Taking Inventory: Managing Job Site Inventory

Keeping track of your inventory on the job site was once a very time-intensive task. You had to physically keep records of every item and physically count those items when you wanted to check your inventory against what you had on hand. Today, thankfully, it’s no longer as much of a headache thanks to new inventory technology. Making use of this technology is easy, and very affordable. If you’re still taking inventory by hand and keeping paper records, here are some new management solutions that will make your job much easier.

Download an Inventory App

There are many different apps out there for tablets and smartphones that can help you with inventory. These apps often don’t cost much at all, and you don’t have to buy any new hardware since you can use them with phones and tablets you already have. Even better, your entire crew can manage inventory since everyone can download the app to their phones. You don’t have to worry about being limited by hardware.

Your crew can access the app and indicate what equipment they’ve checked out, where equipment is located, and more. You can even use many of these apps to create lists of repairs and to handle maintenance requests.

Tag Tools with Bar Codes

One way of making it much faster and easier for your crew to check out tools or to inventory them is to place a bar code on your equipment. Then all you need to do is scan that bar code with the camera on your phone or tablet. This reduces the time it takes to make use of the inventory app. Many inventory apps do include a bar code scanner, so it’s fairly easy to find one that has all of the options you need. Most also make it easy to create bar codes for your equipment, and you can print these bar codes on various sized labels. RFID Tags

Another more high tech option for tracking your inventory is to tag all of your tools with an RFID tag. This small circuit is basically a sticker that you place on the tool or piece of equipment. It’s easier to use because, unlike with bar codes, you don’t actually have to aim your device’s camera at the RFID tag. Instead, the device is able to read the tag when it gets close to it. 

However, most smartphones and tablets can’t read RFID tags. This means investing in new equipment. RFID tags do have another very great advantage over bar codes. You can set up an RFID scanner in a doorway or other area to read every tag that passes through it. When a tool is taken out of the supply area, the RFID scanner scans the tag and adjusts your inventory. When the item is returned, the scanner again reads the tag and notes that the item has been returned.

You’ve likely already seen this type of RFID scanning system in use in retail stores. If a customer walks through the scanner at the entrance of the store with an item that still contains an active RFID tag, the store’s security alarm goes off. When in use on the job site, you may not need an active alarm, but you can use this type of system to track who has what tool, especially if employees have to use a key card or code to enter the area.

Which System Is Right for You?

Determining which type of job site inventory management is right for you isn’t always an easy answer. If you don’t have a large amount of equipment you want to keep in your inventory, using an app without any sort of scanner may be the simplest and easiest option. For this type of inventory, you may not care to keep track of everything. Common hand tools, for example, may not be included simply because they’re inexpensive and you have a large number of them. 

For companies that can devote a budget to inventory management, making use of bar codes or RFID tags can be a better option. Using one of these tools allows you to keep a closer eye on your inventory, but they may require you to invest in additional hardware such as handheld scanners. You’ll also have to invest some time in tagging all of your tools with a bar code or an RFID tag and setting up your inventory control system. However, while there is more upfront setup, you do save time in day-to-day operations.