GAP unifies mixed-fleet data through GAP Track

GAP Group has launched a unified telematics platform covering more than 10,000 connected assets across its UK rental fleet.

Developed with data specialist Hiboo, GAP Track consolidates information from 11 original-equipment-manufacturer and third-party systems into one standardised environment. The platform was delivered in approximately two months and is already being used across the business.

Integrated manufacturers include JCB, Atlas Copco, Kubota, Wacker Neuson, and Manitou, each of which operates its own machine-data formats, interfaces, and reporting structures. Users previously had to move between separate portals to understand activity across a mixed fleet.

Location, utilisation, idle time, and carbon-performance information now sit within one interface, while hundreds of staff across GAP’s depots, sales operations, and management teams have access to the system. Customers can obtain relevant asset information through a self-service environment.

Data also flows into GAP’s enterprise resource planning and internal systems, connecting machine activity with rental, servicing, customer, and commercial records. The integration reduces manual checks and allows fleet information to be examined alongside the transactions surrounding each asset.

Utilisation data can identify whether hired equipment is working at the frequency anticipated when it was selected. Persistent underuse may indicate that a machine is oversized, duplicated elsewhere on the project, waiting for another package, or retained because site teams are uncertain about replacement availability.

Idle-time reporting provides another operational measure because engines running without productive output consume fuel, add service hours, and increase emissions. Poor sequencing, restricted access, operator behaviour, loading delays, or an imbalance between plant capacity and the workface can all produce prolonged idling.

Carbon data responds to growing client demand for project-level environmental reporting, with contractors increasingly required to evidence fuel consumption, machine hours, and equipment efficiency. Consistent data from mixed fleets is particularly important where several hire providers or manufacturers are represented on one project.

GAP intends to develop further analytics and artificial-intelligence-led optimisation from the shared platform. Maintenance teams will also be able to schedule servicing against recorded operating hours rather than relying solely on calendar intervals or separate manufacturer records.

Mixed fleets test closed data systems

Construction projects rarely operate equipment from one manufacturer, and a single site may combine excavators, telehandlers, compressors, pumps, generators, access platforms, lighting, and specialist tools from several suppliers.

Manufacturer portals work effectively for individual assets, but their value reduces when a contractor needs a consistent view of a complete fleet. Differences in naming conventions, timestamps, measurement intervals, and permissions can make basic comparisons difficult.

A unified data layer does not remove those differences automatically. Equipment identities must be matched accurately, the underlying feeds must remain reliable, and periods of missing or inconsistent information must be visible rather than converted into apparently complete reports.

Manufacturers are also extending the functions available through connected machines, with JCB adding remote control of selected settings through its LiveLink system. Telematics is consequently moving beyond location and service alerts towards direct operational management.

For rental companies, comparable fleet data can influence purchasing, rotation, and disposal. Repeated evidence that a model is heavily used, reliable, and economical may justify additional investment, while low utilisation or persistent downtime can prompt a change in specification.

Customers may also receive more detailed advice from hire providers. Instead of supplying the requested machine without challenge, a rental company can use operational evidence to recommend a smaller unit, an alternative power source, another attachment, or a different number of machines.

Data access creates commercial and governance questions because location, utilisation, fuel, and operating records may become relevant to disputes over damage, excessive use, off-hire dates, or equipment availability. Customers and hire companies need clear rules on permissions, retention, and the interpretation of incomplete records.

Automated recommendations will still require operational judgement. A machine that appears idle may be retained for emergency response, lifting plans, temporary works, or a short critical activity where immediate availability is more valuable than average utilisation.

Fleet data also needs to be connected with site planning if it is to influence productivity. A dashboard can identify that a telehandler spent half its shift stationary, but only project teams can determine whether the cause lay in access, labour, sequencing, material delivery, or equipment choice.

GAP Track gives the company a single base from which to examine those patterns across a large and varied fleet. Its longer-term value will be measured by changes in equipment selection, maintenance, utilisation, and site planning rather than the convenience of consolidating several portals.