Like many contractors operating high-value machinery across multiple locations, protecting their assets from theft is both a challenge and a priority for M.T. Laney, a thriving division of Laney Companies.
The Issue
One of every contractor’s worst nightmares is a crew arriving at a jobsite bright and early, only to discover their equipment has disappeared. On September 8, 2025, M.T. Laney faced this exact scenario when a worker discovered that a Bobcat skid steer had gone missing, despite being scheduled for a job in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. What began as a routine check quickly became a confirmed case of theft, prompting concerns about unexpected costs and lost productivity.
The Solution
Rather than spend valuable time retracing steps or submitting incomplete reports, M.T. Laney turned to GPS tracking through HCSS Telematics. Using the system’s size-to-pins and ping history features, the team determined the skid steer had been moved the previous evening. Even after the thieves tried to disable the GPS, the GeoHE unit’s internal battery continued transmitting precise location data.
The Outcome
With help from HCSS Telematics, M.T. Laney recovered their stolen skid steer within fifteen hours of discovering the piece of equipment had gone missing. Law enforcement apprehended the suspect, and the company avoided the significant cost and downtime associated with replacing critical equipment. This real story of same-day equipment recovery (thanks to M.T. Laney having the right GPS technology in place) serves as a terrific example of how much an asset tracking system can protect a company in the construction field.
“We never would’ve recovered this machine if it hadn’t been for the Telematics GPS or the HCSS GPS. On top of that, just the simple ability to be able to manage all of our equipment.”
– David Mayo, Safety Director, Laney Companies
The Full Story: How to Prevent Construction Site Theft
Laney Companies’ Safety Director Dave Mayo is no stranger to preventing construction site theft. The morning the Bobcat skid loader was stolen, he was in his office preparing to leave for an out-of-town insurance meeting when one of his dispatchers reported the equipment missing. Mayo immediately pulled up his desktop to take a look at HCSS Telematics, where he keeps the system open daily to monitor the company’s fleet of more than 400 machines.
After entering the asset number for the missing unit, the system displayed the machine’s location nearly an hour south of any M.T. Laney jobsite. The skid steer, one of the oldest in the company’s fleet, had been parked at a large residential development site where Laney’s teams often store spare equipment for ongoing projects.
Mayo quickly reviewed the equipment’s ping history and identified that it had been started around 9:30 p.m. the previous evening and entered transport mode shortly after at 10:00 p.m. The Telematics data suggested it had been loaded onto a trailer and moved overnight. The signal led to a private residence in Mechanicsville, Maryland.
Construction Fleet Tracking Software for Equipment Theft Recovery
Coordinating between multiple county jurisdictions, Mayo contacted the appropriate law enforcement agencies and dispatched the company’s fleet manager to meet officers at the identified address. Although the thief had removed panels, disconnected wires, and even pulled out a camera system multiplexer in an attempt to disable the GPS, the HCSS GeoHE unit continued to transmit thanks to its onboard backup battery. That uninterrupted signal provided the exact location of the stolen skid steer.
Later that day, local police found the piece of equipment hidden behind the residence and apprehended the suspect. The recovery occurred less than fifteen hours after the theft was first detected, preventing both operational disruption and the loss of a $30,000 asset.
The machine sustained minor damage, and the suspect was later found guilty in court and ordered to reimburse the company for the repairs.
“When you have a large fleet like we do, trying to track every Bobcat, every dozer, every paver, every roller, is an absolute nightmare,” Mayo says. “If you were just doing it by a spreadsheet, you’re going to miss stuff, and you’re going to lose equipment. So Telematics does a phenomenal job of helping us keep track of all this. And in this scenario, it really saved our hide because that was a $30,000 piece of equipment that we recovered.”
Saving on Insurance Costs with the Right Asset Tracking System
For M.T. Laney, this incident reaffirmed the value of HCSS Telematics in protecting their fleet and maintaining operational efficiency. The company has used HCSS products for nearly a decade, relying on HCSS Telematics as its asset tracking system, along with a vital construction tool for jobsite management and labor verification.
In fact, the same system has helped recover other stolen equipment in past years, including a Caterpillar dozer valued at over $100,000. For the recovered dozer, there were thousands of dollars in damages due to the thieves’ destruction of several panels in their unsuccessful attempt to remove the GPS, as well as their use of acid to burn off the serial numbers. The bright side is M.T. Laney was off the hook for paying for anything out of pocket.
“For our insurance, when we were able to show them that we had a GPS unit and how that is the reason we found the machine and recovered it, they waived our deductible,” Mayo states. “And they paid for Caterpillar to come out and put a new factory GPS on the unit, get it programmed, plus have the machine repainted. In total, it was $10 to $15,000 of work that our insurance covered, and we didn’t have to pay our deductible because we had that GPS unit on it.”
Need GPS Tracking Software for Your Construction Equipment?
For contractors like M.T. Laney and their sister companies, GPS tracking software like HCSS Telematics goes beyond your standard fleet tracking tool, serving as a safeguard for productivity, security, and recovering equipment when the unexpected inevitably happens. In this case, the HCSS customer saved both time and tens of thousands of dollars while keeping jobs on schedule.
If you’re ready to have your insurance deductibles waived, a software expert is ready to show you a customized demo of HCSS Fleet. Reach out today!
