How to Keep Track of Tools and Equipment

Published on December 5, 2019 • 3 min read

In the past, tools and equipment tracking was mainly done with spreadsheets. Over time, everyone came to the same conclusion about spreadsheets - that they are a very inefficient way to manage tools and equipment. They’re unwieldy, out of date and frustrating, to say the least.

Now, as we approach 2020, companies that need to track their tools and equipment are demanding something better. Without real-time updates and a well-integrated system, the accountability spreadsheets hoped to improve was still left out in the cold.

And so you have battled through the dark ages of tools and equipment tracking.

Now that the new decade is approaching, how do you keep track of tools and equipment?

Tools and Equipment Tracking of the Past

There was a simpler, far less efficient time when losses were just part and parcel of any industry that relied upon tools and equipment. Without a widespread use of apps and the ability to make objects smarter, losses stung less as they were considered unavoidable.

Then, the guise of a solution appeared in the early 21st century when excel spreadsheets took over. Suddenly, fixed asset registers could be created and maintained online, and accountability could be increased.

There are many limitations to spreadsheets, however. Typing in a register of all your assets and adding in the product information manually is fine and easy. Where do you go from there, though?

As soon as you try and add all the information you need to a spreadsheet, it’ll grow to an unmanageable beast. Adding in current value, depreciation, maintenance schedules, and insurance information onto one spreadsheet is unrealistic, and all of a sudden, your sheets have multiplied.

Then, the only way to track and maintain your tools and equipment involved typing in additional information every time an asset would change hands or user, and more worryingly, you’d have to remember to do so! It was as far away from an automatic process as it could be.

The Modern-Day Solution

When you want to track your tools and equipment well, you need a modern-day solution. 

Ditching spreadsheets and opting for a more suitable asset tracking system instead will save you precious time and money.

With the best asset tracking software, you’ll be able to use QR code or RFID asset tags in order to update changes to your assets in real-time. You’ll want cloud-based software which allows you and your extended network of colleagues to see changes as they happen. Now you’ll be able to manage your tools and equipment as a team.

Asset tracking software has a huge benefit in that it increases the accountability of those that utilise your tools and equipment. Instead of finding an asset in a spreadsheet, you need only scan it to update its location and edit its condition or status.

What this means is that it takes a simple scan to say that an asset needs maintenance or that it is undergoing repairs. If you purchase easy to use asset tracking software, scanning an asset’s tag will instantly update the asset’s location and record who scanned it and when. 

What are the Benefits of Using Asset Tracking for your Tools and Equipment?

The benefits of asset tracking software are simple. The greatest benefit you will have is the ease and speed of knowing what assets you have, where they are, who has them and their condition.

You need to track your tools and equipment to minimise losses, to avoid buying duplicates and to see and fix discrepancies instantly. You don’t, however, need to spend hours and hours a week trying to do this.

Imagine if you could spend more of your time in the field, helping customers, or being part of a more energised workforce instead of sitting behind a desk all day seeing if the spanner has really gone missing or if Dave just isn’t looking hard enough.

Tracking your tools and equipment better means you can hold your team accountable. What does that mean? Well, currently if an asset goes missing, you play a quick round of he-said-she-said going round in circles in an attempt to establish who last saw the elusive missing asset. Instead, you can check the system and see exactly who had it last and hold them accountable for its current whereabouts.

Fewer losses and more time mean no matter what your tools and equipment are, you get more time doing what you love without worrying about things going missing.

With itemit, you can achieve all of this and more. Find out more about what itemit can do for you by contacting us or by filling in the form below to try the asset tracking software for yourself!