Tool Tracking Tips

Keep it simple! Tool tracking doesn't have to be hard. Improve your tool inventory management in three steps:

1. Build an inventory list of everything you have.
2. Make your tool spreadsheet available in the cloud so everyone in the company can see it.
3. Use a simple mobile app to check tools in and out as well as complete field transfers.

You can use barcodes, RFID, GPS or other devices but they aren't required. Just having a simple way to transfer responsibility along with the tool transfer 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!

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.

Construction tool 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.

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?

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. Pricey tools are often being used across multiple projects. Sharing these valuable tools is critical to achieving a return on the investment in a competitive construction environment. Unfortunately, this sharing also increases the risk of the tools being lost, damaged or procured for personal use.

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?

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.

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.

The warehouse manager doesn't need to be James Bond to keep track of tools. A simple solution is better than Bond like gadgets.

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...

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.

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.

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 put a system in place to save money. This case study interviews Jack Hobbs on his selection and implementation of a new tool system.

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.

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?

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".

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Keeping field people efficient and productive is a key to MAC Contracting Group's success. To do this MAC invests in technology to help keep field people free to get work done. Having an efficient way to find and track tools was one way MAC is ensuring that field people can stop chasing tools and get the job done.

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.

We can always use new ideas for tool tracking profiles and articles. Contact us and let us know if your company would like to be profiled. Is your firm using GPS trackers, Bluetooth beacons or RFID scanners in a unique way? Let us know.

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.

I am looking for more contractor profiles! Contact us if your company would like to be profiled. Are you using GPS trackers, Bluetooth scanners or RFID tags in a cool way? Tell us about it and get profiled here.