Talking TELEMATICS TECH

BY SARAH WEBB

Telematics is more than just a buzzy type of technology. In some cases, it has helped rental companies prevent their equipment from being driven off of construction sites, never to be seen again.

That was exactly what happened to Arvada Rent-Alls when one of the company’s Genie 5519 rental forklifts was stolen from a jobsite in Colorado on Jan. 1, 2023. The customer who rented the unit was on a work break and did not realize it was missing until Jan. 11, 2023.

Less than six months old, the machine may have taken up to a year to replace, not to mention the value of $70,000.

Unluckily for the thieves, they did not realize the forklift had been equipped with telematics.

“The unit ended up in Morgan Hill, Calif., 10 minutes away from a branch of A Tool Shed,” says Andrew Heesacker, president and CEO of Arvada Rent-Alls in Arvada, Calif. “Coincidentally, we have connections with the owners there, and both Robert Pedersen Sr. and Jr. were very happy to help as needed. The customer who had rented the forklift submitted a police report, and we contacted the county sheriff where the stolen unit was located in California.”

While all’s well that ends well for Arvada Rental-Alls, the incident underscored the importance of rental companies tracking their machines.

“Depending on where you are in the country, theft has been getting worse and worse,” says Tony Nicoletti, president of business development at DPL Telematics. “For us, in any given week, we hear from at least two customers that’ve had something stolen. A lot of times, though, people with telematics can just recover it and go on with their business.”

Not only will telematics help prevent theft, but it also can help boost rental companies’ bottom lines in other ways.

Nicoletti and David Swan, senior vice president of products at Trackunit, lay out how rental companies can incorporate this technology into their businesses and offer advice on how to onboard telematics effectively.

The Benefits

Theft isn’t the only reason rental companies may want to restrict access to machines, according to Swan.

“Being able to lock out your machine based on who’s supposed to have access is a big deal, especially when it comes to high-risk machines like aerials,” Swan says. “This just means that rental companies don’t have the wrong people on machines that can potentially cause damages to other machines, structures or people. That can really increase the level of safety on-site. Also, when everyone knows that the activity of the machines is being recorded digitally, it changes behavior and gives a sense of accountability.”

In addition to theft prevention, telematics technology can help rental companies maximize equipment usage.

“You can track where your equipment is going, if it’s being used or not used, how much it’s being used to track service hours, and you also have the ability to remotely disable an asset,” Nicoletti says. “So, if you have a piece of equipment on rent, and your customer decides not to pay their bills, like with utilities, you can cut it off.”

Swan agrees that knowing where equipment is can help rental companies