Unlock the True Value of your Plant & Equipment with BuildSmart

When a contract demands the use of plant and equipment, you need to be able to evaluate the impact each of these components will have on a project by assessing their usability, productivity, and profitability. Ultimately, ensuring they perform as planned in the most cost-effective manner.

With equipment on a construction site directly affecting project activities, the performance of this equipment will impact both the time and money needed to successfully deliver a project. For example, a large tipper truck will cart away more material and thereby improve productivity. Where plant and equipment are not managed efficiently, site works can experience a domino effect of issues resulting in project delays and disputes.

In a 2020 white paper by Carnegie Mellon University, plant and equipment were listed as being essential to successful project management with the research adding that investing in a new piece of equipment leads to increased labour productivity.

Given the critical role plant and equipment have in the engineering and construction sector, it’s no surprise that these items play a significant part in project costing plans. Specifically, when considering the significant long-term cost of investing in these machines.

BuildSmart, from RIB CCS, features functionality designed to provide information and control of the management of plant and equipment assets while offering several benefits to contractors. These include:

Allocation

With the ability to allocate equipment on an individual level to each project, BuildSmart allows contractors to monitor both the location of a machine as well as the time required to complete an assigned task.

Costs

BuildSmart views equipment as a cost centre unto itself, meaning any amount spent directly or towards the cost component will be allocated to every single piece of equipment. Job card and servicing functionality also provide maintenance teams with all the information needed to maintain plant and equipment at an optimal level, as well as forecast scheduled servicing. Any unplanned or breakdown repairs are accurately recorded with full costs and details.

Categorisation

BuildSmart is built on the premise that contractors must be able to access real-time information about each item within the plant department. This allows the equipment to be allocated to groups and categories so contractors can trace productivity, hire rates and service cycles (collectively and individually) without having to spend copious amounts of time sifting through data.

Scheduling

BuildSmart records the availability of each machine, the actual hours worked, breakdown hours, and provides a utilisation report that shows the full utilisation, costs, internal and external revenue generated, as well as average rate per hour.

Performance

As an industry-specific solution, BuildSmart is equipped to record equipment performance on a granular level, so contractors have the full picture when it comes to their equipment. For instance, the platform can record the fuel requirements of each asset to trace its consumption and overall efficiency performance.

BuildSmart enables contractors to compare critical investment parameters, such as depreciation and maintenance costs, to make informed buying decisions. It also empowers them to take control of how they use and manage their existing equipment, as well as how they expand in the future.

BuildSmart’s plant and equipment management functionality is an important tool in the construction contractor’s arsenal, helping them maximise asset utilisation while boosting efficiencies and ROI.