5 steps to boost construction fleet productivity: A guide to adopting equipment management systems

What is fleet productivity? 

Fleet productivity refers to the efficiency of a fleet of vehicles to achieve their objectives. A fleet that is more productive achieves more objectives, allowing for quicker production time, which not only means happier customers, but it means that your fixed costs will be spread over a shorter time frame, resulting in a lower operating cost.

The construction productivity problem:

Ensuring high productivity is a challenge in any industry however, whilst other industries have seen a 100% productivity increase over the last 50-years, construction productivity has remained stagnant due to factors such as; lack of technological adoption, fragmented supply chains leading to a lack of collaboration and effective communication. This means that increases in operational productivity should be made a priority for construction companies to ensure the sustainable growth of the industry.

Step 1: Effective asset management:

To enhance fleet productivity, construction companies should first assess their fleet's usage, focusing on idling times, maintenance, and efficiency, then conduct a utilisation analysis to optimise asset deployment based on historical data.

Embracing a modern fleet management software can give detailed insights into this data by seeing what machines are underutilised as well as real time information of where they are, allowing companies to see whether their machines can be better used elsewhere or if they should be sold altogether.

Adopting a fleet management system offers a straightforward path to modernising operations and improving efficiency. Such systems streamline the integration process, ensuring a smooth transition and minimal disruption to existing workflows. While initial considerations include the investment in technology and the necessity for workforce training, the long-term benefits significantly outweigh these initial costs.

A well-implemented fleet management system, exemplified by MachineMax, facilitates a substantial return on investment. Through detailed analytics and insights, businesses can optimise their operations, leading to improved productivity and efficiency. By allocating resources for comprehensive training, companies can quickly elevate their team's proficiency, maximising the benefits of the system.

Although there may be some resistance to adopting new technologies, the shift towards automated and systematised operations opens opportunities for growth and sustainability. It encourages a culture of innovation, ensuring businesses remain competitive in their respective industries.

Data security, privacy, and compliance with regulations such as GDPR are critical aspects of implementing any new software. A fleet management system addresses these concerns by adhering to the highest standards of data integrity and legal compliance, offering businesses peace of mind regarding the security of their operations.

In summary, the adoption of fleet management systems is not merely about navigating initial challenges; it represents an opportunity to leverage technology for operational excellence, digital transformation, and a competitive advantage. MachineMax serves as a prime example of how such systems can offer tangible benefits, underscoring the value of integrating these solutions into business operations.

Learn how IAV implemented MachineMax’s fleet management software to improve fleet productivity.

Step 2: Drive fleet productivity with telematics:

Fleets may receive abundant data from OEMs, yet managing mixed fleets introduces challenges in accessing and utilising data scattered across multiple manufacturers' platforms. This not only makes the data difficult to manage but also each OEM has different calculations and collection times for each data point resulting in unstandardised data sets meaning that it is very impractical to analyse and compare between manufacturers, sites and individual machines. 

The MachineMax data solution not only aggregates and standardises all the OEM data into one platform but also allows you to choose from a range of telematic sensors that have numerous capabilities to fill informational gaps and gain more detailed information into machine idling and utilisation rates, engine data for vehicle maintenance, fuel usage, live GPS location data and potential driver behaviour risks such as sudden acceleration or deceleration.

Step 3: Embrace data driven decision making:

Establishing a culture of data driven decision making ensures that workforce’s decisions are benchmarked to actual data points, ensuring that they can be held accountable for their decisions leading to increased operational productivity and the discovery of deep insights.

Whilst the benefits are numerous, there is a growing resistance to data due to a fear that adopting new technologies will lead to mass job losses. This is shown in a report conducted by KPMG which found that 

“Two-thirds of the 200-plus construction and engineering executives and major-project owners surveyed said they don’t use advanced data analytics to monitor project-related estimation and performance.” 

Hence, this is why MachineMax have created their software to be tailored towards enhancing human decision making rather than replacing it which allows you and your workforce to get the best out of both human decision making and data.

To gain a more detailed understanding of how data driven decision making is utilised, read our article on how ISTAK used data driven decision making to increase their workforces productivity. 

Step 4: Ensure effective fuel fleet management:

What is fuel fleet management? 

Fuel fleet management is the process of tracking and working to reduce fuel consumption where it is not necessary, often using telematics to collect and send data to a fleet management software system for the data to be analysed.

Why is fuel management important?

Ensuring fleet fuel efficiency is essential for any business trying to reduce their operating costs as well as their carbon emissions which is very important in the current economic climate due to rising fuel prices cutting into the construction industry's already low profit margins.

What does fuel fleet management entail?

To effectively manage a fleet's fuel consumption, companies need to gain a holistic view of their operations. This is often done with the use of telematic sensors which as mentioned sends machine data to a fleet management platform. Businesses then have multiple ways to analyse the collected data to ensure that they can improve fleet fuel efficiency.  

Key benefits of adopting a fleet management system:

Efficient routing and reduced unnecessary idling are key benefits of fleet management systems like MachineMax. By utilising the haul cycle analysis feature, companies can access critical information on loading, queuing and travel times, alongside a critical path analysis to pinpoint sub-optimal routes and congestion areas. This aids in making informed redirection decisions, substantially decreasing non-essential time, enhancing fleet productivity, minimising accident risks and achieving significant fuel and emissions savings. 

MachineMax provides real-time insights into machine performance, highlighting excessive idling through heat maps. This visibility is crucial for boosting fuel efficiency by enabling the implementation of incentives for operators who minimise idling and by addressing specific areas of concern.

Explore how MachineMax increased Grafa's fleets fuel efficiency.

Step 5: Fully fledged data ecosystem:

Don’t miss out on large productivity gains, heightened safety and more sustainable growth by embracing MachineMax’s data management solution that can be your one point of truth on site. This will allow organisations to extract actionable insights that can be used across a variety of functions to ensure that key decision makers are thinking about the full picture and making smart, measurable and contextual decisions.

Boost your productivity sky-high with MachineMax! Adopt smarter, work better. Book your call NOW and start transforming operations today!