Portable equipment and tools

Compliance and Accountability

Two key words when it comes to manufacturing, industry and support services - because without this your organisation is exposed to risk. Traka ensures that organisations stay compliant by helping to enforce your processes and to abide by industry regulations. They also make users accountability for the assets they use, be they tools or equipment, and this in turn brings about a greater sense of ownership and responsibility, helping to reduce damage, loss and even theft.

Who uses these systems?

In short - any organisation that needs to account for its tools and equipment. Power Stations, Hospitals, Emergency Services are typical. However, an interesting case is the aviation industry where every tool, right down to the last spanner, must be checked in, out, and be accounted for, by every technician. Strict processes are in place to ensure that specialist tools are only made available to trained and competent users. Knowing who accessed a tool set, when, for use in what area, for what job function, and when it was returned is a rigorous part of daily practice. This is hard to enforce without the appropriate control measures in place, an administrative nightmare - but with Traka's automated solution it can all be managed and monitored simply from a PC. And, when it comes to inspection or an external audit, all the information you need is held in the database, can easily be retrieved and quickly displayed using the inbuilt reporting functions.

How is this achieved?

There are four different approaches that can be adopted depending upon the level of control required by your organisation and the processes that need to be enforced. From the simplest to the most sophisticated these are:

controlling access to existing keys to your conventional lockers or store rooms
fitting a Traka access control (iFob electronic key) entry system to a door, facility, secure area, store room or cabinet
providing restricted access to tools and specialist equipment by using an intelligent electronic locker (with or without RFID tagging)
using an electronic (iFob) key as a mechanism to control access to specialist tools in a tool trolley or cabinet fitted with a Traka Immobilisor

What are the benefits?

Depending upon the approach adopted, Traka will enable you to:

Determine who can access the keys (or gain direct access) to the tool cabinets and equipment stores. You can restrict who can access them, at what time of day they can gain access and, record when they are returned.
With RFID intelligent lockers it is easy to determine when the individual tool or peice of equipment was actually taken from the locker compartment, and when it was returned, by each user.
Equipment can be pre-booked, so if for example, it is due to be serviced, then you can prevent a member of staff from taking it earlier in the day.
Re-calibration intervals can be set, so that a piece of test equipment cannot be taken beyond it's 'calibration expiry date'.
Users may have access to selected tools or equipment but, be subject to their licence or competency being valid. Beyond a specified date, each user can automatically be suspended from gaining access.
A user can report faults or defects regarding a device when they return it - this can automatically send an SMS text or email to the service engineer or maintenance department. The system can instantaneously lock-down any piece of equipment reported faulty, so it cannot be used by anyone other than a service engineer.
A 'return by' (curfew) can be assigned to a piece of equipment so that, if it is not returned by the designated time an alert situation can be created - again this may result in an email or SMS text being sent to a supervisor or line manager.

Make no mistake about it...

All ambiguity about who accessed or used a piece of equipment is removed. Every user, be it a contractor, technician or manager is accountable - and they know it! You will find that users take more care of your company assets - there will be less carelessness, fewer losses and in most cases, significantly less damage - it all results in less downtime, lower operating costs and improved productivity. If you would like to know more about secure storage for tools and equipment, and the most suitable approach for your organisation, telephone us now to talk with one of our specialists.