July 14, 2025 Smart Asset Management Is A Must for Construction Leaders

Rising tariffs and costs are pushing construction leaders to cut spend, making smart asset management a sound strategy.

By Syed Ali, Founder and CEO, EZO

Inflation, volatile material costs, labor shortages, and rising insurance premiums have created a perfect storm for construction leaders. Steel and aluminum prices remain unstable as new tariffs continue to loom, and global supply chains remain stressed.

What is the latest? In June 2025, President Trump raised Section 232 tariffs, effectively doubling levies on steel and aluminum imports from 25% to 50%. Globally, this move has sparked a trade response. Canada is coordinating potential retaliatory duties unless a trade agreement is reached by July 21, while its existing 25% retaliatory tariffs remain in place

Why does this matter? With steel and aluminum still essential and very costly, these tariffs are driving shifts in supply chains, pushing companies to reassess sourcing strategies, forcing companies to look at where they can make cuts and save money.

There is a solution that often gets overlooked and that is having better asset and equipment management. Yet many firms still rely on outdated methods such as paper logs, spreadsheets, and siloed systems to manage millions of dollars’ worth of machines and tools.

Here are six things every construction leader should know to improve their operations and address some of the issues that the industry is throwing at them these days.

1. Paper logs and spreadsheets don’t work: What may have gotten an operation by a few years ago, no longer scales across regions, contractors, and dozens of machines. Paper-based systems get lost and spreadsheets get outdated quickly. Maintenance gets missed. Redundant purchases happen. The disconnect between inventory, operations, and finance can add unnecessary cost, risk, and inefficiency.

2. Digital asset management isn’t a luxury: IT asset management (ITAM), enterprise asset management (EAM), and computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) are necessary tools today for bring visibility, automation, and control into one platform. Construction teams are seeing measurable results such as lower downtime, better decision-making, fewer reorders, and more predictable outcomes.

3. The ROI is real: Companies using EAM report up to 20% reductions in equipment downtime. CMMS platforms are helping extend asset life by as much as 50%. These are not abstract improvements. They translate into real dollars saved and project timelines protected. Avoiding just a few hours of unplanned downtime across your fleet can pay for the system itself.

4. Equipment efficiency: Well-maintained equipment uses less fuel, lasts longer, and emits fewer pollutants. Smarter asset usage reduces waste, supports regulatory compliance, and can even strengthen your company’s environmental credentials with investors, partners, and clients.

5. Idle equipment is killing margins: That bulldozer sitting at the wrong site for three weeks is not just idle, but it is depreciating in value, tying up capital, and potentially delaying other projects. Without real-time visibility into where assets are and how they’re being used, you’re flying blind. Equipment that goes unused is money wasted.

6. Implementation starts with leadership: Change doesn’t happen automatically. Start by auditing your current systems and identifying gaps. Focus initial implementation on high-impact areas — such as your most failure-prone or costly equipment. With better visibility comes the chance to create a culture of accountability around equipment care and cost control.

Construction firms don’t always think of themselves as tech companies, but the smartest ones are acting like they are.

We now live in a volatile, capital-intensive industry and turning assets into insights is one of the fastest ways to reduce waste, extend equipment life, and protect margins. It also makes your organization less at risk as the global trade and tariff wars continue and are constantly changing.

Technology alone won’t solve every challenge in this sector, but with the right systems in place, companies can move from reactive to proactive — saving time, money, and materials in the process.

The future of construction is built not just on steel, aluminum and concrete, but on smarter systems and stronger visibility. Equipment management may not be flashy, but it’s foundational, and the companies that master it will be the ones that lead and avoid risk and constant change.

About the Author:
Syed Ali is the founder of EZO and head of all strategy and operations with the goal of optimizing asset-driven operations for companies worldwide. He has over 15 years of experience including leadership roles at Sun Microsystems and TRG.

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