Asset Tracking Cost
Low Cost Asset Tracking: What Each Unit Needs to Keep Reporting
Low cost asset tracking depends less on a tracker's price than on what each unit needs to keep reporting. A GPS tracker needs power and its own data plan, so tracking used to stop at the most expensive machines. A crowdsourced tag needs neither, so trailers, attachments and tool cases can be tracked too. It sticks on with no wiring, and its battery lasts up to six years, depending on its size.
How a tag makes low cost asset tracking possible
A crowdsourced tag needs no data plan because it never connects to a mobile network. It has no GPS receiver. It broadcasts a Bluetooth signal, and any phone that passes reports where it heard the tag.
These networks are large. Apple counts over a billion iPhone, iPad and Mac devices, and Google over a billion Android devices.
The passing phone does the costly work. It knows its own position, and it sends the report over its own connection. The tag only has to broadcast, which takes very little power. That is why a small replaceable cell can run it for so long.
So adding a unit adds no data plan and nothing to charge. Ten more trailers means ten more tags, not ten more data plans.
- Gets its position from satellites
- Sends it over the cellular network
- Needs power and a data plan
- Broadcasts a Bluetooth signal
- Any phone that passes by reports where it heard it
- No GPS and no data plan
- Where it is now
- Where it has been
- An alert when it leaves a site
How much does asset tracking cost?
Asset tracking cost has two parts. One is the asset tracker price, paid once per unit. The other is what each unit needs to keep reporting, for as long as it is tracked. That second part decides how many units you can afford to track.
A cheap asset tracker can still be costly to run. A GPS tracker needs a data plan for every unit, because it sends each position itself. It also needs power: wiring on a machine with an engine, or a battery to charge or swap on everything else.
A crowdsourced tag needs no data plan and no wiring. The table sets the two side by side.
| What each unit needs | GPS tracker | Crowdsourced tag |
|---|---|---|
| A data plan | One for every unit, to send each position | None. Any phone that passes reports it |
| Power | Wiring, or a battery to charge or swap | A replaceable battery that lasts up to six years, depending on its size |
| Installation | Wired in on machines with an engine | An adhesive pad, or screws on the two larger sizes |
Software for the map and alerts is a cost with any tracker, and it is often priced per unit. What a tag removes is the rest: the data plan, the wiring and the charging.
Does an asset tracker need wiring?
A crowdsourced tag does not. It has its own battery, so there is nothing to wire and no installer to book. It mounts with an adhesive pad, and the two larger sizes also take screws.
A GPS tracker on a machine with an engine is usually wired in, so it draws power from the machine. That takes time on every unit. A trailer, an attachment or a tool case has no engine to wire into. That is one reason those units went untracked.
Place a tag out of sight, where the work cannot knock it off. For metal, plastic or wood, see how to mount asset tracking tags on each surface.
How long does an asset tracker battery last?
A tag battery lasts up to six years, depending on its size. Every cell is replaceable.
A battery GPS tracker works differently. Every report takes a satellite fix and a transmission, and both use power. So the more often it reports, the sooner it needs a charge or a new battery. A tag leaves both jobs to the passing phone.
The larger the tag, the longer it runs between battery changes.
- Compact tag, 26 mm. A CR2032 coin cell, up to 1 year. For tools and cases kept dry.
- Standard tag, 48 mm. A CR2477 coin cell, up to 3 years. Sealed to IP68 for units that live outside.
- Extended tag, 54 mm. Two ER14250 lithium cells, up to 6 years. Sealed to IP68, for the fewest battery changes.
Where low cost asset tracking pays off
It pays off on the units that were never worth a data plan. Think trailers, attachments, light towers, compactors, job boxes and tool cases. Each can carry a tag, so the whole fleet shows on one map.
Theft is one reason to track more of the fleet. The National Equipment Register's 2016 theft report counted 11,574 equipment thefts and 2,442 recoveries. Most of the stolen machines were mowers, loaders and tractors. The report names late discovery as one reason so few come back.
A geofence around each site helps with that. It alerts you once a tagged unit is seen outside the site, while there is still a trail to follow.
For construction trailers and equipment on a budget, start with the units that move between sites. The trailer guide shows where to hide a tracker on a trailer so it keeps reporting.
What to expect from a crowdsourced tag
A tag keeps a dated location record for every unit it is on.
- Updates come from passing phones. A busy yard or staffed site updates all day. A remote site updates less often. It picks up again when someone comes near or the unit reaches a busier road.
- Building-level position. The position comes from the phone that heard the tag. It gets you to the right site, yard or building, and the unit number does the rest.
- Location, not engine data. A tag reports where a unit is and when it came and went. Engine hours and fuel come from the machine's own systems.
- Where, not who. A tag shows where a unit went and when. Match the times to your job schedule or sign-out sheet to see who had it.
Frequently asked questions
Track every unit that could leave a site with TagLogger
TagLogger shows every tag on one dashboard and keeps every location report. It alerts you when a unit reaches or leaves a site, and exports the list as a spreadsheet or a report. Tags come in three sizes, and AirTags you already own work too.