Five Ways Mobile Apps Improve Equipment Management

Keeping tabs on dozens or hundreds of pieces of rental equipment on a jobsite – including what’s in use, what needs to be returned and what’s awaiting delivery or pickup – is a big job. When construction project timelines are running, contractors see using mobile technology as an important tool to make sound decisions and take speedy actions about equipment resources.

Equipment rental mobile applications are one solution to improve fleet management, keep projects on schedule and boost worksite performance, according to United Rentals, Inc. These apps bring consumer-like experiences to construction worksite teams and make everyday fleet management tasks easier. They allow contractors to rent and manage equipment such as excavators, trenchers, aerial work platforms, backhoe-loaders and more no matter where they are located. Mobile apps enable workers at jobsites to keep informed while on the go and empower them to take control of equipment resources to get work done.

United RentalsFor example, the United Rentals Mobile App provides 24/7 access to the company's equipment rental fleet and makes it easy to rent and return equipment from a mobile phone or tablet. The app can help companies improve consumption management, including flagging when rentals are due, extending rental duration, viewing leniency windows and requesting equipment pickups. 

“Mobile applications help contractors create high-performing jobsites by allowing workers to know quickly what equipment they have, where it is located, how much they are paying for it, how often it is being used and when they need to return it,” said Paul Maddison, director, Digital Innovation, United Rentals. “Construction teams can see how their fleet is performing in real time and make the right equipment moves to keep project performance on track and save money.” 

How Apps Improve Equipment Management

Here are five ways equipment rental mobile applications can improve worksite equipment management.

1. Find and Order Equipment. Contractor teams can use mobile applications to browse, search and rent equipment inventory directly from a mobile device on a 24/7 basis, whether at the worksite, office or home. Mobile apps can show a company’s contract pricing during the order process and provide users with confirmations after equipment rental orders are placed.
2. View All Equipment. Worksite teams can use their mobile devices to view all their rented equipment listed by status, cat-class and jobsite. Mobile apps can include search capabilities to locate specific pieces of equipment. They can help contractors close the “communication chasm” that can occur between an equipment order and when the machine arrives on-site. Mobile apps provide visibility into order delivery status from pending to en route to delivered.
3. Control Rental Equipment. United RentalsMobile apps can allow workers to extend or off-rent equipment in seconds with a few simple clicks. Contractors’ teams can use their mobile devices to schedule equipment pickups and receive confirmations,  which decrease the risk of discrepancies in returning equipment. The apps can be used to adjust rental dates on equipment, providing contractors with leniency windows to find ways to reduce costs. For example, if a company has multiple scissor lifts on rent and work is winding down, a contractor can decide which ones to return in order to right-size its fleet and minimize rental costs.
4. Monitor and Manage Equipment. Worksite teams can employ GPS technology from their mobile apps to know the precise location of rental equipment at all times. They can track utilization of telematics-supported equipment in real time and use this actionable data to make decisions on how best to deploy fleet and save money on underutilized fleet.
5. Request Service. Mobile apps can allow contractor teams to request service on rented equipment from anywhere including the worksite. In the app, users select the equipment issue, such as tire or hydraulic leak, add descriptive information regarding the issue and attach equipment photos. Users receive a service confirmation number which is also sent to the local branch of the rental provider, which will then contact the contractor to schedule service. From a mobile app, users can see all their active equipment service requests in the app dashboard.