How is GPS Used in Construction? Types, Tools, & Benefits

ByEric Czerwonka Last Updated
Illustrative image of GPS in construction

Construction companies use GPS technology to track their employees, company vehicles, heavy equipment, and tools. Each of these types of tracking has different benefits that help you reduce insurance and labor costs and prevent theft of time and property.

Let’s take a look at the different types of GPS tracking that construction companies use, the benefits of GPS tracking, and the systems you can use to implement GPS tracking for your construction business.

The 4 main types of GPS tracking in construction

Construction companies generally use GPS to track the locations of employees, company vehicles, heavy equipment, and tools.

1. Employee GPS tracking

Using construction time-tracking software, business owners and office admins can ensure that all construction workers are at the correct job sites when they’re getting paid to work.

Here’s how it works with our own time-tracking software, Buddy Punch.

All of your employees download Buddy Punch’s mobile app to their phones. They’ll use the app to clock in and out of work. The app uses the phone’s built-in GPS technology to determine where employees are located at different times during the workday, depending on which of three GPS features you enable:

  • GPS on punch: When an employee clocks in or out using the app, Buddy Punch logs their GPS location to their timesheet. Admins/managers can review the location data in timesheets to make sure employees were at the correct job site when they clocked in or out of work.
  • Real-time GPS: With real-time GPS, you can see where all employees are located on a map at any given time, and you can access breadcrumbs of their movements across the workday. This is helpful if employees are moving from job site to job site or leaving to collect equipment or supplies.
  • Geofencing: Geofences are digital borders you place around a job site. If an employee tries to clock in/out when they’re not within the geofence, the app blocks the action. You can also set up notifications to remind employees to clock in when they enter the geofence and out when they leave it.

Employee GPS tracking helps you eliminate time theft by helping you prevent employees from clocking in/out from someone other than a job site. It can also help you make sure employees aren’t running non-work errands during the day when they’re being paid to work.

2. Vehicle GPS tracking

Tracking your company vehicles with GPS requires a combination of hardware and software. 

First, you purchase GPS tracking devices to install on your vehicles. These devices may need to be hardwired into your vehicles or plugged into an OBD-II port (if your vehicles support it). After installation, you connect the devices to the software you’ll use to track them.

Vehicle GPS tracking services like Rhino Fleet Tracking, Track Your Truck, Verizon Connect, GPS Tracking America, and USFleetTracking will show you where your company vehicles are located at all times. Additionally, some offer reports to help you stay on top of vehicle maintenance or optimize routes.

Company vehicle GPS tracking can help you recover your vehicles in case of theft, and many auto insurers will provide a discount on your insurance for vehicles with GPS tracking installed.

3. Equipment GPS tracking

Tracking your heavy equipment works largely the same way as vehicle tracking: you install GPS tracking devices on your equipment and then connect those devices to the provider’s tracking software. Popular heavy equipment GPS providers include GPS Trackit, Verizon Connect, Linxup, Rooster, and WirelessLinks.

Like vehicle tracking, heavy equipment tracking can help you recover stolen equipment, reduce property insurance costs, and stay on top of equipment maintenance.

4. Tool GPS tracking

It’s easy to leave a job site without remembering to collect all of your tools, and having to repurchase even small tools over and over again can add up. With GPS tracking, you can see where all of your tools are located so you can recover them if they’re lost or stolen.

GPS tracking for tools is simple: just head down to the nearest hardware store and pick up a package of Bluetooth trackers. Then, attach those to your tools, download the smartphone app that tracks them, and you’ll be able to see where all of your tools are located at any time.

Here are some options to consider that are available at The Home Depot.

The benefits of GPS tracking for construction

Tracking your construction employees, equipment, vehicles, and tools via GPS delivers several benefits:

  • Prevent time theft: Employee GPS tracking makes it easy to make sure you’re only paying for the time that employees spend on the job site.
  • Prevent property theft: Geofencing can alert you if a vehicle or equipment is removed from its location when it shouldn’t have been.
  • Recover lost or stolen property: GPS tracking can help you find vehicles, tools, and equipment that have been misplaced, left behind, or stolen.
  • Discounted insurance premiums: Many auto and property insurance providers offer discounts on premiums for company property that has GPS tracking installed.
  • Better maintenance scheduling: GPS tracking can monitor the usage of your vehicles and equipment and notify you when it’s time to perform scheduled maintenance on them.
  • Safer vehicle operation: Knowing that company vehicles are tracked by GPS can encourage your employees to avoid speeding and other poor driving behaviors that can be identified by GPS.
  • Minimize fuel costs: If your workers or foreman are traveling to different job sites over the course of the day, the route optimization capabilities of vehicle tracking software can help you plan faster, more streamlined routes.

GPS tracking compliance

Before implementing GPS tracking for your construction business, make sure you understand the laws and regulations regarding employer GPS tracking in your state. 

In general, it’s good to inform your employees that they’ll be tracked by GPS by having them sign a written GPS tracking policy. This will prevent your employees from feeling like the tracking is an invasion of their privacy even if it’s not required by law, and it will protect you in states where employee consent is required.

You’ll also want to make sure that you’re only tracking employees’ locations while they’re on the clock (the right time clock app with GPS makes this easy), and you can generally only legally install GPS tracking hardware on company-owned equipment and vehicles.

And while it may feel like your employees will be against GPS tracking, a QuickBooks Time study shows that’s not necessarily the case. Employees don’t mind being tracked as long as they know it’s happening — in fact, 7 out of 10 employees say they’re fine with their employers knowing their location during work hours.