With the need to manage your budget carefully, the last thing you want to do is to replace expensive items, such as IT equipment and medical devices, because you can’t find them.
Published 28 February 2023
Last updated 15 April 2024
Make sure you don’t lose track of important and valuable assets with asset tracking.
What is an asset?
An asset is anything that would be costly to replace, such as tools, IT kit, machinery, hospital beds, medical equipment or vehicles. You can also track people, for example, babies on maternity wards can be tracked as part of safeguarding procedures.
How do you currently manage your assets?
Are you using asset management systems or do you still physically check where your assets are?
If you rely on manual checks, then you are probably facing some of these common challenges:
- time wasted searching for assets
- struggling to locate items due for servicing which poses a safety risk if the necessary compliance checks are not completed
- keeping back ‘spare’ items that could be better used elsewhere
- wasting budget re-buying items
How asset management and tracking can help
An efficient asset management strategy will help you keep track of valuable assets and reduce the time and effort in trying to do it manually.
Tracking is an important part of asset management and there are different ways to do this, ranging from traditional barcodes or QR codes through to evolving smart technologies. Asset tracking can be implemented using Radio Frequency Identification (RFiD) tags (passive or active), GPS, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi technology. Tracking devices are connected to tracking software or an IT platform to ensure you can locate your assets in real time.
For example, a hospital trust was struggling to keep track of T34 syringe drivers. By adding RFiD tags to them the trust has avoided having to spend £50,000 on buying replacements.
RFiD tags can track reusable uniforms too. For example, fire rescue services have a duty of care to ensure that uniform is fit for purpose. By applying RFiD tags that can withstand high temperatures, you can:
- track inventory to ensure that you have enough uniforms at any given time
- remove the need to manually check that uniforms are where they should be
- carry out wear and tear checks
Recently, the NHS has piloted reusable gowns and face masks to save money on disposal personal protective equipment (PPE). This is a great initiative and RFiD tags could be used to track the number of times an item has been worn and washed, as well as ensuring availability when it is needed the most.
How we can help
You can access a wide range of suppliers that will help you find the right asset management solution to meet your specific needs through lots 3a and 3b of our Storage, Kitting, Fulfilment and Associated Services agreement.
We’re planning a webinar in April to showcase the ways we can support your asset management and tracking needs. If you would like to join us register your interest by completing this short online form referencing ‘asset tracking webinar’ in the comments box.
If you would like further guidance or have a complex requirement, we’re here to help: