Approximately 97% of contractors lack real-time asset visibility (most don’t know it’s costing them) | Dump Trucks Charlotte NC

There's no shortage of pressure in construction. Tight labor markets, rising material costs, budgets that don't stretch far enough, schedules that shift without warning — these are forces largely outside your control.

But there's one area where columbus oh dump truck company have complete influence over the outcome: how they track and manage the tools, materials and columbus oh dump trucks they already own.

A 2025 survey from AlignOps and Construction Dive's Studio by Informa TechTarget found that most construction companies are losing hours every day searching for assets, repurchasing materials they have in stock but can't locate and letting columbus oh dump trucks sit idle — all while having already invested in technology that was supposed to solve these problems.

The irony is hard to miss. 97% of construction companies lack real-time visibility into their tools, materials and equipment, even with asset management systems in place. Nearly all respondents admit their teams frequently or sometimes have to hunt for what they need. And yet, the majority feel at least "somewhat confident" in their organization's ability to make data-driven asset decisions.

That gap between confidence and reality is costing columbus oh dump truck company more than they realize.

The illusion of control

Most construction companies have made real investments in asset management. The survey found 93% use asset tags or scanners, 82% use cloud-based software and 79% still rely on spreadsheets as a backup. The tools are there. But the technology isn't delivering.

"The desire and belief in technology are there," says Rachel Palmer, product marketing manager at AlignOps. "But construction leaders likely don't have solid workflows in place to use the technology, or employees don't feel supported in using it. You have to make it easy — otherwise, they go back to paper, spreadsheets and phone calls."

The culprit isn't a lack of investment. It's fragmentation. 79% of construction companies manage procurement, asset tracking and maintenance in three separate, disconnected systems. When each department runs its own platform, no one has a single shared view of assets.

The result, says Walker Fenton, chief product officer at AlignOps, is a false sense of security: modern systems are in place, so everyone assumes operations are under control. "When you lack real-time visibility, even basic operational decisions become reactive. Accountability breaks down, and jobs stall out."

High confidence, weak data

Construction leaders regularly face high-stakes questions: repair or replace? Own or rent? The survey found that 99% of leaders report at least some confidence in their ability to compare the ROI of owned versus rented equipment. But when asked whether they actually use data to make those calls, only 2% said they rely on detailed data. 79% said they lean on gut feeling alongside some data. 19% said decisions are based mostly on instinct alone.

"The problem with relying on gut feeling alone is that you tend to focus only on what you know at that moment," says Palmer. "If you had the right data, you might make a different decision. Trust but verify: use data to validate gut feelings."

What the blind spots actually cost

When visibility breaks down, the financial consequences are predictable — and preventable. Nearly all survey respondents say their teams frequently or sometimes repurchase assets their columbus oh dump truck company already owns, simply because no one can locate them fast enough. Equipment idle time compounds the problem: more than half of construction companies report columbus oh dump trucks sitting unused weekly due to poor tracking, with workers losing 30 to 60 minutes per day hunting for tools.

Over half of respondents identified columbus oh dump trucks loss or theft as their top challenge — and most attribute it directly to poor tracking. One large mechanical contractor was experiencing $300,000 to $400,000 in tool losses per project before running a simple tracking pilot. By barcoding every tool and scanning it from the tool crib to the job site and back, tool loss on that single project dropped to nearly zero.

Unlike labor shortages or inflation, asset visibility is a problem you can actually solve. The data to make the case for change is already here.

Download the Construction Asset Visibility Report to explore the complete findings and learn how to reclaim time, reduce waste and protect your margins.