Geofencing explained: from virtual boundary to concrete insight
All about geofencing: what is it and how does it work
A vehicle leaving a construction site without any apparent reason. Equipment manually linked to the right location, every time again. Emissions not automatically attributed to the correct project. Geofencing addresses these kinds of situations by automatically signaling when a vehicle or asset crosses a predefined boundary. This article explains what geofencing is, how it works, and how companies in construction, infrastructure and transport use it in practice.
What is geofencing?
Geofencing is setting up a virtual boundary around a physical location, such as a site, building or area. For this to work, the vehicle or asset needs to be tracked, for example via GPS or RFID. As soon as the boundary is crossed, this can automatically trigger an action, such as a notification or a registration.
What is a geofence alert?
A geofence alert is the notification generated as soon as a vehicle or asset crosses a set boundary. This alert can go directly to a manager, for example if an asset leaves a site outside planned hours, or it can simply be logged for reporting purposes.
What is a geofence radius?
The radius of a geofence is the radius of the circle set up as a virtual boundary around a point on the map. For simple, round areas, a radius in meters is sufficient. For sites with an irregular shape, such as a construction site with a specific outline, a polygon is often used instead of a circle, since it follows the actual boundaries more precisely.
How does geofencing work in practice?
A geofence is digitally drawn on a map, in a desired shape that can follow the exact contours of a site. Geofencing can use various techniques to determine the location of a vehicle or asset, such as GPS, RFID, wifi or mobile networks. As soon as a vehicle or asset crosses the set boundary, the system registers that moment. What happens next depends on the setting: a notification to a manager, an alarm, or simply a record in the data for later reporting.
Geofencing is applied across various sectors. In fleet management, it is used to track vehicles and improve security. In asset management, it is mainly about tracking equipment, machines and vehicles at construction sites and preventing theft. In emissions reporting, geofencing is used to define project boundaries within which emissions are allocated. In addition, geofencing contributes to proactive customer communication, for example by sending real-time notifications to customers or locations as soon as a certain boundary is passed.
Besides these business applications, geofencing is also used privately. Smart home devices, for example, can automatically turn on or off based on the location of a phone: lighting or heating switches off as soon as someone leaves the house, and switches on again when that person is nearby. For companies in construction, infrastructure and transport, the focus is mainly on fleet management and asset tracking.
Geofencing for construction, infrastructure and transport
In construction, infrastructure and transport, geofencing is mainly used to keep track of equipment and vehicles spread across multiple locations, and to make that overview directly usable for administration, planning and reporting.
Overview per location, even across multiple projects at once
With a geofence around a project site, it is clear at a glance which vehicles and assets are present there. This is especially valuable for projects where equipment moves between locations. Companies with equipment on multiple project locations at once maintain an overview per location this way, without needing separate check-in moments.
Arrival and departure automatically recorded
As soon as an asset enters or leaves a project site, this is automatically registered. This not only provides insight into occupancy and usage, but also forms a solid basis for project administration. The same moments can also be used to proactively inform customers or locations, for example as soon as a vehicle approaches a delivery location.
Project boundaries for emissions reporting
Geofences are also used to define project boundaries within which emissions data is allocated. By placing a geofence around a project or construction site, it is possible to determine exactly which vehicle movements and emissions should be attributed to that project. This makes reports such as the CO2 Performance Ladder more complete and better substantiated.
Why geofencing matters for these sectors
For companies in construction, infrastructure and transport, geofencing delivers concrete benefits:
Theft prevention
Equipment that leaves a site outside planned working hours, or without reason, is signaled immediately. This reduces the risk of unauthorized use or theft.
More efficient planning
Knowing when an asset arrives at or leaves a location makes it possible to adjust planning accordingly right away. If equipment is finished earlier than expected at one location, this is immediately visible and can be deployed at the next one. Without that overview, equipment tends to stay at a location longer than necessary, simply because no one notices in time that it is free.
More sustainable deployment
Fewer unnecessary trips mean a more efficient use of the fleet, resulting in lower emissions. Because emissions per project are visible, it also becomes clear where emissions are structurally higher than expected, and where adjustments have the most impact.
Geofencing at GPS-Buddy
Geofencing is used within various GPS-Buddy solutions, including Asset Tracking, Vehicle Tracking System and Emissions Reporting: the components of the GPS-Buddy platform used to track and allocate equipment, vehicles and emissions per project.
Not every piece of equipment has its own power source for GPS, think of smaller equipment or tools. For these kinds of assets, GPS-Buddy uses RFID tags. An RFID tag emits a signal that is picked up by the XT4, the gateway that does have GPS. As soon as an RFID tag is near an XT4, its location is known, via the location of the gateway. Thanks to an extensive network of gateways, equipment can be tracked widely within the operation, even without its own power source.
This makes geofencing not a standalone feature, but part of the same platform where vehicles, equipment and project data already come together: Flowter.