Combine GPS, M2M To Maximize Asset Utilization

By Sarah Howland, Integrated Solutions magazine

As the operations manager of Mike Bubalo Construction (Bubalo), Dave Sorem understands the importance of asset management. The California-based construction company has one central location, but its expensive equipment, such as backhoes, air compressors, and generators, is often spread out between various job sites. Until recently, Bubalo was using a manual, whiteboard tracking method to manage the equipment construction workers use at each job site.

The whiteboard method of tracking Bubalo used presented many inefficiencies. First, workers often forgot to update it, and smaller equipment especially got lost in the shuffle. Workers would also hoard unused equipment at their job site because they wanted it to be available when they needed it, rather than having to go get it. Because of this, Bubalo often had to rent equipment when it was needed at a job site. In addition, Bubalo was experiencing instances of equipment being stolen. Sorem recalls an instance where an air compressor was stolen, and he actually saw someone months later heading down the highway with it. "I had considered that compressor lost and was surprised to see it months later," he says. "I actually chased them down, confronted them, and retrieved it. And although, in the end, the air compressor was recovered, I think everyone would agree it was purely coincidental." If Sorem hadn't reclaimed the air compressor, Bubalo would have been out $8,000. Sorem knew at this point he needed to put measures in place to better manage the equipment and also wanted to gain visibility into the company's workers' performance and driving.