GPS fleet tracking systems are becoming increasingly popular among on-road fleet vehicles. With the ability to increase productivity, reduce fuel costs, and prevent theft, more and more fleet managers are eager and willing to make the investment. However, the idea that a GPS fleet tracking system can have an equally powerful impact on off-road equipment is not as intuitive and well known. Regardless, using telematics equipment and GPS navigation systems with off-road vehicles can yield impressive results for business managers.

Every year, billions of dollars worth of construction equipment is stolen from locations throughout world. In the United States, the National Crime Insurance Bureau estimated that in 2007 more than $1 billion in construction equipment was stolen each year. According to the 10th Annual Construction Equipment Theft Study, a report that provides valuable information on the ongoing issue of equipment theft, 13,452 pieces of equipment were stolen in 2009, 82 percent of which were never recovered. According to the study, construction theft continued to be driven by organized crime rings, with towables (generators, welders and air compressors) being the number one theft target.

In the United Kingdom, according to the 2009 Equipment Theft Report, published by the National Plant & Equipment Register, the most commonly stolen items in that country in 2008 were trailers (911 thefts), excavators(849), site dumpers (244) and telehandlers (202). The biggest increases in thefts were in agricultural tractors (up 149 percent), quad bikes (up 83 percent), forklift trucks (up 67 percent), and portable generators (up 55 percent).

Some fleet managers pay a premium for satellite tracking to ensure their low-cost equipment is not stolen. The cost of the equipment does not justify the premium alone. But the cost of sending a crew to a remote location only to find out they can’t work because necessary equipment like a generator is gone is what justifies the investment.