United Rentals is intensifying its investments in digital tools for customers, marking a significant advance in fleet and construction site management. Recent initiatives include the introduction of a new Agente from Equipamentos with artificial intelligence and the strategic integration of its telematics data with Procore Technology’s construction management platform.
These developments aim to provide greater visibility and operational efficiency, facilitating the daily lives of large contractors and companies that depend on a vast fleet of equipment. The company demonstrates an ongoing commitment to innovation, seeking to meet the sector’s growing demands for integrated and intelligent digital solutions.
John Mongan, vice president of Soluções Avançadas at United Rentals, has been a central figure in these advances. In conversations with specialized press such as IRN and Rental Briefing during ConExpo-ConAgg, Mongan detailed the rationale behind the partnership with Procore and the company’s broader strategy in telematics.
Data unification for contractors: the Procore integration
The integration with Procore, a leading software company for contractors, has a double and fundamental logic for the construction sector. Primeiramente, it allows a unified visualization of data from owned and rented vehicles, something essential for large construction companies that operate mixed fleets. Essa centralization ensures that all assets, regardless of origin, are visible in one place, optimizing control and decision-making.
Secondly, the partnership directly connects the planning carried out at Procore with the execution on the construction site. The Procore platform is where projects are detailed and necessary equipment is planned. By integrating United Rentals telematics data, the bridge between the office and the workplace is strengthened, ensuring that the right equipment is available for planned tasks, contributing to operational efficiency.
Evolution and acceptance of digital tools
Although integration with Procore is still in its early stages, with a limited number of fully integrated customers, market interest is constant. Desde the announcement, curiosity about the platform’s features and benefits has grown, with many customers seeking to understand how to configure and optimize data flow in their daily operations.
Procore, in turn, is using artificial intelligence tools and usage information in its resource management module, where equipment data is sent. Isso allows a contractor, when managing multiple job sites, to view equipment location, usage status, and differentiate between owned and leased assets, enabling more strategic decisions about new locations and resource allocation.
Although Procore’s primary focus is large construction and general contractors, United Rentals sees significant overlap with its own clients in other sectors. Isso includes segments such as petrochemical, oil and gas and industrial, indicating that the demand for this unified view of data and efficient management transcends traditional construction.
The demand for a unified telematics view
The integration initiative did not just arise from an internal movement at United Rentals, but rather from a persistent demand from the customers themselves. For years, contractors have expressed the need for a unified telematics view, tired of having to access multiple systems – such as those from equipment manufacturers (John Deere, Komatsu, JCB) and the Total Control system from The complexity of managing so many fragmented systems led to inefficiencies and wasted valuable time.
The mutual readiness of United Rentals and Procore was crucial to the realization of this partnership. The Procore has expanded its functionality, with the equipment module within the resource productivity becoming robust enough to receive large volumes of data. Simultaneamente, United Rentals has improved its IT systems, facilitating data sharing via API. The company recognizes that not all customers want to access their systems directly, preferring that data is available where they already work, making the process more fluid and user-centered.
The growing role of advanced telematics in the fleet
More than 90% of United Rentals’s fleet of larger equipment, eligible for the telematics system, is already equipped with this technology. The evolution of the company’s use of telematics data is remarkable, transcending the simple location and hours of operation, which were the initial focuses a few years ago. Atualmente, priority falls on advanced resources that offer competitive advantages and significantly improve operational efficiency.
Features such as the ability to remotely turn heating and air conditioning equipment on and off, for example, demonstrate progress. Essa capacity helps manage fuel costs, representing substantial savings for customers. Internamente, United Rentals teams use diagnostic information to carry out more efficient and proactive maintenance on equipment, ensuring that it is always in ideal conditions for use. Essas innovations solidify telematics as a strategic pillar for asset management, providing tangible benefits for both the company and its customers.
Innovation in smaller asset management and tools
United Rentals’s ambition to extend telematics is not just restricted to motorized equipment, but also reaches non-motorized assets and smaller tools. The company has invested in Bluetooth labels for these items, recognizing that location and responsibility for them are just as crucial as for larger equipment. Estatísticas alarming reports on tool losses, which can exceed 25% on construction sites, highlight the magnitude of the problem for customers.
To mitigate these losses and promote greater control, innovative solutions were developed:
This system tracks who accesses the box, using a keypad or badge, and records which items were removed and returned. Assim, it is possible to identify responsibilities and monitor the return on assets, promoting transparency and reducing losses. Ambientes of great complexity, such as data centers, have driven the demand for this type of solution, where precision in asset control is vital due to the multiplicity of professionals working in the same space.
The future of diagnostics and predictive maintenance
Advanced diagnostics emerged as a surprisingly important aspect for United Rentals. Internal teams benefit greatly from the ability to filter hundreds of error codes issued by equipment. Essa screening allows you to identify which codes really indicate a problem that requires technical intervention, saving time and resources. By knowing exactly what the problem is, technicians can bring the right parts on the first visit, avoiding additional trips to the branch or suppliers.
The industry’s “Holy Graal”, predictive maintenance, is getting closer. Alguns engine manufacturers and other OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) are already beginning to delve deeper into translating error codes into failure predictions. The ultimate goal is to be able to read information from the machine while it is still in use and send a technician to carry out the repair before the customer even notices any anomaly, optimizing the availability and performance of the equipment.
Overcoming connectivity challenges in remote locations
Despite telematics advances, obtaining real-time visualization of assets in areas with weak cellular signal remains a significant challenge. Seja on extremely remote construction sites or in indoor environments such as server rooms, where cellular connectivity is limited or non-existent, the need for information is constant. Clientes of United Rentals, who have already embraced telematics technology, expect this visibility to be available wherever they operate.
The loss of visibility in critical areas makes efficient fleet management difficult, especially in scenarios with a large number of equipment operating in the same warehouse, such as 80 scissor lifts. The company is actively working to identify connectivity solutions that can extract this data and even send information to the machines, such as access codes, to control who has permission to operate each piece of equipment. Although Embora is not yet a “game changer”, resolving this issue is seen as fundamental to truly comprehensive fleet management, with significant advances expected over the next two years.
Workplace Performance Solutions
A strategic focus of United Rentals in recent years has been the development of “Desempenho Solutions in Local of Trabalho”. Essa approach aims to connect equipment data – the traditional basis of the company’s offering – with the people and materials present on the construction site. Transparency about who used equipment, who picked up a tool, or who unloaded materials from a container on the job site has become increasingly important.
These solutions directly contribute to benefits in safety, productivity and sustainability. A practical example is the remote activation of heating and cooling equipment. Sensores monitor conditions on site and automatically turn this equipment on or off, generating considerable fuel savings. Essa initiative not only reduces operational costs, but also aligns with customers’ sustainability objectives, leveraging technology to improve the performance of rented equipment.
Expanding the digital ecosystem and differentiation
United Rentals plans to continue expanding its suite of on-demand technologies, both for tools and small equipment and larger machines, with the goal of simplifying the rental process for customers. The self-inventory system is a notable example, along with large supply trailers that offer a streamlined shopping experience. Nesses trailers, users can swipe their badge to enter, grab what they need — be it personal protective equipment or consumables — and leave, with the system automatically recording who picked up the item and enabling correct billing.
Although these cutting-edge solutions still represent a smaller percentage of United Rentals’s total business, whose core continues to be equipment rental, they are a crucial differentiator. Para more advanced facilities, such as data centers, customers are not just looking to rent equipment; they look for partners to help them drive sustainability, productivity and safety in their workplaces. It is in this context that United Rentals’s digital innovations stand out, offering value beyond the equipment itself.