CONSTRUCTION

DeSilva Gates recovers $250K in stolen equipment with Samsara

With Samsara Asset Tag, Connected Workflows, and more, DeSilva Gates effectively protects their fleet and optimizes their operations.

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Connected Workflows
ASSET TAG
EQUIPMENT MONITORING
VIDEO-BASED SAFETY
Worker Safety

Meet DeSilva Gates Construction

300 EMPLOYEES

600 UNION CRAFT EMPLOYEES

350+ HEAVY-CONSTRUCTION ASSETS

THE CHALLENGE

Inefficient systems were costly and left DeSilva Gates vulnerable to theft

DeSilva Gates Construction, a Bay Area-based company established in 1932, provides clients with a wide range of services including demolition, excavation, trucking, earthwork, and hazardous materials removal. DeSilva Gates faced several critical challenges that hindered its operational efficiency and financial performance. Due to manual tracking of equipment and paper-based processes, DeSilva Gates experienced significant inefficiencies and delays, making it difficult to address issues promptly. Limited visibility into the location of their equipment led to high risk of equipment theft, compromising their ability to recover stolen assets. Additionally, inaccurate billing and extensive administrative work meant costly inefficiencies and increased labor costs. These challenges collectively impacted DeSilva Gate’s safety protocols, operational accountability, and overall bottom line.

“Asset Tag allows us to reinforce existing location tracking on our high-value assets and, for the first time, add tracking to smaller assets that we couldn't track before.”

RICH POPPOFF

Equipment Superintendent

The Solution

Automated tracking and real-time monitoring transform DeSilva Gates Construction

With Samsara, DeSilva Gates has seen improved efficiency, significant cost savings, enhanced safety, and better accountability across its operations. The ability to quickly address issues and provide clear evidence in case of incidents has made a substantial positive impact on the company's bottom line and operational effectiveness.

Connected Workflows

Saving $2.34M annually by preventing job delays caused by paperwork inefficiencies.

Previously, incomplete maintenance checks meant that faulty equipment was often delivered to job sites, causing significant delays. With Connected Workflows, these issues are reported and addressed immediately, ensuring jobs start on time. As a result of preventing equipment delays, DeSilva Gates saves an estimated $45,000 a week, translating to approximately $2.34 million saved annually.

Asset Tag

Quickly and safely recovering $250K in stolen equipment

DeSilva Gates has an expansive fleet of over 350 pieces of heavy construction equipment valued at $200 million. With Samsara Asset Tracking and Asset Tag, the company has a multi-layered solution to provide protection and visibility for their high-value equipment—such as mini excavators and skip loaders—as well as smaller, essential assets, including vibration plates, jumping jack rammers, and more. Since deploying Asset Tag, DeSilva Gates has a 100% recovery rate for stolen equipment, finding eight out of eight missing assets and saving $250,000 in replacement costs.

Equipment Monitoring

Ensuring accurate billing and saving $60,000 annually.

By tracking the exact hours of their rented equipment usage with Samsara Asset Gateways, DeSilva Gates ensures that billing reflects actual usage instead of relying on estimates or manual reports. This precision removes discrepancies and prevents fraudulent entries, ensuring clients are billed correctly and transparently. Additionally, the automated tracking reduced the need for administrative work, eliminating annual labor costs of $60,000.

Video-Based Safety

Overturning 90% of insurance claims with Samsara AI Dash Cams.

Samsara AI Dash Cams provide DeSilva Gates with a powerful tool to improve safety, protect and exonerate drivers, and achieve substantial cost savings—allowing them to enhance their coaching and safety program. As a result, DeSilva Gates estimates they’ve been able to reverse 90% of insurance claims against the company with dash cam footage.

Worker Safety

Protecting lone workers in remote environments

DeSilva Gates employees often work in isolated job sites and face the risk of serious, life-threatening accidents. To protect workers in the field, DeSilva Gates selected the Samsara Wearable and deployed it to field workers who work alone in remote environments or outside of regular hours. With the Samsara Wearable, managers and field workers have peace of mind that employees can remain connected even in remote areas.

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