by freelance writer James Neely

One would think that heavy equipment theft would be a small part of overall theft activities because of the size of the items and the difficulty in moving them. But the opposite is true: more than 70 pieces of heavy equipment are stolen every day and as few as 10% are ever recovered.

What that means is that vehicle tracking devices are mandatory for operations that use heavy equipment. Keeping track of these items is a full-time job – unless they can be tracked and monitored for location, speed and direction.

Location and recovery. The stealthy nature of GPS Tracking devices help keep the perpetrators in the dark about their existence until it is too late. Authorities can be called and notified as to their whereabouts instantly. And with locating abilities to within just a few feet, finding them is not a problem.

Miles and miles. These GPS Tracking systems are especially valuable to construction contractors who are in the business of building roads and highways. Most projects span many miles and cause companies to deploy equipment often in hard to reach locations. This places the equipment out of sight and unless some type of signal is attached, theft activities can go undetected for months.

For any type of equipment. You can use these GPS Tracking devices on almost any type of equipment. Whether it has a battery or not is not an issue. Setting a dollar threshold for usage is a starting point. The cost of a device is just a few hundred dollars, so anything of worth can be outfitted with one. Some companies are even using them for the remote offices and equipment trailers that are used on construction sites.

Reduced employee time for tracking. The ability to run reports and generate instant feedback on equipment location keeps employees from having to track it down manually or calling everyone other employee to see who ‘had it last.’ In today’s lean organizations, this is an invaluable use for GPS Tracking systems.

Brings insurance costs down. Insurance costs are reduced in the form of lower premiums because insurance companies’ liability is lowered. Anytime this can be accomplished, you can always realize a savings for both the insured as well as the insurance provider.

Smoother running operations are a result of heavy duty equipment tracking. With the incidents of theft sure to increase because of economic conditions, a GPS Tracking system is a necessity, not an option.