How heavy equipment tracking works without wiring or a data plan
A crowdsourced tag tracks heavy equipment with no wiring and no data plan. 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).
A heavy equipment GPS tracker finds its own position and sends it over a data plan, so every unit needs power and a plan. On an excavator it can be wired into the machine. A bucket, a breaker or a trailer has nothing to wire into. There the tracker runs on a battery that someone charges every few weeks or months.
A tag's battery lasts up to six years, depending on its size. With nothing to charge and no plan per unit, tracking no longer has to stop at the machines worth the most.
Many newer machines already send engine hours and fault codes to their maker. That feed stops at the machine it is built into. The attachments and trailers around it have no feed, and neither do many older machines. A tag can go on all of them, and on the newer machines too.
What heavy equipment gets stolen most?
Thieves take the machines that are worth a lot and easy to move. The National Equipment Register (NER) names value and mobility as the two key factors in its 2016 theft report. Large excavators are valuable but seldom stolen, because they are hard to move. Backhoes and skid steers are easier to move than dozers and wheel loaders, so they make up more of the thefts.
NER adds another factor, the number of each machine in circulation. Skid steers were over 36 percent of new construction equipment financed in the US in the five years before the report.
The report counted 11,574 equipment thefts reported to police that year. Riding mowers and garden tractors were the largest share, at 41 percent. Loaders came next at 18 percent, mostly skid steers (70 percent) and backhoes (22 percent). Tractors were 14 percent, and excavators 4 percent.
NER advises weighing mobility as well as value when planning security. So start with the machines that are easiest to move, the skid steers and backhoes. With no data plan per unit, each one can carry a tag.
What to tag for heavy equipment tracking, and where the tag goes
Tag every machine, attachment and trailer that could leave a site, with the tag out of sight and clear of anything that digs. Start with the skid steers and backhoes, which are the easiest to move. The attachments, light towers and trailers need a tag too, because they have no power to wire a tracker into.
Screw each tag down, because adhesive pads do not last on buckets and breakers. Where a steel cover protects the tag, leave the cover open on one side. A tag shut inside closed steel may only report once the steel is opened. The asset tracking tags guide covers mounting on other surfaces.
Two sizes suit a heavy fleet. The Standard Tag is 48 mm (1.9 in) across and runs up to three years. The Extended Tag is 54 mm (2.1 in) across and runs up to six years. Both are sealed to IP68 and take screws.
| Item | Why it needs a tag | Where the tag goes |
|---|---|---|
| Skid steers and backhoes | Easy to move, so among the machines stolen most (NER 2016). | Standard, out of sight inside the cab. |
| Wheel loaders, dozers and excavators | Worth the most. Wheeled ones, such as wheel loaders, are the high-value machines stolen most often (NER 2016). | Extended, out of sight inside the cab. |
| Buckets and thumbs | No power of their own, and swapped between machines. | Extended, in a recess on the back, under a steel cover open on one side. |
| Hydraulic breakers | No power of their own, and moved between carriers. | Extended, on top of the housing above the bracket, under the same kind of cover. |
| Compactor plates and augers | Excavator attachments with no electrics. | Standard, screwed to the frame on a face that never touches the ground. |
| Light towers and towable generators | Towed from job to job, and left on site overnight. | Extended, on the inner face of a frame rail, out of sight. |
| Trailers and tilt decks | They carry the machines, and NER advises never leaving equipment on one. | Extended, on the tongue frame or under the outer deck rail. |
The small equipment tracking guide covers plate compactors, pumps, saws and lasers. The trailer tracking system guide covers where to hide a tag on the trailer itself.
Why is stolen heavy equipment rarely recovered?
Stolen heavy equipment is rarely recovered because thefts are found late and the machines are hard to identify. NER's 2016 report counted 2,442 recoveries that year, against 11,574 thefts. That is a recovery rate of 21 percent. NER notes that the rate leaves out machines the police recovered but did not mark as recovered.
The report lists eight reasons, including these. Thefts are found late and reported late. Owners' records are missing or wrong, and machine ID formats are complex and often ambiguous. Used machines are also bought without a check (how to check if equipment is stolen).
