DeWalt (Towson, Md.) launched the Tool Connect Partner Network, which allows contractors to track DeWalt tools using fleet vehicles, heavy equipment and storage locks they already own. The network builds on the Tool Connect app and the DeWalt Construction Asset Gateway (DCE082), a Bluetooth-enabled cellular device that attaches to job boxes and tool rooms to locate connected tools nearby. Partner hardware now serves as additional detection points.
Launch partners include Geotab, which tracks tools as they move across customers’ fleets; Trackunit, which detects tools on and around heavy equipment; and BoxLock, which logs tool locations when its smart-lock storage units are accessed.
Citing National Incident-Based Reporting System data, DeWalt said U.S. construction sites lose an estimated $100 million in tools each year, and recovery rates for stolen equipment are often below 25%.
Customers said building out a detection network was the biggest obstacle to tracking tools at scale, according to Eric Loeliger, director of product management at DeWalt. “The Tool Connect Partner Network solves this by turning the infrastructure customers already have—their fleet vehicles, their heavy equipment, their smart locks—into a tracking network for their DeWalt tools,” he said.
DeWalt expects additional partners to join in the coming year. Existing Tool Connect customers can activate partner integrations through the Tool Connect website.
