How do you stop thieves from stealing your valuable construction trucks? Hot Line Construction, Inc., renowned for its commitment to service, safety, and environmental responsibility, had exactly that experience. Fortunately, Hotline had equipped its trucks with Zonar Ground Traffic Control.
Hotline has a focus on high-voltage utility services, more than 90 percent of the company’s operations revolve around maintaining the state’s utility networks and responding to large-scale natural disasters.
At the heart of Hot Line Construction’s operations is its diverse fleet of 800 specialized vehicles, which stand ready to be deployed wherever and whenever needed. To effectively manage this expansive fleet, the company’s fleet managers require reliable GPS vehicle coverage and a mobile-friendly platform that offers real-time monitoring and management capabilities.
As the contract between Hot Line Construction and Zonar approached renewal after five years of collaboration, it became crucial to assess whether Zonar remained the ideal provider. Working closely with the company, Zonar demonstrated its latest solutions, showcasing significant updates to their renowned Ground Traffic Control system.
The introduction of the Ground Traffic Control system revolutionized fleet management for Hot Line Construction. Fleet managers, who spend most of their time in the field rather than behind desks, required a smart fleet management solution that seamlessly integrated with their mobile devices. Zonar’s Ground Traffic Control, specifically designed to cater to their needs, provided enhanced mapping and vehicle tracking capabilities, enabling the monitoring and location tracking of all 800 vehicles across diverse and often remote locations.
This web-based solution seamlessly replicated the functionality and features of the desktop version on both iOS and Android devices. Fleet managers gained the ability to ensure that each vehicle was precisely where it needed to be, precisely when it needed to be there, regardless of their location. With the Ground Traffic Control system, fleet managers could remotely track their entire fleet, even while away from their desks, and all for a reasonable price.
During the demo phase leading up to the contract renewal, a notable incident highlighted the invaluable benefits of the web-based Ground Traffic Control system. Three company trucks were stolen from different job sites, but thanks to the system’s mobile-friendly design, Hot Line Construction’s fleet managers swiftly tracked and recovered each stolen vehicle using Zonar ZTrak.
Among the stolen trucks was one with a value of $300,000, carrying an additional $100,000 worth of equipment. The thief responsible was part of a notorious crime ring specializing in stealing commercial vehicles for illicit purposes. Utilizing the online tracking capabilities of Ground Traffic Control, fleet managers immediately started monitoring the stolen truck’s location, providing real-time updates to their crews and collaborating with law enforcement to set up a roadblock. As a result, they successfully apprehended the thief before the truck could be lost forever, enabling the crew to promptly resume their work with the recovered vehicle.
Zonar GTC has added functionality for locating missing items. The tracking hardware is the size of a golf ball. They can be placed inside the handheld devices that track underground drills, known as HDD locaters. These locators retail for over $15,000 and are often the target for construction site thieves.
