Losing equipment can be a pain, but headaches aren’t the only thing it’ll cause. Whether you work for a construction company or a rental company, the financial impact of lost equipment is very real. Those who work for construction companies are often moving between multiple sites, trying to manage contractors while making sure that equipment gets back to where it needs to go. When a job relies on specialty equipment, its absence can wreck havoc, tanking productivity until a replacement is received or created. If you’re in a rental company, machinery and tools can be scattered across several different clients. This makes asset recovery and establishing accountability a struggle. It’s the perfect time to learn about the hidden costs of lost equipment and how the combo of RFID + Grey Trunk RFID leads to smoother operations.
The True Costs of Lost Equipment
When it comes to construction companies, there are a few costs that you should keep in mind. The first cost that may come to mind is the financial aspect. Replacing lost machinery or tools is incredibly expensive. The upfront costs of replacement aren’t the only ones that are there. If a construction crew can’t find what they need, their job will grind to a halt. Lost equipment also leads to difficulties with contractors, as it’s essential that leased out equipment is brought back and accounted for.
For an equipment rental company, equipment that gets damaged or lost by a customer leads to a direct and negative impact on their profits. Trying to track equipment manually can take up valuable time, putting a strain on the operations of your business. When you don’t have the necessary technology to effectively check-in or check-out equipment, there can be disputes between your company and customers over lost/missing equipment. This tension can lead to less business and unhappy customers.
As you can see, missing equipment can heavily impact your organization (whether you work in the construction industry or within an equipment rental company). If your construction crew is missing a deadline thanks to a lost piece of machinery, that can lead to unsatisfied clients and lost revenue. When you don’t know where things are, your employees will have reduced accountability for the tools/machinery they’re using thanks to the absence of a “trail” that’s left behind as assets are checked in or out. This leads to the long-term profitability of your business going down as equipment gets lost and trust disappears.
Tracking Options – And Why RFID Wins
Tracking your tools and equipment is possible thanks to several different technologies that are available. While all of the methods below can work, there’s a clear winner for tracking your machinery and equipment. The combined powers of Grey Trunk RFID’s fixed asset tracking software with RFID tags allow for the optimization of your equipment tracking.
- Barcodes: Barcodes are affordable, but scanning them can take a long time. With a barcode, you can only scan one item at a time. If your construction crew is using several items, this drastically increases the amount of time it takes to finish up a job.
- GPS Tracking: Although GPS tracking can allow you to track items in real-time, it’s very expensive. Because of this, it’s an alright option for big pieces of equipment but it’s overkill on a smaller asset.
The RFID Advantage
Line-of-sight isn’t needed when you’re using RFID tags to take control of your equipment management. Through the use of a Bluetooth RFID Reader (like the lightning-fast Janam XR2 UHF RFID Reader in our shop), your team can scan several items simultaneously with the pull of a trigger. RFID tags are both tough and reliable, which means that they’ll stand up to some of the harsh conditions you’ll encounter while on the job.
Grey Trunk RFID stands out because it’s designed with construction sites and rental companies in mind. The simple check-in and check-out process makes it a breeze to manage equipment across multiple sites and locations. Our software is also cloud-based, so you won’t have to worry about losing valuable data if something goes wrong with your desktop or smartphone. With reporting/analysis features, maintenance reports and depreciation, you can monitor your assets and make informed business decisions. Thanks to unlimited sub-users, your company won’t have to pay additional fees to add new employees to Grey Trunk. All of these features combine to increase accountability and reduce the amount of lost equipment while using our easy-to-use software.
Want to learn more about Grey Trunk RFID?
- Check out the three main benefits of an RFID equipment tracking system.
- Join our ID software experts in a live 30-minute demo of what Grey Trunk RFID can do.
- Try it for yourself! We offer a 30 day free trial of our software with no credit card required.
There’s never been a better opportunity to stop losing valuable money and time! Track your assets the smart way with Grey Trunk RFID.