Construction Accounting Article -
GPS Technology Can Lead to Cost Savings
Target Audience: Construction Industry Professionals, Accounting Consulting Interest, Tech-savvy Construction Companies, Technology and Efficiency Improvements Interest
Global positioning system (GPS) technology has come a long way since its military inception in the 1960s. It’s in most cell phones and many automobiles, and it drives the online mapping systems that enable you to navigate unfamiliar territory. If you let it, GPS technology can lead to new operational efficiencies and cost savings.
The How
GPS technology triangulates positions using a system of 24 to 27 satellites and land-based receivers. The receivers capture information from the satellites and use it to calculate their own locations.
In other words, the satellites don’t find your foreman’s truck — the truck finds the satellites. And the truck tells you where it is, every minute of every day. That’s a paper trail that will put an end to personal errands and lengthy lunches on company time.
More important than curing employees’ wanderlust, though, is curbing theft. Construction equipment is expensive, and every time someone drives off in one of your vehicles (which may hold additional tools), you lose time as well as money.
The Why (and Why Not)
With GPS technology, you can set geofences around all your job sites. If a vehicle or piece of equipment goes outside these geographic boxes, you get a text message or e-mail alert. You can set up a 24-hour guard or specify certain hours for the fence to be active. Either way, while the fence is active, you’re notified immediately of any potential theft. And the GPS receiver in the vehicle can lead police to a speedy recovery.
GPS technology can also help make your jobs go more smoothly — especially in bumpy terrain. Heavy equipment supplied with GPS technology can survey terrain on a job site and automatically adjust the height and angle of the blades to cut and fill as needed to produce exactly the right results. Not only can you potentially eliminate (or at least facilitate) the tedious and painstaking process of surveying and staking the site, but the survey function makes for some interesting viewing.
There are, of course, some things to consider before you run to the nearest GPS dealer. One is cost. There are different levels of GPS available, with correspondingly different price tags. The technology is pretty much the same, but the features are different. So you should know going in what you need and what you don’t.
Also consider where and how you’ll be using the technology. If you’re in a harsh environment, will you need waterproofing? How long do you need batteries to last? Do you want a fixed receiver, or do you want vehicle or handheld devices? If the latter, how bulky and heavy are the devices? Remember that your staff may resist using anything that’s cumbersome and weighty.
The When
As contractors discover the many ways GPS technology can help them work smarter and more efficiently, it’s coming into its own in the construction industry. In this, it seems, the future truly is now. Your construction accounting firm can provide you with more ways to improve your company's efficiency and cut costs.
Find out how our expertise in construction accounting can add value to your business. Email us or call us at 1 (888) 875-9770.
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