Tag Archives: profitability

Five Ways Construction Technologies Can Improve Profitability

By: Jason Hurdis–Sr. Market Proffessional for Caterpillar Inc.

How many times have you heard the saying, time is money? That old adage has never been truer in the construction industry than it is right now. But today we can update that passage to say, “tech is money.”

Every construction company owner faces pressure to control costs and operate at lower profit margins. As you evaluate your own business operations, technology is something you should consider. By identifying areas where you can become more efficient, you can determine the types of technologies that will bring the biggest benefit to your organization’s bottom line.

Based on customer experiences and data, Caterpillar is constantly developing and refining advanced technologies to help make your equipment more cost-effective and efficient. CAT Connect technologies and services such as, LINK, GRADE, PAYLOAD and EMSolutions all help increase profit margins and worksite productivity. Here are several ways the right technology can help make your company more profitable:

  1. Control fuel costs

Fuel consumption information is some of the most valuable information you can collect and use as a construction company. Idle time can represent 40-50 percent of a machine’s total running time. Tracking and reducing idle time in your machines with CAT technologies can reduce fuel costs by as much as 50 percent.

Such technologies enable insights that wouldn’t otherwise be available to you. If fuel consumption goes up suddenly during a job, it could signal a bigger issue. Here are just a few problems CAT technologies can flag and help you uncover before it becomes a real problem.

  • Dirty fuel injectors
  • Plugged/Contaminated air filters
  • Defective sensors
  • Faulty Engine Control Modules
  • Worn piston rings or leaky valves
  • Slipping clutch or transmission
  • Improper lube oil viscosity
  • Undersized machine, bucket or work tool
  • Low tire pressure or worn tires
  • Aggressive or untrained operators
  1. Manage maintenance intervals

Analyzing the data our technologies provide can help business owners increase the efficiency and cost effectiveness of your maintenance schedules. The longer you can effectively stretch maintenance intervals, the more time and money you can save. The importance of planned maintenance – and the profitability it enables – cannot be overstated. CAT technologies can help you interpret your data, provide monitoring services and help you develop the most profitable maintenance schedules for your fleet.

  1. Increase machine utilization

It’s hard to see patterns or trends when you have multiple machines working at multiple worksites. With data produced from CAT technologies, business owners can make decisions on machine activation and optimization from one central point. If a truck is sitting at idle too long waiting to be loaded, you may find there is so much idle time between trucks in your fleet that you can park one of them.

The data produced by CAT technologies can identify underutilized assets in your fleet, and can help managers eliminate the need for rental machines while also providing them with the information they need to forecast future equipment needs.

  1. Increased uptime

CAT technologies can provide companies with fault code alerts, which are messages delivered when a machine is working outside a predetermined set of parameters. These alerts cover machine-specific situations including engine over-speeding, high-speed directional shifts and changes in temperature and pressure. The benefits of receiving alerts like these are that they notify managers when maintenance and repairs are needed, which reduces unscheduled machine downtime and equipment repair costs.

  1. Improved bidding accuracy and competitiveness

CAT on-board systems allow companies to submit tighter, more competitive bids because of the data they provide. Companies today don’t need to pad their fuel numbers when bidding for a project; they can calculate exactly how many gallons per hour they need to get the job done.

Such technologies also are proven to increase materials savings by up to 10 percent, and decrease rework by as much as 50 percent. Using fewer materials and spending less time on rework allows companies to lower their bid prices, therefore, giving them a leg up on their competition.

CAT technologies are reshaping the process of using, managing and owning construction equipment. Construction companies that want to stay ahead of their competitors for projects both now and in the future must adapt and implement the proper technologies. It’s the best way to become more efficient while maintaining margins, quality and safety. Why give the competition the edge when the technologies present profitable opportunities? Because tech is money, and a more efficient fleet equals a better bottom line.

GUEST POST

By Jason Hurdis

Sr. Market Professional

Caterpillar Inc.

 

Related articles across the web

Small contractors should pay more attention to the quality of work than their profitability

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

 

Profitability plays a very important role in the survival of any form of business. If there are no profits, people would not be into business. It is not just the sheer will that drives people to form a company or do any small or big time business but the main component or for that matter the primary reason behind forming a business is the capability to earn more money than what one can presumably make in a salaried job. Now, not everybody has the potential to start a business even they have the best of the minds to run one. They have to simply stick to a job. However, if somebody manages to start a business, for the initial few years, he has to work in a no profit no-loss environment. It is only after the break even period that he will be able to witness some profits from his business. However, till that time he got to manage to stick to his business and be determined that no matter what, he will not give it up.

It has primarily been seen with small contractors that during their initial phase they start looking for profits in their business and in this process they take up multiple work and are forced to compromise on the quality. They are able to make profits for the time being but the days are numbered. They belong to the lot of people who are not able to take their business for long. Earning profits should not mean that you have to compromise on the quality. Your client will never want you to do so. It is understood that as long you do not have a brand name, people will be reluctant to pay good sum of money but you create your brand with the good work that you do.

Quality is something that you just can’t afford to compromise upon. If you do so, then you are only creating trouble for yourself. No sooner than you realize that things are going out of your hand and eventually you get to know that you are finding hard to get clients as they are moving to guys who can give them quality work. So the thumb rule should be that while you have set up your construction business, try to get some client and generate trust in their minds by doing good work. It will take time and will not happen in a day. Reach out to as many people as you can.

Creating contacts is the most important thing while you are running a construction company. People do not know you. You don’t have a brand name that will help you to get work. You got to build that. So rather than looking to make profits you should be looking for excellence. Give some time to your company to grow. Don’t be in haste as you will get nothing if you hurry. Things take time to happen and it will happen if you have it enough time. So follow the rule of not running behind profits and paying more attention to give excellent work.