Keeping track of your construction equipment can make a big difference to a business. Construction equipment and heavy plant machinery is particularly vulnerable to misuse or theft, because of the ways that it is stored and used. It is estimated that businesses in the UK lose around £1 million every week due to plant theft. The vast majority of stolen vehicles are not recovered successfully. However, stolen construction equipment is far more likely to be recovered when it is fitted with a GPS or tracking device that allows the owners to follow the location of their vehicle. One of the other benefits of fitting a tracking device or a usage monitor is that it can help to reduce your ongoing insurance costs, because insurance providers feel as though you are taking essential steps to protect your assets and reduce your claim risk.
Tracker
One of the premier makers of plant tracking equipment in the United Kingdom is Tracker. Tracker devices use a mixture of VHF and GPS technology to help owners to maintain awareness about the location of their construction equipment. The manufacturers claim that this technology is able to beat the majority of signal jammers that criminals use to block other types of tracking technology.
One of the main features of the Tracker system is that it allows a geofenced area to be set up around the piece of construction equipment. If the vehicle travels outside of this zone, the Tracker will automatically send an alert to the owner to notify them. This can help to make the owner aware of the problem almost as soon as it occurs. The geofencing system even works when the ignition of the vehicle is off; meaning that the owner will know that there has been an unusual movement even if the vehicle is not being moved under its own power. In addition to helping to prevent vehicle theft, this also helps vehicle owners to know if their construction equipment is being used on jobs that it was not commissioned for. This reduces misuse by construction workers who may be moonlighting elsewhere.
Asset Tracking from Black Telematics Box
The Asset Tracking system from Black Telematics Box claims to enable vehicles owners to improve their asset efficiency by allowing them to know the exact location of their assets at that precise moment. Knowing the location of vehicles on a day-by-day basis can allow vehicle owners to improve their logistics and therefore reduce their operational costs. The makers of the Asset Tracking system also believe that data from the system can be used to improve the servicing schedules of vehicles. By keeping track of how long each vehicle is in use for, owners can develop a more accurate understanding of when the vehicle needs to be serviced. In some cases, this can help to prevent unnecessary repairs and costly faults for overuse.
The Asset Tracker software also offers geofencing and standard location tracking features. Because of its compact size, it is possible to install the Asset Tracker from Black Telematics Box onto a variety of different sized assets; from backhoe loaders through to excavators.
Sure Track
The Sure Track tracking system focuses on speedy asset recovery for those who have had vehicles stolen. The MT3 devices is a self-contained, battery powered unit which is easily installed by the owner using special sticky pads or magnets. Because the device does not need to be wired in, nor does it consume large amounts of power, it is much harder for thieves to find it and disable it. It combines GSM/GPRS with close range RF to offer precise location technology.
Buyers of the MT3 pay a regular subscription fee to the Sure Track team, who are adept in combining all of the data to work out the location of the stolen vehicle. Sure Track uses their own trained team of finders, because this relieves pressure on police resources, which improves the success rate of recovery. Over 90% of Sure Track vehicles are found within 9 hours of the theft alert being activated.
Tracks360
Tracks360 have produced a range of different tracking devices which are each suitable for different products or circumstances. For example, their M360 device has a 10 year battery life, so the tracker should keep producing a tracking signal for 10 years.
Another plant security device is specifically designed to detect and then alert the owner to the presence of jamming devices. Jamming devices are usually used by thieves when they are seeking to disrupt the signals from the trackers. Knowing about jamming devices can help vehicle owners to be aware of potential threats.
In addition to plant tracking devices, Track360 also produces a wide range of other tracking devices for any scenario, including trackers for pets, children and employees who need to be kept safe with tracking technology.