With 42 percent of organizations experiencing a talent shortage, according to Teletrac Navman’s 2018 Telematics Benchmark Report, construction businesses are taking action by increasing pay (50 percent), offering better benefits (35 percent) and providing flexible work arrangements (29 percent). Retaining and developing talent is the top challenge for 35 percent of respondents--a double-digit increase compared to 2017--with payroll as their biggest expense. Another 49 percent of respondents report cost management is their top business challenge.

Organizations also are investing in equipment, reflecting the construction industry’s positive outlook. Nearly three-quarters of survey respondents are planning to buy new vehicles, and driver warning systems and drones are the leading technologies being considered for implementation.

On the telematics front, 85 percent of organizations already use GPS or are planning to do so within the next year to track equipment and driver speed and hours. More than half have seen fuel costs dip since implementing telematics--sometimes as much as 11 percent.