Managing a jobsite is overwhelming for site managers and foremen in the construction industry. You have to keep hundreds of workers safe from serious injury or worse. And you have to keep hundreds of pieces of equipment moving in perfect unison just to make a profit.

Idle equipment accounts for 30% profit loss in all construction jobs. Because construction is still mostly analog, you can only see the equipment in front of you, and not the equipment sitting idle and bleeding profits or being driven unsafely by a worker who isn’t certified. So United Rentals, America’s largest equipment rental provider, was determined to provide unprecedented visibility into jobsite management to help its customers be safer and more efficient.

Enter Digital Toolbelt — United Rentals’ revolutionary mobile app. With its old-school approach and handshake-driven business, the construction industry needed to embrace the digital revolution. Our simple and intuitive data-powered app took site management out of the Dark Ages and drove a significant increase in revenue for United Rentals as well as its customers.

We did some digging into construction companies throughout all of North America. Our findings paint a surprising picture of the industry:

• The construction industry loses over $1.2 billion due to idle equipment

• Over 5,000 construction workers lose their life while on the job

That’s a lot of money and too many lives. You might think this translates to the construction manager not doing their job proficiently, but that’s not the case. Their visibility of the entire jobsite is limited. Those data points reflect the nature of the job, but they also mean there’s an opportunity to create a safer, more efficient and more profitable jobsite. Thus, the Digital Toolbelt was created.

We knew the app needed to talk to the equipment and improve safety on-site. By putting telematics on millions of pieces of equipment, we got the data we needed to reach peak fleet efficiency. How?

• Fleet management and digital pickup features meant the right equipment was on-site at the right time

• Predictive maintenance monitoring identified inefficient or unsafe issues before they arose

• If there was an issue, United Rentals could quickly replace equipment on-site, saving time and money

• When customers wanted to speak to an expert directly, specialists were on standby to answer questions via phone or live chat

When it came to creating a safer jobsite, we integrated the app with a comprehensive safety training program, allowing workers to get certified right on their devices. The training program gave managers the ability to sync the right equipment with the right operator at the right time.

In just 12 months, the results were undeniable.

• Worksite efficiency jumped by 30%

• Worksite accidents decreased by 27%

• There was a 54% conversion from outdated analog renters to digital rental loyalists

And because United Rentals customers saw more profit, it saw a 66% increase in digital rental revenue. The site managers were more in touch with their equipment and the well-being of their crew — yielding a more efficient and profitable jobsite.