Rental equipment companies can save money and boost customer satisfaction by investing in telematics, GPS, and IoT. Technology is transforming the construction vehicle market with improved safety and performance. The benefits enhance the customer experience and streamline operations.
Strengthening Customer Satisfaction With Tech
Equipment rental companies are working to shift industry myths and stereotypes surrounding their offerings’ quality and value. Aging perceptions are beginning to change, but technology can help revolutionize the image of rental equipment, showing customers that it is cutting-edge, reliable, and high-performance.
Improving Equipment Quality and Performance
Technology can help equipment rental companies ensure their vehicles operate in the best condition possible. Telematics and IoT sensors allow for close monitoring of vehicle performance. As soon as something shows signs of wear or light damage, the sensors will automatically send an alert for a maintenance checkup.
This allows equipment rental companies to perform predictive maintenance, minor repairs, and tune-ups that prevent major part failures or breakdowns. As a result, they can provide their customers with the best possible quality vehicles.
Additionally, equipment rental companies can share sensor and maintenance data with customers to improve transparency and trust. From the hard data, clients can see they’re getting a high-quality, well-maintained vehicle rather than one that’s run down and battered. Strengthening this positive perception can improve revenue for rental companies by bringing in and retaining more renters.
Using GPS to Prevent Theft
Theft remains a serious concern in the construction industry today and applies to rental companies and their customers. Supply chain issues have increased the value of construction vehicles and materials to the point where people are increasingly tempted to steal them from job sites.
Fears surrounding equipment theft may make construction companies hesitant to buy their own equipment out of fear it will be stolen or damaged. Rental companies can provide a solution by using technology to ensure their vehicles can be recovered if stolen or even prevent theft altogether. This can be accomplished through GPS technology known as geofencing.
Geofencing involves creating digital barriers in a geographic, real-world space that confine a certain object to that area. A loader could be equipped with a GPS IoT device that tells a geofencing program where the vehicle is on a jobsite at all times.
The boundaries of the job site are the borders of the geofence. A security alert is triggered when the loader leaves the area and GPS will continue tracking the vehicle to recover it. Technology like this gives rental equipment customers peace of mind about their investment’s safety.
Ensuring Jobsite Safety
Technology can make construction vehicles safer for everyone working on jobsites. Integrating cutting-edge technologies enables rental equipment companies to provide the safest user experience possible for their customers. A few technologies can accomplish this.
For example, all-around view monitoring, or AVM, allows operators to view what’s happening around their vehicle. Cameras transmit footage live to a computer or display on the dashboard. Much like rearview backup cameras on consumer vehicles, they let equipment operators get a more comprehensive view of their surroundings, eliminating blind spots.
Modernizing the Perception of Rental Equipment
Technology can go a long way toward modernizing industry views of rental equipment. Common myths include the idea that rental equipment is beat up, low quality, or old. In reality, renting equipment can provide exceptional value for construction companies. They can save money on storage and upkeep, access the most modern equipment on the market, and experience greater flexibility from project to project.
Integrating and leveraging technology in rental equipment can help companies demonstrate the high value of renting compared to buying. This will counteract the dated image of their offerings. As a result, they can help more customers experience the benefits of renting construction vehicles.
Improving Equipment Rental Revenue
Adopting more technology isn’t just good for customers. It can also increase revenue for equipment rental companies. Boosting revenue allows for investing in new equipment and providing even better service.
Minimizing Maintenance Expenses
One of the best benefits of using telematics for predictive maintenance is reducing overall expenses. This upkeep method involves performing repairs or tune-ups more frequently, but these tasks are usually small, quick, and low-cost. In contrast, waiting until a part breaks to fix it results in a longer maintenance period and replacement costs.
Predictive maintenance allows rental companies to minimize their costs without compromising quality. Frequent, focused tune-ups can extend vehicles’ life spans, resulting in a less frequent need to replace equipment.
Tax Refunds and Insurance Savings
Integrating data into rental equipment can help companies and their customers maximize savings opportunities. For example, telematics devices can record fuel consumption, providing valuable data for claiming tax refunds for off-road gas use. Certain fuels are eligible for thousands of dollars in tax refunds from the federal government and some states.
Additionally, technology can help rental companies and their customers save money on insurance. Telematics and geofencing greatly enhance the safety of operating and maintaining construction equipment. Insurance companies may offer lower deductibles for every vehicle in a fleet that features these technologies.
Transforming Rental Equipment With Technology
Investing in technology for rental equipment lets companies provide their customers with cutting-edge, reliable, feature-rich vehicles. IoT, telematics, GPS and more are revolutionizing construction equipment and site safety. Integrating these technologies benefits everyone, providing cost savings, better performance, and greater customer satisfaction.
About the Author
Emily Newton is an industrial writer who specializes in covering how technology is disrupting industrial sectors. She’s also the editor-in-chief of Revolutionized where she covers innovations in industry, construction, and more.