Recover Stolen Vehicles and Equipment With a GPS Tracking System

Recover Stolen Vehicles and Equipment With a GPS Tracking System

From Construction Executive Magazine
By Jenny Malcolm

Vehicle and equipment theft is a major challenge facing the construction industry. Without a source of asset protection or method to recover stolen property, construction companies can take a significant hit to their bottom line when they have to replace expensive vehicles and equipment sooner than necessary.

According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, nationwide construction equipment theft nears $1 billion annually. To prevent losses, construction fleets are employing GPS systems to track current vehicle and equipment locations, which greatly increases the likelihood of recovering stolen property.

Which Vehicles and Equipment are Targets for Theft?

For the construction industry, 41 percent of theft occurs with light duty vehicles, such as work trucks on remote jobsites with limited supervision.

Heavy equipment and assets that are frequently targeted for theft include:

• backhoe loaders/wheel loaders;
• air compressors;
• generators;
• welders; and
• light towers.