Knowify makes it easy to manage your business, from the office or on the go. But how much thought have you put into managing your equipment? One important area where a bit of time and effort now can save you a lot of time and effort in the future is loss and theft of equipment.
Imagine discovering that a drill is missing just when you’re about to head out for an important job. You have no idea for how long it has been missing or who last used it and where. You’re running late for the job but you have no idea if there are any other drills left or where they are. Not a fun situation!
Luckily you can avoid this kind of drama with a few simple tips.
1. Have a person in charge of equipment
If equipment you were using is lost or stolen, contact the person in charge of equipment management as soon as possible. The sooner a theft is reported to the police or the search for a missing item is started the better the odds of recovering the equipment.
2. Record who is using equipment and when
Always keep track of who last used equipment. This will save you valuable time once something goes missing. Avoid having to contact everyone on your team just to establish who last used a missing piece of equipment!
3. Keep all equipment information in one place
Store the details of all of your equipment in one place so you can easily file a report. Do you know the serial numbers of all of your equipment by heart? Keep track of this information so you can easily file a police report to have the best chance of reclaiming your valuable equipment.
4. Check out and check in equipment
Don’t just check equipment out, check it in as well so reporting of theft or loss can be done as quickly as possible. By requiring items to be checked in you notice that an item is missing when it is overdue, not when it is urgently needed two weeks later.
5. Keep track of all your equipment
Keep track of all of your equipment to minimize the impact of an item being stolen or lost. If you have a full overview of all of your material you can quickly find a spare or know if you need to order a replacement.
6. Rely on the right software
Use the right software and tools. You don’t use a horse-drawn cart to get around, so why would you use an equally outdated method to track your equipment? Spreadsheets are an improvement over pen and paper, but they have their drawbacks too. Using the right tools will make your equipment management and your business as a whole more efficient.
It is difficult to 100% prevent loss and theft of your assets–but you can prepare yourself to handle the inevitable so it has less of an impact on your business!
And this is just one of the many ways in which modern software can make your life easier. Read here how they can improve your relationship with your clients.
This guest blog was written by Henri Van Bost, Marketing & Content Manager for CHEQROOM. He loves new technology, with a focus on how it can make our everyday lives easier and more comfortable!