GPS Tracking Devices for Rental Equipment

The Importance of GPS Tracking Devices for Rental Equipment

GPS tracking devices for rental equipment provide increased visibility of your assets and allow you to quickly and accurately trace and track equipment rentals, optimize equipment usage, and reduce theft or loss with swift recovery.

Offering rental equipment as a service means that hundreds and thousands of dollars worth of assets can be spread great distances at various work sites, cities, and even regions. The ability to track assets and monitor usage of equipment is essential to ensuring that equipment rental companies remain successful and profitable.

Additionally, providing GPS tracking for rental equipment offers added benefits to firms renting equipment from your business, as it increases the safety and security of assets, provides ID identification for use of equipment, and offers quick retrieval if assets are lost or stolen, all providing added security to your clients.

How to Keep Track of Rental Equipment

Managing rental equipment requires regular coordination and effective inventory auditing. Successful inventory auditing hinges on:

• Comprehensive tracking that includes the quantity of all rental equipment assets.
• Complete visibility of location, use, and maintenance status. 
• Accurate and up-to-date recordings of all changes in inventory and inventory status. 

Coordinating how to keep track of rental equipment by relying solely on manual tracking leaves room for accidental human error. Integrating a digital rental equipment tracking system with GPS trackers for rental equipment provides businesses the opportunity to harness the power of data to increase and optimize inventory tracking systems through location technologies and device features that deliver the data you need when you need it. 

Location Technologies

Digital Matter GPS devices for rental equipment tracking use three of the most accessible and affordable location tracking technologies, each with unique applications and capabilities to suit the needs of your business.

• GNSS: GNSS such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and more  is best suited for outdoor applications and relies on measuring the distance between the GPS device and at least four satellites for a 3D fix, allowing for global positioning triangulation. 
• Wi-Fi Positioning: Wifi positioning is best suited for indoor asset management  as GNSS signals cannot always penetrate buildings. Wi-Fi positioning in combination with GNSS offers support for assets that regularly move between indoor and outdoor applications, and offers enhanced visibility for inventory tracking in warehouses and storage facilities for rental equipment.
• Bluetooth: Bluetooth low energy technology utilizes tags and gateways to provide approximate location of tagged assets for both indoor and outdoor applications to track and protect stationary and mobile rental equipment. 

Rental Equipment Tracking Device Features

GPS rental equipment trackers from Digital Matter offer a wide range of power, connectivity, and features that enhance visibility for rental assets in use and in storage.

• OBDII, wired, and battery-powered solutions for managing both powered (heavy equipment) and non-powered (bins, containers, tools) rental equipment
• Industry leading battery life with ultra-low power consumption to reduce battery changes
• Theft recovery with one-touch Recovery Mode for real time tracking alerts at 30-second intervals. 
• Advanced geofencing that allows for custom and configurable geofences that send alerts when assets move in or out of specific locations. 
• Run hour monitoring that captures when and how often rental equipment is used.
• Impact detection that monitors rental equipment with user-defined thresholds to detect when g-forces are exceeded.  
• Preventative maintenance alerts based on configurable run hours or travel distance.
• Periodic and movement based tracking that provide regular location updates with smart adaptive tracking.
• Ultra-rugged design with IP67 rated housing that protects rental equipment trackers from the most challenging environments, including fine dust, high pressure spray, submersion, and extreme temperatures. 
• Multiple installation options with screws, bolts, rivets, cable ties, and more, that allow for covert and discrete installation to reduce tampering.
• Flexible configuration features to fit any tracking application, such as heart beat rate, movement and accelerometer settings, and more.   

Why Use GPS Devices on Rental Equipment?

Rental equipment organizations, firms, fleet managers, and risk managers are constantly combating the rising trend of equipment theft as well as how to accurately manage, monitor and optimize rental equipment fleets and assets. Leaning into digital transformation and innovative end-to-end tracking systems allows stakeholders to ensure that all rental equipment is best utilized, maintained, and protected. 

The following benefits and applications of GPS tracking devices for rental equipment showcase how the features listed above can improve and optimize operations. 

