Equipment rental software for keeping a hire fleet safe, serviced and ready

Know which units are on rent and which are back in the yard, run the off-hire and pre-delivery checks on every return, service each unit by hours or date between and during hires, and answer a breakdown on the customer's site with the unit's full history.

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Updated 15 Oct 2026

FieldEx scheduling board on desktop with a technician's inspection checklist open on the mobile app, as used by equipment rental teams

FieldEx is equipment rental software for the service side of a hire fleet, combining field service management with a computerised maintenance management system (CMMS). It tracks each unit on rent or returned against its hire contract, runs off-hire and pre-delivery inspections, schedules servicing and thorough examinations by hours or date, and sends technicians to breakdowns at customer sites.

What FieldEx does for hire and rental companies

A hire company's reputation rests on the unit that turns up on site: serviced, inspected and with its paperwork. FieldEx keeps every unit's hires, inspections, services and repairs on one record, so the off-hire check that found the damage, the repair and the pre-delivery sign-off for the next customer sit together. Book a demo to see it with your own fleet.

Every rental unit on its own record

An asset record for every MEWP, telehandler, excavator, generator, compressor, tower light, pump and power tool, with serial number, specifications, photos, warranty and manuals, in asset management.
Units classified by type and category, with statuses such as available, on hire, awaiting inspection, under repair or out of service.
Parent and component levels, such as a generator set and its engine, alternator and fuel tank.
QR or barcode labels on each unit, so the yard team scans it on return or dispatch, and a change history of every edit.

On rent, returned and back in the yard

Hire contracts with start and end dates and a status of new, on rent, expired or terminated.
The units on each contract with their asset codes, serial numbers, stock locations and quantities, each marked on rent or returned.
Contract details visible from the unit's own record, so anyone can see where it is and who has it.
Contract reports by status, customer, date and unit, and custom notifications when contracts change.

Off-hire and pre-delivery checks

Off-hire and pre-delivery checklists per equipment type, launched by scanning the unit, with damage photos on the job.
Failed answers that raise the repair job and its tasks straight away, and change the unit's status so it is held back.
A follow-up inspection booked automatically after a repair, before the unit is released.
Thorough examinations and certifications as recurring records with due dates, reminders and the report attached, in compliance documentation.

Servicing between and during hires

Maintenance plans that trigger on hours, on the calendar or whichever comes first, in preventive maintenance.
Plans linked to the hire contract, so long-term hires get their on-site services on time.
Fixed calendar schedules, or schedules counted from the last completed service, with missed services rescheduled after a set overdue period. Fixed calendar dates apply to time-based plans.
A job raised before the scheduled date when a unit comes back early and can be serviced now.

Service calls at the customer's site

A QR label on every unit that lets the customer report a breakdown without logging in, with photos or video.
A branded customer portal where hire customers raise requests, ask for a visit date and see their units with last-serviced dates.
Assignment by skill, availability, shift, leave, service zone and live location, and the FieldEx mobile app with the unit's history, its checklist, number fields for readings, watermarked photos and the customer's signature.
Jobs and tasks can be downloaded and worked offline, with check-in, check-out and travel synced later.

Moving units between depots

Asset transfers between depots, yards and technicians, with approval where you need it.
Consignments of specific units or spare parts with one or more approval levels and a consignment note PDF.
Requests for units by type and quantity, without naming serial numbers, for a depot that needs stock.
Spare parts in each depot and van, with reorder and low-stock alerts per location.

Records that travel with the unit

Completion PDFs with the unit, fault and resolution, parts, check-in and check-out times, attachments and the customer's signature, emailed with a record of when each was sent.
The full inspection and service history on the unit, ready to show the next customer or an inspector.
Reports on unit reliability, maintenance cost, utilization and age, exported or emailed on a schedule.

Who is responsible for maintaining hired equipment, the rental company or the customer?

Usually the rental company, but it depends on the hire and the agreement. Safe Work Australia's model Code of Practice on managing the risks of plant in the workplace (November 2024) says a hire company has duties both as a supplier and as a person controlling plant, and that in most cases the supplier will be responsible for inspecting and maintaining the plant. For extended hires, the hirer and the supplier may agree arrangements to make sure the plant is properly inspected and maintained throughout the lease. For mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) in the UK, the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) and International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) guide Managing the Safe Condition of MEWPs (May 2017) says the user retains a legal responsibility for inspection, maintenance and thorough examination for the duration of any hire. Genie's guidance on the ANSI A92 standards (23 August 2018) says that when a MEWP is rented, the owner must make arrangements identifying who is responsible for the inspections and maintenance the standard describes.

