Break Ground On An Accountable Job Site With Asset Management

Tools and equipment are the lifeblood of any construction, engineering or tool-rental business. Unfortunately, construction sites are targets for thieves looking for an easy score.

The most commonly stolen or ‘misplaced’ items at constructions sites are:

• Small tools - Low-cost items such as hammers, saws and power drills can be difficult to track
• Appliances - Apartments, duplexes and residential neighborhoods under construction run the risk of expensive appliances walking off if they’re stored onsite for extended periods of time
• Wood - On-site contractors have been known to ‘borrow’ lumber and other supplies for their other projects
• Heavy machinery - Mowers, backhoes and other multi-functional equipment can fetch a nice profit for thieves

According to the National Equipment Register (NER), out of the $400 million worth of equipment stolen each year, only 21% is recovered. That means if something walks off your site, it’s probably gone forever.

What happens if your assets are stolen, lost or misplaced?

• Productivity grinds to a halt
• Man hours are wasted looking for missing assets
• Projects are delayed
• Your profit declines

Declining profits only scratches the surface of lost or stolen equipment. When equipment and tools go missing:

• Your organization has to pay to replace them
• Your organization can file an insurance claim, but then your premiums go up
• Your organization loses money because you can’t complete the job on time, which means you can’t start the next one
• Your organization has to pay to improve security

To make matters worse, your customers get frustrated with the project delays and your reputation in the industry suffers.

Prevent Asset Loss With Affordable and Accountable Asset Tracking

There are a number of ways to decrease the risk of having your assets stolen or misplaced.

• Hire on-site security guards
• Store and secure important keys off-site
• Install fencing, motion sensor cameras and lighting
• Use larger equipment to secure smaller equipment
• Chain pieces together
• Invest in smart padlocks

While these solutions are good, they can get expensive, especially if you have to add security guards to the payroll.

Thankfully, there’s another asset management solution that gives you multiple benefits while helping you prevent asset loss. Through workflows that document check-ins and check-outs, you can empower every member of your team and hold them accountable for the equipment they use.

Asset Accountability - It’s In Everyone’s Job Description

At Asset Panda, we believe that asset accountability is everyone’s job. From the person who handles your inventory to the team members in the field putting the hammers to the nails, everyone should be doing their part to make sure you’re getting the best return on investment for the tools and equipment you purchase.

With our asset management solution, you can track every tool in your toolbox from that 16 oz. rip claw hammer to the beastly 21-ton bulldozer. You’ll know everything you need to know about every tool and piece of equipment you own including:

• Purchase date
• The job site it’s assigned to
• Every person who has checked it out
• When it’s due back
• Service history
• Project history
• Lifecycle status

Knowing this critical information gives you transparency and insight into where your assets should be and who should be using them.

Assigning specific team members to specific tools helps hold them accountable so they don’t mistake your tools for their own at the end of a long work day.

While you don’t have to track every nail on a site, it does help you to know how many boxes were used for a new project, so you can create a baseline that will help you manage your resources for similar projects moving forward.

For larger, more expensive equipment like a backhoe, you can perform a quick audit every day. Just use the mobile app to scan the barcode at the beginning and/or end of every shift. Asset Panda will tag the scan with a GPS pin drop so you’ll have an accurate account of where that backhoe was when it was scanned.

You also have an ability to create inspection actions that can be run on a regular basis to ensure your tools are in working order and identify issues to quickly resolve any issues.

Asset management also improves your tool utilization by helping you rotate tools in and out to job sites more evenly. This means your equipment use is spread out among your assets, extending the life of the equipment and giving you a better ROI over the long run.

If you’re ready to empower your team to have more accountability for your tools and equipment, drop us a line. Asset Panda is ready to help solve any challenges you have with your asset management.