For decades, construction companies relied on an equipment model that was never designed to keep up with today’s pace of projects. Tracking tools in spreadsheets, handling requests by phone calls, and managing costs on the back end of finance systems were once acceptable. Even the more modern “point solutions” designed to track tools or log maintenance only solved pieces of the puzzle.
But the demands of the industry have changed. Projects are larger, schedules are tighter, margins are thinner, and owners demand more transparency than ever before. In this environment, operations leaders cannot afford to treat equipment as a background function. To stay profitable, equipment operations must be run like a standalone business—backed by systems that scale.
Where the Old Equipment Model Falls Short
The traditional model fails construction companies in ways that directly erode margins:
- Siloed tech. GPS trackers, mobile service apps, or small rental tools can locate a machine or log a repair, but they don’t connect operations, finance, and job sites. That leaves managers with data in pockets—useful for solving narrow problems but useless for enterprise-wide decisions.
- No view of total cost of ownership. Without connected systems, operations leaders can’t see the true lifecycle cost of equipment. They’re left guessing whether an asset has earned back its purchase price, when it should be retired, or whether new capital should go toward additional units.
- Limited financial control. Point solutions are rarely built for real-world complexities like automatically uplifting re-rents, invoicing external parties, or tying utilization data back into ROI reporting. At scale, this leaves millions of dollars in value uncaptured.
- Capped growth. Tool-tracking apps and basic systems may work for smaller companies, but at enterprise scale they become a ceiling. They can’t run equipment operations as a profit center because they were never built to manage P&L, growth forecasting, or external revenue streams.
- Max cap complexity. One of the most telling examples of how the industry has changed is the rise of max cap rental clauses. These agreements cap charges once they reach a ceiling—often tied to the purchase price of the asset. For contractors managing caps manually or with limited tools, forecasting and compliance is nearly impossible. Miss a cap, and you risk disputes with owners. Apply a cap incorrectly, and you give away revenue. In a low-margin industry, these errors are too costly to ignore.
Each of these examples highlights the same truth: the old model—whether paper-based, spreadsheet-driven, or supported by narrow point solutions—was never built to handle the financial, operational, and contractual realities of today’s construction environment.
The Solution: Building a Business Unit Around Equipment
The contractors leading the way have recognized that equipment can no longer sit buried inside procurement or scattered across job sites. Instead, they are building dedicated business units around equipment operations—and putting enterprise-grade technology like RentalResult construction equipment management software at the center.
This shift enables several critical capabilities that the traditional model cannot provide:
- Full Visibility Across the Enterprise
With RentalResult, leaders gain real-time insight into where equipment is, how it’s being used, and whether it’s generating ROI. This eliminates double ordering, reduces wasted spend on third-party rentals, and allows for smarter redeployment.
- Control Over Total Cost of Ownership
By tracking costs across the lifecycle of every asset—purchase, maintenance, utilization, and disposal—companies can finally answer strategic questions with data. Should we buy, rent, re-rent, or sell? With full transparency, decisions aren’t guesses; they’re financial strategies.
- Automated Financial Controls
Unlike small-scale tools, RentalResult is built for enterprise. It handles complex realities like:
- Automatically uplifting re-rents to recover margin
- Enforcing contract terms and billing accuracy
- Supporting external rentals to subcontractors and third parties
This financial discipline is what turns equipment from a cost center into a revenue generator.
- Forecasting and Managing Max Cap
RentalResult not only applies max cap rules automatically but also allows operations and finance teams to forecast cap thresholds before they hit. That means leaders know exactly when billing will stop, protecting margins while maintaining credibility with owners. It’s proactive, not reactive—something point solutions simply can’t deliver.
- Enabling Growth Beyond Tracking
The biggest difference is scale. Where point solutions stop at tracking, RentalResult powers equipment divisions to operate as standalone units with their own leadership, P&L, and revenue streams. It supports not just movement of assets, but the financial and operational backbone needed to grow.
Industry Leaders Proving It Works
- Turner Construction launched First Equipment Company, running their fleet as a separate business with RentalResult as the backbone. With RentalResult, Turner can manage re-rents through a fully digital, seamless workflow—something no other system in the industry can deliver. Instead of manual processes or disconnected tools, every re-rent is tracked, uplifted, and accounted for automatically. That capability, combined with real-time visibility into cost recovery and utilization, allows Turner to operate their fleet like a true business unit.
- Suffolk Construction broke out its equipment operations into Liberty Construction Services, running it as a dedicated division. With RentalResult, Liberty manages re-rents through a seamless digital workflow, forecasts max caps, and tracks total cost of ownership—giving Suffolk the visibility and financial control to operate equipment as a true business unit.
- McGough Construction spun off its equipment operations into Six Side Supply, now run as a standalone entity. With RentalResult powering the division, Six Side Supply has been able to scale rapidly—handling the majority of job site orders through its portal, reducing reliance on third-party vendors, and creating a new revenue stream by renting externally. What began as an internal support function has grown into a business unit fueling McGough’s broader growth.
In each case, these leaders are not just managing equipment—they’re running it like a business. And RentalResult is the platform making it possible.
The New Cosntruction Equipment Management Standard
The traditional model—reactive, fragmented, and built on tools that weren’t designed for growth—has run its course. Contractors who stick with it will keep losing margin to idle assets, re-rents, and blind spots in cost.
This is what’s powering Turner, Suffolk, McGough, and others who are redefining equipment management. With RentalResult construction equipment management software at the core, equipment is no longer a hidden cost. It’s a business unit—one that drives profitability, transparency, and competitive advantage.
Ready to See the New Model in Action?
The industry has outgrown the traditional approach. The question is whether your company will keep patching gaps with point solutions—or step up to a system that transforms equipment into a true growth engine.
See how RentalResult powers enterprise equipment divisions to run as standalone business units. Schedule a demo today.
