Do you know how many tools walk off your jobsites each week? Tool loss is a problem that plagues lots of construction companies, and unfortunately the hidden costs of tool loss are a much bigger problem than the replacement price.

More than most industries, the construction industry relies on everything going according to plan. You estimate each project in terms of labor hours and material costs, and your winning bid is what you are accountable for. You may plan for some downtime, but any deviation from these allowances and you begin to fall behind schedule and over budget, cutting into your profits. Tool loss and equipment breakdowns are one of the major issues that field teams face.

We put a number on these hidden costs to show the importance of inventory management in the construction industry:

• According to a report published by National Equipment Register (NER), construction sites bear annual losses of up to $1B due to equipment theft. [Tenna]
• Construction equipment maintenance experts generally concur that unplanned downtime rates fall in the range of 20–30%. [ForConstructionPros.com]
   
• Though the average cost of an hour of equipment downtime on a jobsite is hard to calculate at industry scale, some estimate it can be as high as $350/hr. [Construction Equipment]
• Construction businesses are losing more than 1 full day of work every week due to inefficiency. 66% spend more than a quarter of their work hours waiting for work to be done, often because they are waiting for tools and equipment. [Level Set]
• Fewer than 30% of contractors finish projects on time and within budget. [Level Set]

If you agree that these issues are much larger than paying the replacement cost of the tool, isn’t it time you addressed them? ToolWatch is a technology solution that goes beyond merely tracking tools to address the underlying cause of tool loss and other types of waste on the jobsite, which is disconnected and disjointed internal operations.

ToolWatch unites field, warehouse and back-office teams on a single operations platform designed for the construction industry. We’ve helped thousands of construction firms shore up and streamline their operations to drive higher field productivity, and we can do the same for you.

If tool loss has led to downtime and lost profits for your company, book a demo with ToolWatch today to get an understanding of how easy it can be to track and maintain your equipment for lean operations.