Tool Tracking Tips
Keep it simple!
Tool tracking doesn’t have to be hard.
Improve your tool inventory management in three steps.
You can use barcodes, RFID, GPS or other devices but these high tech solutions aren’t required. Just having a simple way to transfer responsibility along with the tool is usually enough.
Here are free resources to help you improve your tool management. If you would like to know more about our tool tracking software use the top menus.
Most importantly, keep it simple!
Articles about Tool Tracking
Tool tracking and tool inventory management for construction companies often includes software apps and rugged barcodes. Articles on this page include reviews of common tool trackers. Contractor small tool tracking and equipment tracking best practices. As well as tool tracking tips for accountants and operations people.
The Key to Tool Tracking
Construction asset tracking doesn’t have to be hard. New technology helps contractors to track tools in easy and simple ways. However, there are a couple key factors that construction companies should consider when putting new tool inventory tracking processes in place.
Tool Tracking for Accountants
Do accounting requirements or operational requirements drive your tool tracking process? When it comes to tool tracking accounting policies drive the tracking process at too many companies. This is due to a bunch of reasons but is it the way it should be? Is the accounting approach the best way to approach tool tracking?
Efficient Operations Needs Asset Tracking
Complex construction projects can require lots of tools. Specialized tools needed to meet increasingly specialized requirements are increasing tool costs at all types of contractors. Sharing these valuable tools is critical to achieving a return on the investment in a competitive construction environment.
Embrace New Construction Apps
With each change in technology some companies thrive while others fail. IBM, Zerox, and others are examples of companies that owned an industry only to miss a wave of technology. Smaller nimble companies took advantage of the change and overtook the industry these giants once controlled. How can your company take advantage of technology to prosper from the next changes?
Tool Tracking Survey
Construction Financial Manager’s Association (CFMA) and the Institute of Certified Construction Industry Financial Professionals (ICCIFP) partnered with ShareMyToolbox to build a survey on tool tracking processes. The survey captured tool accounting practices & tool tracking methods of the respondents from organization members representing all sizes and types of contractors.
Tracking Beacon Guide
Are you considering using GPS, Bluetooth or other beacon technology to track your tools? This guide reviews several of the most common physical tracking devices that contractors are attaching to tools. Start here and decide if beacons are right for you.
Are you James Bond?
The warehouse manager doesn’t need to be James Bond to keep track of tools. A simple solution is better than Bond like gadgets.
Tool Tracking Tech
It is an exciting time in construction. New technology is creeping into every area. When it comes to tool tracking where should you start? Do you start with GPS Beacons? Barcodes? Or do you first need a base responsibility system? Read on to find out what we think…
Stopping Tool Theft
Technology is great but it can’t stop tool theft alone. How people work and think about tools needs to be changed to keep tools from “walking away”. Technology is part of the solution but it takes more than tech for a good tool tracking solution.
Stop Tool Hoarding
Tool hoarding costs a company time and money. Efficiently getting tools from where they are idle to where they are needed should be a simple task. Unfortunately, too many contractors try to use an accounting policy to solve an operation’s problem.
The Power of Trust
Contracting is a team sport. Teams require trust to operate efficiently. Tool tracking systems can help build trust by making it clear who is responsible for each tool on each project. Clear lines of responsibility build trust.
Blinderman Construction
Blinderman Construction put a system in place to save money. This case study interviews Jack Hobbs on his selection and implementation of a new tool system.
Gilbert Mechanical
Tool tracking needed to be SIMPLE in order to help Gilbert Mechanical personnel take responsibility for tools in the field. That is exactly what they found with ShareMyToolbox.
GPS vs Bluetooth Tracking
Whether it is GPS, Bluetooth, a puck, a dongle, RFID an asset tag or whatever: the options are more than most contractors can sift through. So what is the difference? More importantly what is worth the time to put in place?
What really works?
Whether technology works in a lab or whether it works in the rough and tumble field of construction is a big question for contractors. Time is limited and contractors don’t have time to waste on solutions that “usually work”.
Construction Tool Tracking Profiles
Have you ever wondered how other contractors are solving the small tool inventory issue? Here are some the ways electrical, mechanical and other contractors are tracking their tools.
Ending Slow Tool Theft
Pentoir construction is a painting, drywall and interior contractor. They found that employees often kept tools so long that they forgot that the tools belonged to the company. Slowly the tools were procured for personal use. This profile shows how Pentoir stopped slow tool theft.
Finding Tools Fast
White Electrical has been in business since 1910 and works over a very large geography. With lots of trucks, lots of jobs and lots of movement it was often hard to find tools fast. Searching for who had a needed tool could take an hour of phone calls. Learn how White Electrical solved their tool tracking problem.
Organizing Tools to Save Time
J Becher and associates has wired over 10,000 homes and businesses. Staying organized with their high volume of business is obviously a high priority. Learn how they organized their tool inventory and started tracking who has every tool.
Field People Lead Tool Tracking
At Stansell Electric most tools stay in the field. Tracking these tools with Excel spreadsheets in the office simply was not working. Thus, field personnel helped research and select a new method of tool tracking. Learn more about how Stansell Electric’s field personnel selected a tool tracking system.
It’s Easier Than You Think
EC Electric company shares their approach to implementing a new tool inventory app to track their tools and small equipment. They found that it was easier than they thought to get the field to take responsibility for tools and the app.
Building Trust & Saving Time
CornerStone Plumbing is a company built on trust. Giving field personnel a way to track small tools and equipment allows them to take charge of getting the tools they need. It also reduces the he-said-she-said accusations when a tool vanishes. Now everyone knows who is responsible for each tool.
The Information is Free. No Gates. No Tricks. Thanks for Visiting!
Tool Tracking Tips
Tool tracking has been a struggle for generations in construction. Our industry loses a billion dollars worth of tools every year! Many contractors have tried sign-out lists. Many have tried Excel sheets. All these office focused solutions fail for the same reason. Tools can’t be managed in the office or warehouse. They are lost in the field and therefore need to be managed in the field. Increasing the feeling of responsibility for tools is the surest way to get better tracking and less loss. So how do you do this? The articles found above are designed to help you better control your tool inventory. By sharing the best tool and equipment tracking processes from the hundreds of contractors we work with, we are hoping to move the industry forward. Tool tracking doesn’t have to be hard. A simple solution is often the best solution. However, one solution doesn’t fit everyone one. Thus, there are good reasons to approach tracking from lots of different angles. Which angle is right for you and your company is something that you must decide. However, here is a bunch of information to help you with that decision. Whether you have accounting questions, operational questions or technology concerns. Here you will find articles, papers and case studies to help you educate yourself. If you find that your company is ready to try a technology solution to tool tracking then we humbly hope you will give the ShareMyToolbox software application a look. Our modern tool tracking app is a “responsibility” based system which can be extended and used in a variety of ways. However, there are lots of good apps and systems out there and we are not always the best fit. Either way, we hope this information is useful to you. Thanks for visiting!
- The Key To Tool Tracking
- Asset Capitalization & Tool Tracking
- Efficient Operations Require Tool Tracking
- Embrace New Tech & Construction Apps
- CFMA Tool Tracking Survey
- Beacon Tool Tracking Technology Guide
- Where to Start? Walk before you run
- James Bond & Tool Tracking
- Pentoir Construction Profile
- White Electrical Profile
- J. Becher & Associates Profile
- Stansell Electric Profile
- MAC Contracting Group Profile
- CornerStone Plumbing Profile
- EC Electric Profile
Learn About Our App
If you would like to learn about our tool tracking app. Start here.
Visit the Tool Inventory App demonstration video page.