4 Quick Wins for Your Asset Management System

Asset Management System Definition

An asset management system is how an operations or facility manager keeps track of valuable/vital items needed for doing business. The best asset tracking systems are easy to use, update and maintain so that information is readily available to workers and management as needed.

Using asset tags with barcodes makes it easy to achieve an asset management system that digitally follow items throughout their entire life cycle. The main goals of asset tracking are to review, operate, maintain, and protect items in the most efficient way.

Set Yourself Up for Success with Asset Management System Benefits

Implementing an asset tracking system in your facility directly reduces the cost of doing business. If your facility is lacking an asset management system (or implementing a poor one) you’re missing out an opportunity to save time and money.

Asset inventory management systems support operations and workflow to maximize efficiency, reducing time and labor costs. Equipment and tool asset tracking protects against theft/loss and promotes regular maintenance to reduce the need for costly replacements. 

1) Review & Access Inventory Quicker

Do you have enough tools to send a second team to a job-site, or take a new bid? Do you need to order a cellphone for your new floor supervisor? Putting an asset management system into action gives you the power to quickly and easily answer these questions.

Tagging all vital equipment, tools and devices with barcode asset tags optimizes your asset management inventory system, allowing you to digitally record and review inventory with a simple scan. Imagine you receive that new bid and you’re able to assess available resources within minutes.

Or you’re off-site and inventory records are at your fingertips. No need to waste money on a duplicate cellphone for your floor manager when you can easily check that there’s one to spare back at your offices.

2) Make it Easier to Find Equipment

Setting up an asset inventory system does more than just allow you to take stock of equipment. Having ready access to information about tools and equipment also helps maximize operations efficiency, and can even improve morale.

Consider this scenario: Mike spends 30 minutes going from loading bay to loading bay looking for a handcart to load a cargo van with supplies needed at the new job site. If you were in Mike’s shoes you would be frustrated.

If you were Mike’s manager you’d recognize that during that half hour, you’re paying Mike to search for the handcart, not to load supplies. You don’t have to resign yourself to accepting time lost to searching for equipment and tools as an unavoidable cost of doing business.

A successful asset management system improves productivity (and morale) by empowering employees to replace time lost searching for equipment with more productive work. Not to mention it doesn’t cost you half an hour of labor just to locate the tools to start the actual work you want done.

3) Increase Maintenance Efficiency

When you accepted the contract for that new job, did you take into account your cement mixer was awaiting repair? Maybe you don’t know maintenance is estimating a two-week window for the arrival of the part needed to make the repair.

Having a reliable asset system supports Maintenance, Repair and Operations (MRO) activities by keeping this sort of information in one centralized, easily accessible database. Your workers scan the asset tag on the broken item, enter a brief note or repair code, and the record is updated for anyone to view as needed.

Recording equipment maintenance and repairs in your asset management system helps maximize MRO efficiency. Access to such data makes it easy to coordinate regular maintenance with upcoming jobs or important orders, and makes it easier to estimate time and resource costs for future repairs.

4) Decrease Theft and Loss

One of the most popular applications for asset tags is to prevent loss and theft of valuable items. In fact, IT asset tracking systems may be the most obvious use for barcode asset labels. Undoubtedly you have seen an asset management system in action if you’ve ever used a company cellphone or laptop with a barcode asset tag applied.

The primary function of any asset management system is to record and track items so their location is known at all times. This makes it much more difficult to steal company devices, tools or equipment and much easier to trace them back to the last person responsible for the item.

Reconsider the imaginary situation with Mike and the missing handcart. Maybe he spends half a day looking for it, recruiting other employees to join the search. Eventually, it is determined the handcart is missing.

With an asset management system in place the handcart’s location and last known user could be easily identified. Perhaps the handcart disappeared with a terminated employee who was using it on their last shift. Perhaps it was left at a job site and can be easily recovered. 

Rack Up the Wins with Your New Asset Management System

Keep operations running smoothly and cut down on losses from theft and misplaced items. Setting up an asset management system gives you the ability to review, operate, maintain, and protect your assets in the most efficient, cost-effective way.