Updated Feb 20, 2025
Equipment is the lifeblood of any construction company. It represents the largest capital investment and directly impacts project timelines, budget efficiency, safety compliance, ability to bid new work, and overall profitability. Arguably, keeping equipment in good health should be a top priority. Yet, managing equipment maintenance effectively remains a daunting challenge for many firms.
But with rapid advancements in fleet maintenance software, construction companies now have powerful tools to track, monitor and maintain their equipment proactively. By leveraging this technology, contractors can minimize costly downtime, optimize maintenance schedules, improve safety and keep their investment in good health.
Curious how fleet maintenance software can iron out the challenges contractors face? In this article, we’ll take a look at the top five challenges construction companies have with equipment maintenance and explain how fleet maintenance software can solve for them.
Unplanned equipment downtime can bring construction projects to a standstill, causing delays, budget overruns, and lost productivity. Industry estimates suggest that downtime costs can range from thousands of dollars each hour to tens of thousands each day, depending on the type of equipment.
For example, renting a large crane can cost over $10,000 each day, and (as you know) a one-day delay can affect labor, material deliveries and project deadlines.
➡️ Read our post on the best construction equipment maintenance software.
Modern fleet maintenance software allows for real-time equipment monitoring. This helps spot potential issues before they turn into those expensive breakdowns. Here’s how:
Construction companies can shift from reacting to problems to managing equipment better, reducing downtime and keeping projects on track.
Maintaining a large fleet of construction equipment is a costly endeavor. Between routine servicing, unexpected repairs and replacement parts purchasing, expenses can quickly spiral out of control.
However, a well-structured maintenance strategy can reduce overall costs while extending equipment lifespan.
➡️ Read our post on the true cost of equipment repairs.
By leveraging fleet maintenance software, contractors can streamline their maintenance approach, reducing unnecessary spending through:
Fleet maintenance software offers long-term savings by increasing the lifespan of equipment with fleet maintenance software, lowering emergency repair costs and reducing unproductive downtime.
Mixed equipment fleets consist of various types of machinery, each with different maintenance needs, different spare parts, and difference compliance requirements. Keeping track of maintenance records, repair schedules and needs for a full fleet can be challenging and lead to missed services, inefficiencies and unexpected failures.
Construction fleet maintenance software centralizes and organizes maintenance records, schedules, work orders, parts inventory and more. By automating these processes for mixed fleets, maintenance tracking becomes seamless. Here are a few of the ways:
By digitizing maintenance operations, construction businesses can eliminate paperwork, reduce human error, and enhance equipment uptime.
Many construction companies operate within tight financial margins, which can seem limiting when looking to invest in maintenance technology or personnel. However, the cost of failing to implement effective maintenance strategies far outweighs the investment in fleet maintenance software.
“Tenna helps us stay on top of all the maintenance and we see longer life, more hours, more miles out of all of our equipment. We see more up time than down time because we're able to catch issues way before they become a problem."
A maintenance management system is a game-changer for construction businesses operating with limited resources. It enables contractors to:
Construction companies should use their resources wisely to keep equipment in good condition. To do this, they should invest in fleet maintenance software. This smart investment pays off quickly.
Equipment-related incidents account for a significant portion of workplace injuries in construction. Poorly maintained equipment increases the risk of accidents, putting workers’ lives in danger and exposing companies to liability issues.
By implementing fleet maintenance software, construction businesses can:
A well-kept fleet is a safer fleet. Fleet maintenance software lowers the chances of workplace injuries and helps fleet managers comply with industry regulations.
As construction projects grow in scale and complexity, equipment maintenance cannot be left to chance. Adopting fleet maintenance software transforms equipment management from a costly challenge into a competitive advantage.
Construction companies face far more than the challenges addressed in this article. However, by addressing downtime, costs, complexity, resources and safety, contractors can significantly lower equipment costs and improve equipment use.
Ready to take control of your fleet maintenance?