In short: write down who does what for each hire, and keep the record where both sides can see it.

What FieldEx does about it

Responsibilities on the contract: each hire contract can carry the maintenance plans linked to it, so who services the unit during the hire is on record.
Customer access to the record: through the customer portal, the hire customer sees the unit, its last-serviced date and its upcoming asset maintenance.
Work by either side recorded: service and inspection jobs done during the hire are recorded on the unit, whoever carried them out.
Notes and attachments: the agreed maintenance terms can be attached to the unit's record for the length of the hire.

What should a rental company inspect between hires, and when should the off-hire inspection happen?

Inspect every unit before it goes out again. WorkSafe Victoria's checklist for hiring out construction plant and equipment (January 2012) says suppliers must inspect and maintain plant between each hire or lease and record the details. The CPA and IPAF MEWP guide says no machine should transfer from one hire to a second hire without a pre-delivery inspection, and that a post-hire inspection, to identify damage from the previous hire, should take place as soon as reasonably practical after the hire ends. Owners may combine the post-hire and pre-delivery inspections if they have appropriate controls in place, with the findings documented. For electrical hire tools, the UK Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) portable appliance testing FAQs strongly recommend that suppliers formally inspect and test equipment before each hire.

The off-hire check matters for two reasons: safety for the next customer, and evidence of what happened on the last hire.

What FieldEx does about it

Two checks or one: off-hire and pre-delivery checklists can run separately, or as one combined inspection with sections for each.
Raised on return: scanning the unit when it comes back opens its off-hire checklist straight away, with damage photos on the job.
Damage tied to the hire: the inspection is recorded on the unit, with the contract it returned from visible on the same record.
Held until cleared: a failed answer sets the unit's status to under repair and raises the repair job, and a follow-up inspection can be booked for when the repair is done.

What paperwork must go out with hired lifting equipment?

Evidence of the last inspection or thorough examination. Regulation 9 of the UK Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) says lifting equipment obtained from another undertaking must be accompanied by physical evidence of its last thorough examination. HSE's guidance on inspection of work equipment under PUWER says equipment obtained from a hire company should be accompanied by physical evidence of its last inspection. Safe Work Australia's code adds that hirers should check the plant before hire, which may involve checking the logbook or maintenance manual.

If the report of thorough examination isn't with the machine, the customer's site manager may refuse to let it work.

What FieldEx does about it

The report on the unit: each thorough examination report is attached to its certification on the unit, ready to print or send with the delivery.
Pre-delivery PDF: the pre-delivery job's completion PDF records the checks, the result and the technician's sign-off, and can go with the unit.
Manuals attached: operator manuals and daily check sheets are attached to the unit's record.
Sent and logged: completion PDFs are emailed to the customer with a record of when each was sent.

How often does a rental MEWP need inspecting, and who arranges thorough examinations on a long hire?

Under ANSI A92, as explained in Genie's guidance (23 August 2018), a frequent inspection is due when the MEWP is put into service, when it has been out of service for 3 months, or when it has been in service for 3 months or 150 hours, whichever comes first. The annual inspection must be done no later than 13 months after the previous one, and documented on a decal or plate. In the UK, LOLER requires equipment for lifting people to be thoroughly examined at least every 6 months. The CPA and IPAF guide says the user may contract the owner to organise thorough examinations but keeps the legal responsibility, and that it is good practice for the owner to monitor the expiry date of the report of thorough examination and contact the user if it is about to expire. Intermediate inspections run at pre-determined intervals, such as weekly, monthly or quarterly, set by risk assessment.

On a six-month hire, at least one thorough examination will fall due while the MEWP is on the customer's site.

What FieldEx does about it

Three months or 150 hours: the frequent inspection runs on a plan that triggers at 150 hours or 3 months, whichever comes first.
13-month annual and 6-month thorough examination: each runs as a recurring certification with reminders before it falls due.
Expiry dates watched for the customer: reminders go to the depot team, who can contact the hire customer and book the examination on site.
Out-of-service MEWPs caught: units that have been out of service for 3 months can be found by status and last service date and inspected before they go out.

What daily checks should a customer do on rented equipment?

A pre-start check every shift. OSHA's fact sheet on aerial lifts (2011) says a pre-start inspection should be done before each work shift, following the manufacturer's recommendations, to verify that the equipment and all its components are in safe operating condition. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.178 requires forklifts to be examined at least daily before being placed in service. The CPA and IPAF MEWP guide says operators carry out pre-use inspections, that documenting them is best practice though not a legal requirement, and that defects are handled by isolating the controls, tagging the machine out of service and reporting to the owner.

