Introduction

Construction projects require planning and coordination to ensure time-sensitive materials like concrete and asphalt arrive when workers are ready. Learn how TomTom’s APIs and geofencing help plan routes, track ETA, and send alerts to optimize construction efficiency.

Every business wants to make the best use
of its resources.
Construction companies must ensure just-in-time
delivery of time-sensitive materials, equipment,
and operators to the construction site, including
loading materials at intermediate points, to ensure
all components arrive when needed.
Juggling the materials, personnel, and equipment
just right reduces downtime and waste.

Waste occurs when workers aren’t able to use
time-sensitive materials within their designated
timeframe.
Take, for example, a hot asphalt that may cool
too much or a pourable concrete that thickens
if mixed for too long.
If the company doesn’t use these materials within
a specified period, they become useless and
represent wasted capital.

Transit problems can cause delays.
So can workers who are unavailable to use
materials that arrive off-schedule.

Knowing the location of equipment, operators,
and materials at all times is vital to getting
the job done.
Construction fleet operation efficiency affects
the fleet operator, the general contractor,
and the construction clients.
Ensuring the satisfaction of all parties greatly
influences repeat business and profitability.

Let’s explore how TomTom’s rich array of Maps APIs
enhances the development of construction fleet
planning applications, by using the route-planning
and location information that ensure just-in-time
materials arrive when workers are available
to use them.

Planning the route and timing the delivery

Some of the most basic information for planning
is the expected duration for an object
(or individual) to travel from points A to B.
This information is crucial for app users
to effectively coordinate movement of equipment,
operator, and material to the job site.

The fleet manager needs to determine
when to pick up the materials and whether
they need specialized equipment or personnel,
such as a cement mixer or an operator.
Your app’s construction fleet planning
doesn’t merely involve a single route.
It requires multiple paths with various
dependencies, which can potentially delay
the entire project.
While the eventual endpoint is the construction site,
there may be stopovers while en route, such as those
for material pickups — each with their own loading times.
The app needs to factor these dependencies
into its calculations.

TomTom’s Routing API provides the information
that app users need to understand, plan,
and coordinate all moving parts.
First, it helps determine the estimated arrival time
of all necessary project components, allowing it
to calculate the time at which a vehicle must leave
so that it arrives at the desired time.

The Routing API also provides the most efficient route
so users can ascertain travel times between destinations
and the estimated times of arrival (ETA).
TomTom’s Routing API considers restrictions such as
hazardous materials, transport weight, and vehicle height
so that it can generate routes that accommodate
virtually any transport.
With these considerations, the app’s users won’t need
to worry about violating local laws or encountering
an impassable 11-foot-8 bridge on the way
to the construction site.

While the vehicle is traveling the route,
the API also incorporates real-time traffic
and accident information.
This information enables the application
to perform live routing adjustments
to stay as close as possible to the original ETA.
Whether road conditions are improving or deteriorating,
the routing API monitors these changes so the application
can adjust the route accordingly.

When the TomTom APIs generate a changed ETA,
the application can send alerts to project managers
and supervisors.
So, even if a truck is delayed in picking up material,
the people scheduled to load the truck can be aware
and focus on other work until the updated time,
avoiding additional delays by knowing when the truck
will finally arrive.
The same is true of the job site.
The concrete or asphalt crew can focus on other tasks
while maintaining an accurate picture of when
the freshly-delivered materials will be available for use.

Pinpointing vehicle locations

Fleet operation managers must make short- and long-range
plans to optimize fleet use.
Planning requires knowing the location of any piece
of equipment or necessary personnel at any given moment.
The TomTom Location History API provides this information.

When equipment contracts begin and end, the company
reassigns the equipment, operators, and transporters
to a new location.
A high-level view of everything in the fleet simplifies
these processes.
Users can filter the view by equipment type
or other variables.

One example is maintenance needs.
A piece of equipment may appear to be the closest
and best choice for a job, but it may need scheduled
maintenance to stay within safe operating requirements.
Location history enables the user to find all their
resources and combine that data with other information
that may affect availability.

Location history helps for short-term operations
support as well.
Inevitably, equipment will break down while on route.
Location history provides the location of the vehicles
that are available to help recover from an equipment failure.
Once identified, the routing API gives the project manager
an ETA to adjust plans as necessary.

The location history API can determine an equipment
operator’s location via their company mobile phone.
Locating operators certified for equipment can assist
project managers in assigning people to projects
and replacing injured or ill operators to prevent
project delays.
Operators working on a contract basis may also appreciate
this feature as it augments their hours and income.

Preparing for delivery

The TomTom Geofencing API lets you set up
a border or fence around any point on a map.
As the picture above shows, you can choose
simple or complex shapes depending on your needs.
The Geofencing API alerts the user when equipment
crosses into or out of the geofenced perimeter.
Geofencing has several compelling uses
for construction fleet planning.

People who are on-site need to know when materials
will arrive.
The versatile Geofence API can easily create
a perimeter around any location, big or small,
and provide users with information about movement
into or out of the area.

For example, a geofence can alert a construction site crew
that equipment is 30 minutes away.
This way, the construction site can have the personnel
available to unload the vehicle and work with
the fresh concrete or asphalt.
Similarly, an alert to the pickup location can ensure
the equipment and loaders are available, limiting wait time
when picking up material.

Streamlining your construction application

Incorporating TomTom’s APIs into your construction
fleet planning applications enables you to access
location-based information.
With just a few lines of code, these APIs can streamline
a construction business and enhance the app’s ability
to provide timely communication to its users.

APIs can help construction companies ensure materials
arrive on time and alert personnel to be ready
for their arrival.
Tracking just-in-time materials such as asphalt
and concrete this way helps reduce wasted material
and wasted time.

When you’re ready to start building your own
construction application, sign up for a free
TomTom developer account.
Explore TomTom API details, tips, and code samples,
then incorporate these mapping functions
into your application.