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The New Way in Asset Management: Real Time Asset Monitoring with Location Trackers
Every business grows with the right amount of time and effort. Yet, as a company expands there are more and more moving parts to keep track of on a day-to-day basis. Whether running a popular retail location or maintaining multiple manufacturing facilities across the world, asset management becomes exponentially more difficult with the growth of your company.
Improving the Bottom Line with Effective Asset Management
Litum can make asset management a simple job for you. Our team can help set up a reliable location tracking system using a combination of software and hardware. This indoor tracking technology is flexible and adaptable enough to use in conjunction with many industries. It’s a way for businesses to better see all the equipment, vehicles, and tools at their disposal. Managers can make better use of the equipment they have onsite, while also being able to check for and request additional assets from other sites when needed.
Companies have the opportunity to streamline the management of each asset from the purchase date until it is decommissioned using Litum’s asset location tracker technology. Not only will your employees be able to see where a necessary tool is at a glance, but they will also be able to access any pertinent data about the asset.
Our asset management software allows you to tie each asset’s ID tag to important documentation and files about that asset that are stored on your servers. Use it to record and check maintenance or repair records. You can also view copies of the manual and warranty information without having to search for it in archives. The information is within easy reach whenever personnel require it. This is just the start of what location tracking technology can do. It will also help your company:
- Identify unused or misplaced equipment in storage.
- See which equipment requires maintenance before it breaks down.
- Identify and replace problem equipment that breaks frequently.
- Make better use of warranty coverage provided by the manufacturer.
- Avoid unnecessary purchases and rentals of new equipment.
- Get real-time inventory counts with exact location.
Of course, it all starts with the use of asset tracker tags that are affixed to whatever items you want to track. These radio frequency identification RFID asset tags provide real-time updates of the location and movement of assets that can be viewed using software uploaded to your company’s servers.
The Technology Behind Asset Management Tags
Companies all over the world are making greater use of asset tags these days. You may already be familiar with some form of this technology, such as passive RFID tags that are affixed to product inventory. As the tags pass through fixed gateway readers they ping the system that a product is being removed from its current location. Whether the ping data is simply recorded in company servers or triggers an automated security alarm depends on if that item is allowed to be removed from the room.
In contrast, Litum uses active RFID asset tags that broadcast a signal on a continuous cycle using the ultra-wideband (UWB) frequency range. Each of these asset trackers contains a small battery, a microchip, and an antenna. This indoor tracking system will constantly send signals to the fixed readers (anchors) located throughout your facility, giving you valuable location data every few seconds.
The UWB frequency offers many potential benefits for companies that maintain busy or hectic environments. This frequency is less likely to get interference from manufacturing equipment and cell phones. It also uses less power, so the batteries inside each tag remain functional for months at a time. Litum IoT also installs rechargeable batteries inside each asset tracker and provides charging stations to help your company maintain a supply of fully powered tags for equipment and employees.
Applications for Location Trackers
As mentioned previously, asset tags can be used in many industries and have multiple applications. If you are unsure how real-time location tracking can be used by your business, here are a few ideas:
Airport Tarmacs & Seaports
It’s possible to place location trackers on ground support vehicles allowing you to see which vehicles are available for use and where they are located on the tarmac. Asset tags can also be affixed to tools and equipment to make them easier to find.
Mining Facilities
Vehicle tags are also useful in mining facilities where dump trucks must navigate miles of gravel road aboveground and tunnels belowground when transporting material. This technology can also be used to estimate the production volume of a facility by tracking how many trips each truck makes to and from the mines.
Construction Sites
It is easy to lose expensive tools on a construction site, but with asset tags, you’ll always know where they are and whether they’ve been put away for the night. Location tracker technology can also help you determine whether a tool is stolen or simply misplaced.
Manufacturing Facilities
Use asset tracker tags to monitor the movement of items on the production line. See where each product is in the manufacturing process, while you can also use fixed readers to confirm that a product has gone through each point of assembly in the appropriate order.
Warehousing & Distribution
Keep track of the movement of forklifts and cherry pickers in real-time using asset tags affixed to each vehicle. You can also monitor the movement of inventory or pallets and crates as they arrive and are transported throughout the facility.
Real-Time Location Systems are a Multifunctional Technology
Location tracker technology covers a wide range of functions for the user. From finding out the exact location of a specific tool to monitoring for potential theft of valuable equipment, an active RFID asset tag is able to provide the data you require to do many things. While these indoor tracking systems fulfill many purposes at the same time, they can also be tied in with other pre-existing software, such as your ERP system.
It may be difficult to visualize exactly how your company can implement this technology, but once you do start using a real time location system (RTLS) for asset tracking, you’ll soon get plenty of ideas for other applications. Plus, our experts help you develop a plan for using location trackers to improve production and increase ROI. Functional location tracking technologies help save thousands of dollars in lost property, theft, and production inefficiencies in a year.
Let’s take a quick look at what features come with a Litum indoor tracking system:
- Real-time inventory counts and tracking in seconds.
- Submeter location accuracy from the largest vehicle to the smallest tool.
- Indoor and outdoor tracking capability with additional GPS modules.
- Automated alerts whenever a tagged asset leaves the building or worksite.
- Automated alerts whenever unauthorized personnel use equipment.
- Ability to see unused or available equipment at a glance.
- Asset tags with optional sensors for environmental monitoring.
- Ability to optimize maintenance by tying service records to different assets.
- In-depth data regarding personnel use, active times, and movement history.
As you can see this technology dramatically improves workflow and prevents losses in many areas. By making the choice to start using real-time monitoring systems, companies can streamline production and save themselves millions of dollars in the coming years. Installing asset tags on all of your equipment can also help you prepare for and begin exploring the use of manufacturing 4.0 technologies, which further automate the production line.
Stay Current and Competitive with Litum
Litum provides the hardware and software to completely implement a real-time tracking system. Our team will install, test, and also teach your employees how to use the system to their greatest benefit from the very beginning. We have experienced partners located in over 35 countries who can provide onsite support and guidance. If you are interested in learning more about our asset management technologies, allow Litum IoT to set up a consultation with one of our partners today.
Contact a Litum RTLS expert to schedule a demo of our indoor asset tracking system!