For the rental company, a customer's pre-use check is often the first warning of a fault on hire.

What FieldEx does about it

Pre-use checks by your own operators: where you supply the operator with the unit, they scan its QR label and complete the daily check on the phone, recorded against the unit.
Defects reported straight to the depot: a customer's operator who finds a fault scans the same QR label to send a breakdown request without logging in, and it arrives as a job for the depot to dispatch.
Photos of the fault: photos or video sent with the request show the technician what to bring.
The right parts on the van: technicians check van stock and depot stock before they leave.

Should hire tools be PAT tested before each hire?

HSE's portable appliance testing FAQs strongly recommend that equipment suppliers formally inspect and test equipment before each hire, and say the person hiring it should take appropriate steps to keep it safe throughout the hire. HSE is clear there is no legal requirement for an annual test: the frequency depends on the type of equipment and the environment it is used in. Its guidance on inspection of work equipment adds that the result of each inspection should be recorded and kept at least until the next one, and that electronic records are acceptable.

For a tool hire counter, that is a test on every return, for every drill, breaker and transformer.

What FieldEx does about it

Every tool on record: each power tool, transformer and lead is an asset with a QR label.
A test on every return: the pre-hire electrical test is a short checklist launched by scanning the tool, with test readings in number fields on a job form.
Fails held back: a failed test sets the tool to out of service and raises the repair.
Records kept electronically: every test result stays on the tool's record and can be exported when asked.

Who does F-gas leak checks on rented air conditioning and refrigeration units?

It can be the rental company. The UK government's guidance on checking F gas equipment for leaks (Environment Agency and Defra, 21 August 2019) says that if you rent out equipment, you may be responsible for leak checks rather than the end user, depending on the rental agreement. Leak-check frequency depends on the system's charge in tonnes of CO2 equivalent, at least every 12 months for systems from 5 to under 50 tonnes, and fitting automatic leak detection lets you double the period between checks.

Portable air conditioning and temporary chillers on hire need their leak checks tracked whichever site they are on.

What FieldEx does about it

Leak checks per unit: each rental chiller or air conditioning unit carries its leak check as a recurring inspection at the frequency its charge requires.
Checks done on the customer's site: the leak check is dispatched to a qualified technician wherever the unit is on hire.
Refrigerant logged: refrigerant added can be recorded on the job in kilograms, deducted from stock and shown on the completion PDF.
Agreement on file: the rental agreement's split of responsibility can be attached to the unit's record.

Can a hired air compressor be used without a written scheme of examination?

No. HSE's brief guide to pressure systems, INDG261 (rev2, 2012), says you must not allow a pressure system to be operated, or hired out, until you have a written scheme of examination and the system has been examined. HSE's guidance on the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations 2000 says the user of hired or leased equipment should make sure the written scheme is in place and the certificate of examination is current, and that the owner of a mobile compressor is a dutyholder.

So the scheme and a current certificate have to be ready before the compressor leaves the yard, and the customer is entitled to ask for both.

What FieldEx does about it

Scheme and certificate on the compressor: each compressor and receiver has its written scheme attached and its examination as a recurring certification.
Due dates before dispatch: the pre-delivery checklist can include a question confirming the examination is in date, and the dashboard shows units whose examinations are overdue.
Copies for the customer: the current certificate can be printed or emailed with the delivery.
Servicing between examinations: filter, oil and valve servicing runs on hours in its own plan, since the examination is not a substitute for maintenance.

What records should a rental company keep for each unit?

WorkSafe Victoria's hire checklist (January 2012) says suppliers must record and retain details of the inspection and maintenance carried out. Safe Work Australia's code of practice says to keep an up-to-date register of the plant that needs regular inspection and maintenance, and that a hirer who maintained the plant during a lease should give all maintenance records to the hire company at the end of the lease. HSE's guidance on inspection of work equipment says records do not have to be on paper, but electronic records should be held securely and made available to any enforcing authority on request.

For a hire fleet, the register is the fleet list, and every row needs its inspection and service history behind it.

What FieldEx does about it

A live register: the asset list is the plant register, filtered by type, status, location or depot and exported when needed.
History on each unit: every inspection, service, repair, part and hire contract is linked to the unit's record.
Customer maintenance records captured: records handed back at the end of a long hire are attached to the unit.
Access controlled: permission profiles control who can see and edit records, and every change is logged with the user and time.

What happens when rented equipment comes back damaged or overloaded?

