What is an Asset Tag?
An asset tag is a unique identifier assigned to a fixed asset like machines, tools, computers, materials, and equipment. Think of it as a Social Security number for your assets! Each asset gets its own unique tag to distinguish it from all others.
Every asset is fundamentally different. Even if a factory produces 1,000 of the same type of asset, each one will have a different journey. They go to different places, are used by different people, maintained in different ways, and might even have custom additions. In other words, every asset has a unique story. An asset tag helps track this story.
Why Are Asset Tags So Important?
Keeping track of your assets is crucial because you want to maximize their lifespan and ensure they are used safely. Proper tracking helps you get the most out of your investment. If you lose track of an asset’s maintenance and usage, its lifecycle will be cut short, costing you more money in repairs or replacements.
The Risks of Not Tracking Assets - the Forklift Example
To understand the importance of asset tracking, let’s consider what happens when it’s not done.
Imagine you’ve leased a dozen forklifts for your warehouse. Each forklift comes with a binder full of instructions and checklists for proper operation. After a certain number of hours, each forklift needs preventative maintenance.
Additionally, each use requires a specific checklist to ensure safe operation.
If you simply send these forklifts out onto the warehouse floor and hope that people follow the binder, you’re taking a huge risk. People might skip steps or delay maintenance. The binder could end up ignored in a compartment. As a result, the safe operation of the forklifts deteriorates, and the forklifts themselves start to break down.
Without tracking, you can’t identify problems with specific forklifts or ensure that safety checklists are being followed. This leads to more time spent fixing or replacing forklifts that have broken down prematurely. If accidents occur, you have no evidence to show that you were following proper procedures. In other words, you’re exposing yourself to more risk and higher costs.
The Benefits of Using Asset Tags
If you had an asset tag, such as a unique barcode label attached to the forklift, any operator could quickly scan the tag and fill out a checklist for safe operation. This checklist gets saved to the tag and the cloud, allowing you or anyone else to access and verify that the proper checklist was completed.
Additionally, when the operator scans the code, they might receive an alert indicating that the forklift has reached a certain number of hours and requires preventative maintenance. This means the operator doesn’t have to guess when maintenance is needed; the asset tag provides a timely reminder.
By automating these reminders and checklists, you reduce the cognitive load on your operators. They don’t have to remember what needs to be done; they are told what needs to be done. This leads to safer and more efficient operations.
Asset Tags for All Types of Equipment
Asset tags aren’t just helpful for heavy machinery – they can be used on anything of value. Imagine you are a construction company with hundreds of ladders out in the field. As common as ladders are, they require specific inspections each time they are used. A damaged ladder can cause a fall, which can be deadly and costly if procedures are not properly followed. Just like with forklifts, scanning a unique identifier or barcode on a ladder can help ensure checklists are properly followed for that specific ladder.
Keeping Track of Your Assets
Ladders are used everywhere, making them difficult to keep track of. With hundreds of ladders in different locations and used by different people, it’s easy to lose track of who has which ladder and where it is. If you don’t keep track, you might end up with only 60 or 70 ladders out of 100 by the end of the year. This means 30 to 40 ladders have gone missing, which can add up to a significant cost.
How Asset Tags Help
Each time an asset tag is scanned, it can record the GPS location from the smartphone that’s scanning it. This means you can see where your ladders are at any given time on a map. If a ladder goes missing, you can check where it was last used and who had it. Asset tags help ensure ladders aren’t unnecessarily lost.
The Dual Benefits of Asset Tags
Asset tags provide a two-for-one benefit. They ensure the safe operation of equipment and keep track of where it is and who has it at any given time. Asset tags are the gift that keeps on giving.
Overcoming the Hesitation
So, what’s stopping you from using asset tags to track your laptops, ladders, forklifts, harnesses, fire extinguishers, materials, A/C units, vehicles, and everything else you should be tracking?
It’s probably the setup process. Even though asset tags offer tremendous value in the long run, setting them up can feel daunting. Here’s why:
Choosing the Right Software: First, you need to select the software to track your assets. This often involves a significant upfront investment, which can be uncomfortable if you’re not fully convinced of the return on investment.
Setting Up the Data: Next, you need to set up the data. This could mean starting from scratch or importing data from your existing spreadsheets into a new system.
Purchasing Equipment: You’ll need several barcode scanners, which can be expensive. You’ll also need to buy the proper labels that work with the software and a specialized printer to print out all the asset tags. These costs can add up quickly.
Tagging Each Asset: The most time-consuming part is matching each asset tag with the correct asset. This means finding every single asset you own and tagging it with the exact asset tag. This process requires time and patience.
Training Your Team: Finally, you need to train everyone who will be using the system. Since your assets are handled by many people, this will take time away from their regular jobs, which can be costly.
Addressing Your Concerns
Right now, you might be wondering, “Is this worth it?” You know asset tags are helpful, but the time, effort, and costs associated with setting up the system seem daunting. You might even be questioning whether the return on investment is really there.
At BitRip, we understand this stress and have done everything we can to minimize it, making the return on investment a no-brainer. Let’s go down that list again and show you how BitRip eliminates those stressors:
How BitRip Makes Asset Tracking Easy
No Upfront Costs: You can try every part of our system immediately and for free. This means you don’t have to take a leap of faith. Our pricing system allows you to experiment. You don’t have to track every asset and pay thousands of dollars a year. Start by tracking a handful of assets for next to nothing and ease into the system once you feel comfortable.
We Handle the Setup: We can import your existing data into BitRip for free. If you’re starting from scratch, we’ve minimized the steps needed to set up an asset. Just tag any asset with one of our pre-built tags, scan it, and within seconds, you’re tracking it.
No Extra Equipment Needed: Apart from a roll of pre-printed asset labels, you don’t need any extra equipment. The app works on your smartphone, so there’s no need for scanners or printers. We’ve already printed the labels for you.
Flexible and Ready to Go: With our system, you can tag any piece of equipment with our labels and start tracking it immediately. You don’t need to prepare labels in the office. Just walk out to any site, tag the equipment, scan it, and give it a unique identifier. Our asset tagging system is extremely flexible and ready to go.
Easy and User-Friendly System
Lastly, we have built a system that is remarkably easy to use. Any user simply scans the tag with our free app, and like magic, all the information about that asset pops up on their phone. They can add photos, voice notes, uploads, and more. They can even follow a checklist to ensure they complete the right procedures.
Even better, just by scanning the asset tag, the location is automatically updated using the GPS on their phone. As a manager, you can get alerts about where your assets are at any given time. You can open your laptop and see the last known locations of your assets on a map. The feeling of knowing where your assets are, clicking them open, and seeing everything about them is invaluable. All it takes is a quick download of a free app and five minutes of training.
Ready to Get Started?
Hopefully, this short article has piqued your interest. Want to try this system out right now? Click the link below and get started NOW. We guarantee that by this time tomorrow, you’ll be ordering your asset tags and ready to get the most out of the things you own.
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