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It’s no secret that working on a construction site is one of the more dangerous professions you can choose. The construction industry has the third highest rate of fatalities in the world, with nearly 60% of deaths being caused by falls, falling objects, electrocution, or equipment malfunction. It’s up to managers and decision-makers to ensure these events do not occur by prioritizing construction site safety above everything.
One of the best ways to guarantee safety on your construction site is to use construction equipment tracking software or asset tracking. Asset tracking allows you to tag and track your equipment, so you always know its location and condition. This article will explore several ways you can use asset tracking software to keep your employees safe.
Prioritize Safety with Asset Tracking Software
If you’ve been in construction for a while, you’re probably already aware of asset tracking. But you might not yet be aware of all the benefits of implementing asset tracking software in your construction site. While it is also handy for upping your workplace efficiency and productivity, one of the most important benefits of asset tracking software is its ability to create a safer working environment for you and your employees.
Stay on top of maintenance
Construction sites are riddled with hazards for on-site workers. Unguarded machinery, electrocutions, and heavy moving equipment are all potential risks employees face when they clock in daily. To safeguard employees from possible accidents, managers must ensure that all equipment is always in working order. All it takes is one malfunctioning or uncalibrated piece of equipment to cause a serious hazard.
Asset tracking software allows you to accurately track the condition of every piece of equipment on a construction site. Without it, employees may not be aware that equipment needs to be repaired or calibrated before use. Using uncalibrated equipment could result in further damage to the equipment or injury to an employee.
Even if you already have a maintenance process in place, asset tracking software guarantees safety by keeping track of important metrics that might indicate whether or not equipment needs a repair or could need one soon. In this way, you can make the shift from corrective maintenance to preventive maintenance, which may make all the difference when preventing an on-site accident.
Track equipment locations
Equipment is constantly on the move at any construction site. After all, with 47% of construction costs in the U.S. coming from equipment rentals alone, most companies cannot afford to rent multiples of every machine. This means that a piece of equipment may not always be right where you left it, instead having been transported to the other side of the site for another task.
As pieces of equipment make their rounds on a construction site, it can cause some confusion among employees, especially when they need to get their hands on a specific machine rather quickly. If they cannot track down the item they need, they may have to resort to using a different piece of equipment that is not perfectly suited for the task. This increases the likelihood of something going wrong, whether an equipment malfunction or another type of accident.
Asset tracking software alleviates this problem by eliminating any confusion about the location of your equipment. Logging into the software allows you to quickly see where any given piece of equipment is on the site. This construction equipment tracking is essential to ensure your employees always have access to the right machinery for the task.
Hold employees accountable
Equipment maintenance on any construction site has to be a collective effort. It’s up to managers and decision-makers to implement better ways to stay on top of maintenance. But, at the end of the day, the ones using the equipment are the employees themselves.
Since the machines are technically company property, some employees may not feel obligated to take care of them. They could notice that a piece of equipment needs to be calibrated or repaired and leave it for the next person to handle. This laziness causes a hazard for anyone else who attempts to use the equipment, especially if they do not know its need for maintenance.
Asset tracking software makes it easy to hold employees accountable for the equipment they use. Many types of software incorporate a feature that requires employees to check in and out when they use a piece of equipment. If they were the last person to use a machine that either requires maintenance or does not end up back in its proper place, they can be held directly responsible. For many employees, this is the extra incentive they need to encourage adherence to more proactive safety measures.
Invest in Safety with Asset Tracking Software
The construction industry is uniquely dependent on the functioning of its physical assets, particularly equipment. You may have hundreds of pieces of equipment across multiple construction sites, all of which need their own attention to ensure they are always in working condition.
Asset tracking helps you keep tabs on the location of your equipment as well as every piece’s unique condition. With asset tracking software on your side, you can quickly find the exact machine you need for a job and perform maintenance that prevents accidents rather than trying to repair damage after the fact. Not only that, but it allows you to hold your employees accountable for their own safety and those around them by ensuring they take proper care of the equipment they use.
Implementing asset tracking software may be expensive upfront, but it is an extremely necessary investment when it comes to prioritizing the safety of yourself and your employees. Think about it. One easy-to-use software can not only make your workplace more productive, but it can also prevent potentially fatal accidents from occurring. So, if asset tracking software could save a life on your construction site, why not try it?