It comes out of service for examination. The CPA and IPAF MEWP guide says that after exceptional circumstances such as a collision, overloading or overturning, the MEWP should be removed from service and thoroughly examined to make sure it is safe to return to service. HSE's guidance on inspection of work equipment says equipment should be inspected each time exceptional circumstances, such as suspected serious damage, may have jeopardised its safety, and LOLER requires a thorough examination of lifting equipment each time such circumstances occur.

The off-hire inspection is where this is usually found, which is why it has to be recorded with photos.

What FieldEx does about it

Damage recorded at return: the off-hire checklist records the damage, with watermarked photos on the job, against the unit and the hire it came back from.
Out of service at once: the checklist sets the unit's status to out of service and raises the repair job and its tasks.
Thorough examination before release: an exceptional thorough examination is raised as its own certification, and the unit is set back to available once it is complete.
Evidence for the customer: the off-hire job's PDF, with photos and the inspection result, is emailed to the customer with a record of when it was sent.

How should a rental fleet schedule servicing by hour meter?

By hours and the calendar together, whichever comes first. Caterpillar's Machine Fluids Recommendations manual (SEBU6250-30, December 2020) says recommended service should always be performed at the interval that occurs first. Genie's ANSI A92 guidance (23 August 2018) uses the same rule for MEWPs: a frequent inspection after 3 months or 150 hours in service, whichever comes first. Idle time counts too: OSHA 29 CFR 1926.1412 requires a crane idle for 3 months or more to be inspected by a qualified person before use.

A rental unit can sit in the yard for weeks and then run double shifts on hire, so neither hours alone nor dates alone will do.

What FieldEx does about it

Dual triggers on every plan: plans trigger on hours, the calendar or whichever comes first.
Hours read at every return: the off-hire checklist updates the unit's hour meter, so the next service is calculated from the real reading.
Idle units on the calendar: a calendar trigger brings units that have been standing for 3 months back for inspection.
Services on hire: plans linked to long-term hire contracts raise on-site service jobs for the units out with that customer.

Customer story

AMRTUR, a Southeast Asian oilfield services contractor, moved its equipment logistics and maintenance onto FieldEx. Its story describes a QR form where users choose "Request" or "Delivery" so pickups and deliveries go to the right team, equipment transfers between storage locations that need approval and end with a PDF the receiver signs, and maintenance jobs created at 300 hours of use or 6 months, whichever comes first.

Read the AMRTUR story

Sime Industrial, a heavy equipment provider in Asia Pacific, supports construction, mining and energy customers with machinery, servicing and rentals. Its story describes moving from Excel and WhatsApp to FieldEx for real-time job tracking and updates across its field teams.

Read the Sime Industrial customer story

Questions hire companies ask about FieldEx

What is the best equipment rental software for servicing a hire fleet?

For the service side, the software has to know which units are on rent, run off-hire and pre-delivery checks, schedule servicing by hours and date and send technicians to site. FieldEx does all of this in one system. Compare approaches in our guide to CMMS software.

Can FieldEx show which units are on rent and which are returned?

Yes. Each hire contract lists its units with asset codes and serial numbers, each marked on rent or returned, and the contract can be seen from the unit's record.

Can maintenance plans be linked to a hire contract?

Yes. Maintenance plans can be linked to a contract, with their dates, status and the number of units they cover shown on the contract.

Can hire customers report a breakdown from the unit?

Yes. Scanning the QR label opens a request form without logging in, and the request arrives as a job ready to assign.

Can we transfer units between depots with approval?

Yes. Asset transfers and consignments can need approval, at one or more levels for consignments, with a consignment note PDF.

Can we track thorough examination dates for MEWPs and cranes?

Yes. Thorough examinations run as recurring certifications per unit, with reminders and the report attached.

Can the off-hire check update the hour meter?

Yes. An inspection can update the unit's meter reading and its status, and raise repair jobs from failed answers.

Can customers see the service history of the units they hire?

Yes. The branded customer portal shows their units with serial number, status and last-serviced date, upcoming asset maintenance and downloadable job reports.

Can technicians work on site without a signal?

Yes. Jobs and tasks can be downloaded and worked offline, with check-in, check-out and travel synced later.

How long does it take to set up FieldEx for a hire fleet?

Once we know your requirements and your data is ready, FieldEx can be implemented in as little as a week with standard features for small businesses. Larger setups and custom work take longer. Setup, data upload and training are included in the subscription, with no setup fee. Units and parts can be uploaded. FieldEx helps with setup, and training is included. See FieldEx implementation.

See every unit's hire status, checks and services in one system

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