If your asset tag survives on construction equipment, it will survive almost anywhere. UV at altitude, mud, hydraulic fluid, diesel splash, impact, and operator boots all converge on the same square inch of metal.
Substrate + adhesive
10-mil plastic core with 3M 467 adhesive. Anything thinner gouges. Anything with weaker adhesive releases after a season.
Print + overlaminate
Full-color subsurface digital under a 5-mil textured overlaminate. Subsurface means the print is between the substrate and the overlaminate, not exposed on top. The overlaminate eats the abrasion that would destroy a printed surface.
Placement
Operator-station access panel, not the chassis exterior. Flat surface, not curved. Away from hydraulic-fluid splash zones. Tags that ride above the operator's eye line during cab entry survive longest because they get checked frequently.
Numbering
Multi-segment serial: equipment-class (3 char) + acquisition-year (2 digit) + sequential (4 digit). This survives ERP migrations.