Tools and Equipment Management

Looking For Power Tools and Hand Tools In All The Wrong Places?

Tools and equipment tracking software deliver savings through increased equipment productivity, whilst efficient care and maintenance sustain your items for longer. Simplifying the process of checking out or issuing tools and equipment eliminates lines at workshops, delivers accountability and allows for reduced tool and equipment loss and misuse. Tracking the equipment across multiple locations and job sites permits accurate reporting of any lost tools and equipment, due to theft, or mismanagement.

 

Theft And Vandalism At Building Sites

Residential building sites are increasingly becoming targets of theft and vandalism. The victims of these crimes incur considerable costs and delays to the detriment of their businesses. The adverse effects include the cost of hiring or replacing stolen items.

As a builder, tradesperson or contractor, the tools you use can often be the difference between earning a living and unemployment so it’s important to keep them protected. According to a 2002 study from the Australian Institute of Criminology:

• 19 per cent experienced theft

• 13 per cent experienced both theft and vandalism

• 65 per cent of theft victims and 66 per cent of vandalism victims had experienced more than one incident

• The risk of theft and vandalism generally rose with increasing numbers of staff and the amount of annual turnover

 

Theft Prevention Technology

While some lost tools and equipment are due to mismanagement and/or poor tracking, theft is a serious concern. Asset tagging using anti-theft designs (tamper-evident or tamper-proof materials) or passive RFID tags will create a more secure environment. People are less likely to steal an item that they know is being tracked by the company.

Some businesses only tag their high-value equipment as these items attract the majority of theft. But while there is less focus on smaller tools and equipment, these are unlikely to be insured, less likely to be recovered, but still cost your business both time and money. Tagging all relevant items sends a message that you have a tracking process in place and misappropriated assets will be tracked to their last owner.

 

Disruption And Employee Dissatisfaction

Missing smaller tools and equipment do not usually get noticed until they are needed for another task. This causes job disruption, employee dissatisfaction and extra business costs. Such as additional labour, lease hire/fees and delays that can cost more than the original purchase price of the item(s).

While tracking systems cannot completely prevent theft, this case history highlights some best practices that can be implemented to help reduce exposure to tool and equipment theft.

Unfortunately, for businesses that rely on their tools and equipment to meet their business objectives. Missing items are only the tip of the iceberg. When it comes to problems faced without a robust, powerful tool and equipment tracking solution.

Construction companies face operational challenges

 

Drive Efficiencies And Deter Theft

Refining your tool tracking and equipment tracking processes provide efficiencies, and compliance and reduce theft. And although equipment tracking software is not a security system, it is a valuable tool to help team members take steps to prevent possible theft or misplacement.

Toolroom managers need to meet the business objectives of operating and maintaining a sustainable business with as little disruption as possible. Supporting productive and effective work order management, inspections and inventory management, so field teams can deliver responsive and efficient services.

Tools and equipment utilisation tracking and maintenance management reduce the impact on productivity arising out of missed calibrations and maintenance events. Discouraging possible misuse by employees and generating accountability for the tools and equipment they use.

 

Drive efficiencies and deter theft by tagging, tracking and regularly auditing your tools and equipment. When you utilise cutting-edge identification for auditing of items and mobile tracking technologies, you build a digital management solution, that ensures all data is current and accurate.

It doesn’t matter if you use RFID or Barcodes, you can facilitate wall-to-wall audits, self-audits, issues and returns (check-in/out) quickly and accurately, with a full audit trail, if using a comprehensive tracking solution.

Barcode labels and RFID tags are overt methods, to alert thieves. That your assets are protected, being tracked and are not safe to steal!

Asset tags, technology and their environments

 

Access For All -With Specific Data Permissions

Disseminating your tools and equipment tracking system for all employees via the adoption of mobile apps has clear benefits, in both accountability and time savings. Employees can scan, view, issue and return (check-in/out), add performance comments and create work orders, all from their mobile devices.

Managers can refine operations within the tools and equipment tracking system to restrict or allow individual users access to information depending on their job function. For instance, you wouldn’t want your engineers to access purchasing information. With employees having direct access to certain processes, an effortless and automatic account is kept. Managers will save time chasing assets or distributing them.

 

Tracking Ownership And Movements

Assign tools and equipment to a person (ownership) and/or location (physical location item is to be assigned to). The tracking of subsequent movements, when the item is loaned out to other employees/locations assists with management decisions around utilisation.

