The Construction Industry: Missing Scoops In The News

What’s the scoop?

The New Zealand construction industry - what’s the latest scoop?

Diggers have been stolen from Auckland construction sites.

Since March 2018, 16 diggers have been stolen across the Counties Manukau district. The maths is simple; with an increased demand in housing, there are more construction sites, which means the thieves have easier access to diggers as they become a more available commodity. A sad situation that could be resolved by an equipment tracking system.

Where’s the scoop?

Inspector Chris Barry of Counties-Manukau East Police says that the thieves’ motivations are unclear. It’s possible that the unrecovered diggers have been sold for scrap metal, used for other work or sent offshore.

Barry is certain that the thieves are disguising themselves as construction workers. They would also need the skills to drive a digger onto a truck. Four out of the 16 diggers have been found and reunited with the rightful owners. However, according to news site Stuff, no arrests have been made.

How can I protect my scoops?

Construction sites should be secured at night, and if possible, valuable equipment should be removed overnight. Other suggestions from police include finding a way to immobilise diggers and installing a GPS equipment tracking device.

CLL, who work throughout New Zealand, uses Teletrac Navman’s GPS equipment tracking for all company assets. “Thanks to Teletrac Navman, we’ve saved two vehicles from being stolen,” said Operations Manager, Alan Marychurch. “We tracked one vehicle for 45 minutes through side streets while we talked to the police, who were moving to intercept it. Being able to recover that vehicle saved us a lot of money as well as the time and effort that would have gone into making an insurance claim and then replacing not just the vehicle, but the equipment inside it”.

We’ve got the scoop for you

Equipment tracking

Teletrac Navman GPS tracking solutions don’t only work in trucks and other company vehicles, our solutions can also be used to track diggers, cranes, and other construction site assets. Our devices track and relay detailed location data in real time, so you can find out where your assets are when you need them.

Alerts for misuse

Using our DIRECTOR software on your smart phone, laptop or PC, you can set alerts for out-of-the-ordinary uses of your equipment - for example, when assets operate outside of work hours or leave assigned areas. This keeps you updated in real time if issues arise, such as your digger careering away from the construction site at top speed in the early hours of the morning. These features not only prevent theft, they also improve safety around the site and maximise asset use.

Easy maintenance

Teletrac Navman solutions can be used to record and schedule your equipment and vehicle maintenance, registrations and other certifications. Our system captures data for various types of heavy equipment on site including powered assets such as cranes, graders and excavators, and non-powered assets such as generators and lighting towers. The system allows your fleet and asset manager to manage maintenance for a large number of different vehicles, machinery, and site assets, and set up alerts based on factors such as distance travelled, engine hours or time intervals.

Business insight

DIRECTOR offers accurate, evidence-based accounting of asset utilisation for billing and customer reporting. By identifying actual-work time versus idle-time you can do an efficient job costing based upon real, quantifiable data and take the guesswork out of the tendering process.

With a Teletrac Navman solution you can transform your business with unsurpassed visibility into your company’s costs and operations.

Want to know more about the missing scoops? Read the articles on Stuff