have the equipment they need. For example, if you rent six scissor lifts, you can split them between two crafts using access codes. If one craft is over-utilizing their lifts, providing them more lifts may help them work faster.

Of course, keypad ignition locks also prevent theft.

Access management helps control costs

For owners of large capital projects, renting all the equipment needed on a jobsite is a cost-saving alternative to letting contractors rent their own equipment and charge for it at a markup. With equipment access management, you can distribute PINs to different contractors, track the hours of use and charge the appropriate contractor accordingly. With this approach, owners can potentially reduce or eliminate equipment costs for a project.

Finally, the utilization data provided by access control can help you boost utilization of rental equipment. If you’ve rented eight forklifts for a specific craft but they’re using only five, you can off-rent the other three or assign them to another craft.

For many reasons, access management makes a lot of sense. Try it to see how it can make your work safer, more productive and more profitable.

Call your local branch or 833.393.9525 to learn more about renting equipment outfitted with equipment access control.