Makes Tracking Rental Equipment Easier

GPS tracking devices for rental equipment provide accurate data and information that can be seamlessly integrated for a comprehensive and holistics tracking solution and platform. Receiving and requesting remote data allows rental companies access to visibility on-demand as well as at regular configurable intervals.    

Reliable and ‘deploy once’ battery life  ensures that the device continues to connect, even in the case of tampering or loss of power. Easy installation as well as plug-and-play GPS tracking devices for rental equipment make implementation at scale simple for both large and small rental equipment. 

Configurable geofences offer fleet and rental managers the ability to set predetermined locations where devices will be stored or used. When GPS trackers for rental equipment are installed with custom geofences, equipment managers are notified when the asset enters or leaves predetermined locations. Allowing them to track location-based behaviors and ensure that those leasing rental equipment are utilizing assets in locations determined by their contracts. 

Prevents Theft

Digital matter GPS trackers for rental equipment provide theft prevention capabilities. If rental equipment such as machines, large heavy duty equipment, trucks or cars are moved or turned on without authorized use, the device will send an alert with the vehicle’s details and location. Upon receiving the alert, equipment managers can even immediately remotely immobilize the vehicle. 

Furthermore, if rental equipment is lost or stolen, Recovery Mode with customizable features allow for fast and efficient retrieval. 

Inhibits Unauthorized Usage

Remote disable features not only protect against theft, but also provide added security that rented equipment is being used appropriately, and as determined by the leasing contract. Unauthorized use of equipment can lead to costly maintenance or potential damage. It also ensures transparency and contract enforcement — that full use of the rental equipment is being paid for.

Provides More Accurate Invoicing

If rentable assets are used on billable time GPS trackers for rental equipment ensure accurate reporting by providing exact runtime data, increasing the accuracy of invoicing. Leveraging runtime data with devices eliminates the need to bill by the day, hour, or odometer, and eliminates the process of manual tracking which may lead to invoicing errors.  

Improves Equipment Maintenance

Optimized maintenance scheduling can drastically impact the bottom line. By scheduling maintenance based on run-time and movement data, rental asset managers can accurately predict when maintenance should occur. Ultimately controlling and reducing down time of rental equipment improves productivity and availability of rental assets for customers, and allows for seamless management and servicing of rental assets. 

Optimizes Business Processes

Utilizing GPS trackers for rental equipment optimize business processes such as:

• Inventory management: Efficiently collect data on location, use, and stock of rental equipment.
• Equipment utilization: Track hours and ensure all rental equipment is being utilized to its full potential.

• Health and safety compliance: Track operator working hours to ensure that operators are not over extended and are working safely and rental equipment is being used properly.

• Streamline availability of assets: Optimizing maintenance schedules and tracking location and use of equipment provides immediate knowledge of inventory stock, allowing rental equipment managers to make fast, accurate, and informed decisions on availability of stock, or to quickly pivot and address any delays. 
• Optimize drive routes and asset placement: Increased visibility through remote monitoring allows rental equipment fleet managers to optimize drive routes and location and placement of rentable equipment. 

How Digital Matter Has Helped Businesses Track Rental Equipment

Digital Matter partnered with Bikes Make Life Better, a company that assists with researching and planning loaner and private bikeshare systems. A major pain point of Bikes Make Life Better was the need to increase visibility to not only track the location of bikes, but to monitor how and when they were being used.

By using the Oyster 2 battery-powered GPS device covertly installed on the bike, Bikes Make Life Better was able to utilize smart movement-based tracking to pinpoint and capture location and usage and optimize preventative maintenance and prevent theft.  Read our full bicycle fleet tracking case study to learn more about our successful partnership.

Start Tracking Your Assets Today

Digital Matter GPS rental equipment trackers offer the technology, tools, and support you need to grow and protect your business. Get in touch with us today to discuss your equipment tracking needs!

GPS Tracking Devices for Rental Equipment

Let’s Get Started

Submit the form below to get in touch with a Digital Matter representative from your region.

Looking for support? Check out our knowledge base.

Information on becoming a Digital Matter Partner.

Information on pricing, availability, and proof of concept.

Guidance on selecting the right products for your application.