Smarter Groundskeeping: The IoT Impact On Equipment
Managing groundskeeping and outdoor maintenance equipment across a facility or campus is no small feat. Whether facility managers oversee landscaping, snow removal, turf care, or multi-site property upkeep, machines need to be where they’re supposed to be, running efficiently and ready for action. But rising costs, expanding campuses, and labor shortages have made equipment planning and lifecycle management more essential than ever.
Fortunately, the Internet of Things (IoT) is changing how facility operations teams manage their equipment, from acquisition through retirement. No longer just about tracking a dot on a map, IoT has evolved into a suite of smart solutions that enhance visibility, reduce downtime, and help facility managers do more with fewer resources.
Rising Equipment Costs Demand Smarter Usage
As equipment prices increase, supply chain disruptions persist, and demand for cleaner technologies grows, facility operations teams are under pressure to extend the life of their groundskeeping assets and maximize value from every machine.
Modern IoT-enabled equipment addresses this challenge by embedding connectivity at the manufacturing stage. Once powered up, systems collect runtime hours, diagnostics, and usage patterns immediately, giving subscribed fleet managers tools to track performance, flag maintenance needs, and prevent overuse that shortens service life.
This seamless onboarding ensures that equipment begins delivering operational insights from day one.
Sustainability Goals Require Better Insights
Facilities are increasingly expected to meet internal sustainability goals or comply with external environmental standards. Proving emission reductions or more efficient fuel use can be difficult without access to accurate data.
IoT platforms provide this visibility by recording when machines run, how long they idle, and how efficiently they operate. Facility managers can then adjust schedules, rotate machines more evenly, and implement sustainable habits based on real-world metrics.
Underutilized Equipment Hurts The Bottom Line
Facility teams often retain more equipment than necessary as a contingency, but machines that sit idle too often quietly drain resources. Without usage data, many operations over-purchase or under-deploy assets.
Connected fleet systems offer a real-time snapshot of equipment activity across campus zones or multiple locations. By identifying which machines are actively being used and which aren’t, teams can rebalance their fleet, sell off underperforming units, or rotate assets more effectively to distribute wear.
Labor Shortages Mean Automation Matters
Labor shortages continue to impact facility operations, particularly outdoor services such as snow clearing and landscaping. That makes operational efficiency critical.
IoT features such as audio-visual locators (e.g., lights and beacons triggered by mobile devices) drastically cut the time it takes to find equipment on a large campus. Bluetooth mesh networking enables nearby machines to communicate, allowing crews to locate and connect with assets efficiently, even in low-signal environments.
Manual equipment searches can take hours, particularly with similar units stored in rows. With IoT tools, that time shrinks to just a few minutes, saving valuable labor hours every day.
Facility operations are more complex and fast-paced than ever. Whether you’re managing a handful of machines or a multi-site fleet, IoT technology offers a smarter way to understand, maintain, and optimize grounds equipment.
Too Much Data, Not Enough Usability
Earlier telematics systems often overwhelmed users with raw data and required significant interpretation. Many teams abandoned these systems due to their complexity.
Today’s IoT tools focus on usability. Fleet-wide connectivity agreements replace serial number-based tracking. This eliminates the need to manage multiple subscriptions or worry if a specific machine is “on.”
The goal has shifted from collecting data to making the right data visible at the right time through intuitive mobile and desktop interfaces.
Delayed Maintenance Creates Downtime
In the push to meet seasonal or emergency needs, maintenance often becomes a reactive process. But unplanned repairs are more expensive and disruptive than proactive service.
IoT-connected systems continuously track usage hours, fault codes, and diagnostics. This enables facility teams to adopt proactive maintenance schedules. With mobile-enabled access, technicians can diagnose and troubleshoot using tools like Bluetooth analyzers, improving uptime and overall machine availability.
Shared Use Complicates Tracking
Whether its equipment shared between departments or used across multiple properties, keeping tabs on asset locations is a constant challenge.
IoT solutions track machine movement and usage over time. If an asset was supposed to be returned or reassigned but is still active, the system flags it. Asset recovery becomes faster and more accurate, helping managers prevent losses.
Fragmented Campuses Need Localized Tracking
Facility jobs often span large campuses or outdoor sites, where GPS alone is insufficient. Traditional systems might indicate a general area but not a precise location, especially when buildings or terrain interfere with signals.
Automated mesh networks allow machines to form localized communication clusters. As equipment enters or exits these zones, events are logged. Facility teams can see what’s present at each site—even without cell reception.
This is especially valuable for managers overseeing several property zones, as it enables them to filter by location and track movement remotely.
Compliance Requires Documentation
Facilities tied to healthcare, education, or municipal regulations must maintain detailed documentation of service records, usage logs, and diagnostics.
IoT systems streamline this by creating a cloud-based, time-stamped history of all machine activity. Records such as maintenance history, fault codes, and runtime hours can be automatically logged and exported. This reduces paperwork and supports compliance with internal policies or external audits.
Maximizing ROI Requires Lifecycle Awareness
Making smart financial decisions about when to service, rotate, or retire grounds equipment takes more than just age or location. For facility managers integrating electric or hybrid equipment, lifecycle planning depends on capturing the right performance metrics.
Electric machines require unique insights: Voltage levels, battery run cycles, state of charge, and retention over time. These data points help predict battery life and inform maintenance schedules.
IoT platforms that deliver asset-specific insights, not just generic usage hours, allow facility leaders to flag underutilized or inefficient equipment and accurately estimate remaining useful life. Over time, this leads to better capital planning, fewer maintenance surprises, and stronger returns.
Final Thoughts
Facility operations are more complex and fast-paced than ever. Whether you’re managing a handful of machines or a multi-site fleet, IoT technology offers a smarter way to understand, maintain, and optimize grounds equipment.
By reducing guesswork, automating time-consuming tasks, and providing actionable data, connected fleet systems help facility managers solve their most pressing lifecycle challenges efficiently and effectively. As expectations for sustainability, accountability, and reliability continue to rise, adopting IoT-driven equipment strategies into facility operations will be key to staying ahead.
By Ara Eckel
From the August 2025 Issue of Facility Executive
Eckel is the Director of Product Management for Connected Solutions at JLG.
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