In addition to facilitating better tools and equipment utilisation. Your tools and equipment register also reduces potential impact on productivity. Arising out of tool losses and missed calibration or maintenance events.

 

Check-In/Out Of Tooling And Work Orders In The Field

Business Scenarios for Mobile Tool Management

• The tool register is always available and updated in real-time
• Alerts for calibrations
• Conduct tool audits/verifications either according to planned programmes or as ‘spot-check’ activities where the following can be added on the fly via your mobile device:
  • New assets found in the field
  • Update locations and creation of new locations found
  • Update workers and creation of workers found on site
  • Update the tool catalogue and create new tools found
• Record and report on the movement and status of tools
• Record and update the GPS location of any tool where required
• Take photographs of tools, which is very useful when identifying tools in poor condition that need to be attended to in the shortest possible timeframe
• Tool custodians will have a real-time view and management capability of their assigned tools
• MiCatX application is available to workers with the right permissions, online and offline, providing the capability to work even though the connectivity may be poor or non-existent
• Conduct, update and create all maintenance tasks in the field
• Conduct, create, resolve, and update all service requests, jobs and work orders in the field
• Able to view inventory availability as well as issue/return and audit inventory in the field

 

Getting The Most Out Of Your Tools And Equipment

Over the life cycle of your tools and equipment, they will require regular maintenance, repair and/or calibrations. Recording this information within a tracking system allows for comprehensive reporting and superior insights for the business regarding replacement strategies.

Better lifecycle management of tools and equipment has been identified by business process engineers as a simple and effective method of improving bottom-line performance. In industries where large and small tools represent a significant capital investment.

If you could scrutinise the cost of your yearly tooling expenses, you might be surprised at what you are really spending. Typically your tooling assets – perishable, durable, fixturing, dies, moulds, gauges, assembly, form tools etc. can represent up to one-third of your company’s manufacturing investment.

Tools management – going beyond the basics

 

Proven Tool Management System Success Story

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) is one of the world’s leading energy producers and a primary catalyst for the growth and diversification of the Abu Dhabi economy. ADNOC (formerly GASCO), has gained significantly from implementing their Hardcat solution as a single source of truth around their tools and equipment. From improved inventory control and audit procedures to accurate audit trails. Every department has seen improvements.

Australian-based asset tracking software and services vendor, Hardcat has developed a state-of-the-art tools management application for global customers. The software is being implemented at the Abu Dhabi-based company, ADNOC (formally GASCO).

Since 2014, ADNOC has been tracking the usage of thousands of tool and equipment assets located in the centralised main tool room area of its Habshan 5 Plan in UAE.

Hardcat supports process-driven tools management

 

Configuring Your Software Solution

Hardcat Tool Manager software collects, tracks and reports on a wealth of information about each item. Information held against each item can be accessed and sorted by virtually any field and each item can have an unlimited amount of user-defined fields. Hardcat software is so easy to use you can self-configure your database to store the information you want to track.

 

Centralising Tools And Equipment Tracking

A centralised solution will ensure warranty claims aren’t missed, and tools and equipment are in working order and being utilised to their optimum. Reporting to supervisors and management so they know exactly where tools and equipment are located, where they have been, and who has been responsible for them at any given time.

Centralise your repairs, maintenance programs, procurement planning and delivery. On a single easy-to-use platform that can be accessed anywhere, anytime via the cloud, web-based and mobile apps.

Centralise your repairs, maintenance programs, procurement planning and delivery on a single easy to use platform. Access your inmportant data anywhere, anytime via cloud, web and mobile apps.

 

Scalable And Flexible Tool Management

Hardcat’s Tool Management software is an extremely scalable solution. Accommodating businesses with a few hundred items, to those with several hundred thousand. Expensive and valuable to operations, these tools and equipment items are tracked from purchase to disposal.

• User-defined dashboards and alerts

• Automatic scheduling of common tasks

• Work orders are issued automatically for maintenance, inspections and calibrations

• Track inventory, consumables and replacement stock

• At-a-glance view of item location, utilisation, ownership and consumption

• Better transparency on tool and equipment usage

• Timely alerts for scheduled maintenance events and inventory levels

• Visualise critical assets, tools and equipment on a map

Hardcat provides genuine business value on the utilisation of tools. Escape the silo and spreadsheets and join Hardcat for synchronised inventory and tools and equipment tracking management.

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