Is 2025 The Year to Electrify Your Fleet?
Construction and fleet businesses in New Zealand are looking toward growth and increased efficiency in 2025, driven by easing inflation and falling cost pressures. With inflation now well-contained, businesses are starting to see opportunities for investment and innovation. While there is still plenty of uncertainty due to shifting US trade policies this can also encourage businesses to rethink operations and adapt. One powerful way to achieve growth and efficiency goals is by implementing effective asset tracking systems. Much like insurance, asset tracking provides peace of mind, especially when it’s needed the most.
What is asset tracking?
If you’re tired of juggling spreadsheets, manual logs to track maintenance, or constantly calling your team to discover your asset locations, you’re not alone. Many businesses face this issue, often leading to confusion, inefficiencies, and missed opportunities.
Asset tracking involves knowing the exact location and status of your physical assets. Whether it’s construction equipment, fleet vehicles, trailers or machinery, telematics devices allow you to monitor each asset’s location, activity, and usage through a fleet management system.
With GPS tracking devices installed in each asset, you can receive real-time updates on the whereabouts, working status and usage of plant and machinery as well as vehicles. Asset tracking gives you the flexibility to track both fixed and movable assets, whether they’re parked at a job site, on the road, or in isolated areas.
The data is invaluable for construction and fleet managers overseeing multiple job sites and assets.
Key benefits of asset tracking
- Cost savings
An idle piece of equipment costs your business money. Contractors may hire or buy more equipment because they’re unaware that their existing assets are underutilised. Asset tracking can help to alleviate some of this cost by providing the visibility needed to optimise equipment use. By understanding underutilised equipment and identifying asset locations in real-time, you can reassign assets where needed, saving on unnecessary rentals or purchases.
Asset management also reveals inefficiencies like excessive idle time or prolonged cycle times. If equipment is idling too much, it could be a sign that your fleet is too large or poorly managed. Identifying these issues allows businesses to improve jobsite productivity and cut unnecessary costs.
One business using Teletrac Navman’s asset tracking saved over $1 million annually simply by tracking equipment usage across different job sites.
- Theft protection
Theft is a major concern in construction and fleet operations. With asset tracking, businesses can quickly identify equipment that is being stolen and can help to recover it. Telematics designed to track assets are built with long-lasting batteries to remain functional even when equipment is isolated, trailers are unhitched, or are unpowered themselves.
Combined with the fleet management solution, you can set up geofences around sites, depots, jobs or other sites of significance, and use these to set up alerts of entry and exit for instant notification when bounds are crossed.
With up-to-the-minute location updates, you are able to stay in the know in real-time to manage your assets while they’re on site or on the move, and help to keep them safe from prying eyes.
- Preventative maintenance
With its rugged and compact design, asset tracking also helps with maintenance management. With the ability to help track usage patterns, businesses can stay ahead of service intervals. This reduces breakdowns and unplanned repairs that can halt projects. Preventative maintenance improves equipment reliability, ensures compliance with safety regulations, and lowers the risk of accidents caused by faulty equipment.
- Indoor tracking capabilities
While specialised, asset tracking allows you to track assets that are stored indoors or under cover, providing you with information on vicinity of important equipment, helping you find the proverbial needle in a haystack with ease.
Optimising fleet operations
While construction managers focus on heavy equipment, they must also consider over-the-road vehicles. Asset tracking can improve fleet management by monitoring speed, driving habits, and fuel usage. It helps businesses identify unsafe driving behaviours, reducing the risk of collisions and costly fines.
Moreover, fleet managers can optimise routes by avoiding weather, traffic, or road hazards. One customer that used Teletrac Navman’s asset tracking reduced diesel costs by 10 per cent in the first year after implementing asset tracking.
Teletrac Navman’s latest asset tracking tool
For those looking to take their asset tracking to the next level, Teletrac Navman’s new asset tracking devices are a game changer. Designed for both indoor and outdoor equipment, offering up to 10 years of battery life with minimal maintenance, it’s a true “set it and forget it” solution guaranteeing continuous monitoring without disruption. Their compact design means these trackers are suitable for both large equipment and smaller assets, while frequent updates make them ideal for tracking trailers and assets on the move. Whether it’s powered vehicles, non-powered equipment or smaller tools, all your assets can now be managed seamlessly in one platform.
Teletrac Navman’s advanced trackers provide real-time location data, chain-of-custody reports, and usage analytics. The AI-powered TN360 platform consolidates all this information into a single, powerful dashboard, delivering high accuracy and real-time visibility. Clear insights at your fingertips allow you to keep projects on track, protect profit margins, and make smarter decisions about asset utilisation and maintenance. Asset tracking should be a key component of your strategy for a successful 2025.
By improving efficiency, cutting costs, protecting assets, and staying on top of maintenance, you’ll be better positioned to bid on new contracts, complete projects on time, and increase your bottom line. The latest technology, like Teletrac Navman’s asset trackers, is making these goals easier than ever to achieve.
We should expand a little here to give more of an introduction - why are they looking for growth? Is there anything global trends related we can reference? What’s the importance here?