Time matters. Police recovered most machines in the state they were stolen from. The report adds that an unsold machine is more likely to leave the state as time passes. Machines moved far away are found less often.
A tag cannot stop a machine being loaded onto a trailer. An exit alert tells you sooner that it has left, while the trail is still local.
At a minimum, NER advises a list of every machine with its PIN or serial number. Send it to the police, the insurer and NER as soon as you find a theft. NER's registration page says to copy each PIN off the machine's plate, because the invoice is often incomplete. The stolen tool and equipment recovery guide covers the first hour after an alert.
How to track heavy equipment across the yard and every job
Draw a geofence around the yard and one around each active job. A geofence is a boundary you draw on the map (how to create a geofence). A breaker that moves from one job to another is then logged, without anyone phoning it in.
Set a reminder on the yard geofence for the buckets and breakers that should come back between jobs. You pick how long each one may stay out.
Rented-in machines can carry a tag for as long as you have them. The GPS tracker for construction equipment guide covers the off-rent date, with an alert for each phase of a job.
What to expect from heavy equipment tracking with tags
With tags, you get a dated location record for every machine, attachment and trailer, and an alert each time one leaves a site.
- Updates come from passing phones. Any phone that goes by reports the tag. A busy site updates all day. An empty yard at night updates less often. An item taken from it is reported again as the truck carrying it passes people or 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 stretch of road. The tag's name tells you which unit to look for.
- Location, not engine data. A tag reports where an item is and when it came and went. Engine hours, fuel and fault codes come from the machine's own feed, where it has one.
- Where, not who. A tag shows where a unit went and when, not who drove or towed it. An equipment sign out sheet records who has it.
Frequently asked questions
What is heavy equipment tracking?
Heavy equipment tracking means knowing where each machine, attachment and trailer is, and when it came and went. Tracking used to stop at the most expensive machines, because a GPS tracker needs power and a data plan for every unit. A crowdsourced tag needs neither, so every machine can carry one, and so can the buckets, breakers and trailers around it.
How do you track heavy equipment?
Put a tag on each machine, attachment and trailer, and draw a geofence around the yard and each job. Any phone that passes reports where it heard a tag, and the map shows each item's last reported position. An alert fires when an item leaves a site.
Does heavy equipment have GPS tracking built in?
Many newer machines do. They send engine hours, fault codes and position to their maker. Attachments and trailers have no engine to carry one, and many older machines were built without one. A crowdsourced tag covers them with no wiring, and it can go on the newer machines too.
How long does a heavy equipment tracker battery last?
A crowdsourced tag's battery lasts up to six years, depending on its size. A battery GPS tracker needs charging every few weeks or months. A tag needs no wiring either, so buckets, breakers and trailers with no power of their own can carry one.
What heavy equipment is stolen most?
Machines that are valuable and easy to move, above all skid steers and backhoes. In the National Equipment Register's 2016 report, loaders were 18 percent of equipment thefts, and 70 percent of those loaders were skid steers. Large excavators are valuable but seldom stolen, because they are hard to move.
Where should a heavy equipment tracker go?
Out of sight, clear of anything that digs, and outside closed steel boxes. On a machine, inside the cab works. On a bucket, screw it into a recess on the back, and on a breaker, on top of the housing above the bracket. Cover either with steel left open on one side.
How much does heavy equipment tracking cost?
It comes down to what each unit carries. A GPS tracker means the hardware, wiring or charging, and a data plan for every unit. A crowdsourced tag means the tag and the tracking software, with no data plan per unit. That is what makes it practical to tag the attachments and trailers too.
What should I give the police if a machine is stolen?
NER advises keeping a list of every machine with its PIN or serial number. Send it to the police, your insurer and NER as soon as you find a theft. Add the last reported position from the map. Together they tell the police which machine to look for and where to start.
Next step
Start with the units that are easiest to move
List the skid steers, backhoes and attachments that move between sites, and the trailers that carry them. Draw geofences on the yard and the active jobs. Tell us what is on your fleet, and we will suggest a tag size for each item.