In an industry where margins are tight, we need to strive to find improvements in productivity wherever we can. An area where strong productivity gains can be made during a job is effective asset management.
The first step is identifying whether or not you have an issue with asset management in your company. You can quickly identify this by asking your people on the ground some very simple questions, for example : “How much time per day do you spend looking for the pieces of equipment you need to do your job.” If the answer is “15 minutes”, you know the actual cost to your company for that non-value adding activity is at least $15 !
That’s a simple example of a productivity loss from not being able to track your equipment easily.
There is a related question : “How often do you realise after searching for a piece of equipment for a while, then making a few phone calls, that whatever you’ve been looking for has been lost or stolen?” You’ll hear some surprising replies.
Once you do the math, the productivity losses for your company on an annual basis really eat into your profit.
If you realise that you do have a problem and you want to solve it, technology exists to help you.
This is where this concept of the ‘Internet of Things’ comes in (or ‘IoT’).
Very simply, we’re now able to connect pieces of equipment (could be hand tools, could be ladders or any type of equipment you use in your daily work) to the Cloud by tagging them with a Bluetooth enabled tag or a unique QR code that can be picked up by your smartphone. Software packages exist for this purpose so you can input the equipment type, set service intervals (for example ‘test and tag’ or laser calibration). If you attach your equipment to specific physical locations you can then manage their whereabouts.
A key part of implementing these types of systems is getting help to do that as it is a change for any company to adopt. The good news is that Hilti can help you do this with a team of consultants who can help you assess where you are with your asset management processes and implement the tagging and software elements necessary to make it happen. As with any change management process, it needs continuous follow-up to make sure the change is embedded and we help you with that as well.
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