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Online Asset Management System

Bath Rugby Club

Assettrac makes asset tracking and management easy for Bath Rugby

The Requirement: Easy & Accurate Asset Tracking & Management from the Shop to the Training Ground

Founded in 1865, Bath Rugby has had a long and illustrious 153 year history the club with wins that include the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the Heineken Cup and the European Challenge Cup. Indisputably at the top flight of English rugby, they play their domestic league matches in the English Premiership, the top flight of English rugby.

Bath Rugby Club management had the following objectives:

  • To achieve an accurate, streamlined and digital asset management process for IT, Furniture, medical and rugby equipment across four locations within the club: the training ground, stadium, club shop and ticket office.
  • To move away from using inaccurate, high-risk, administrative and restrictive spreadsheets to adopt easy-to-use, digital work processes with visibility, traceability and up-to-the-minute information.
  • The system needed to be easy to update, add, dispose of items as part of on-going work processes all recorded and stored in one central area that was accessible by different areas of the business when required.
  • Instant, 24/7 access from any location via browser or app with off-site data storage, security and back-up services.
  • The system should be flexible and easy to manage, as well as fully scalable and adaptable for any future needs.
  • It needed to track a complete electronic audit history for each asset throughout its lifecycle and to provide updates and alerts for maintenance, cleaning and inspections in real-time.

The Solution: Custom Asset Management System

Central Asset Management Portal + Custom Asset Tags

Assettrac customised and deployed a fully tailorable asset tracking and data management portal for the club that was intuitive and flexible to be able to be adapted in the future by Bath Rugby’s internal team. For the initial configuration, Assettrac worked with the staff at the club to make sure all aspects of information relating to their assets, and what they needed to track and report would be captured by their system.

Assettrac supplied hardware as well as custom asset tags that would be suitable to a variety of environments such as indoors versus outdoors, and that could be used on all types of equipment.  Once the hardware was in place and tagging implemented, the centralised cloud system enabled specified personnel to manage their equipment, as well as allowing them to update and access the correct and latest details of any asset item at any of their specified locations.  When the status of any item changes (such as a change in location, or taken for maintenance), staff can instantly update the details using a PC, laptop or handheld device.

Assettrac’s team of consultants provided implementation and full on-site training and implementation for administrators and other users to ensure a successful launch.  While the system is intuitive, Assettrac supports Bath Rugby with unlimited access to customer support for any
additional assistance whenever it may be required.

 

Photo by Hanson Lu on Unsplash

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Asset Inventory Audit & Update plus Cloud Asset Management System

BMW UK

bmw logo bmw uses assettrac asset management systems.

The Requirement

With large volumes of assets across 9 BMW sites across the UK, the company approached Assettrac to implement a cloud asset management system to reconcile head office asset data with information held across their UK sites. In addition, a management tool was required to help identify and manage BMW equipment, as well as identify and manage third-party contractors’ equipment.

Historically, BMW conducted laborious, time-intensive, periodical audits.  The company had struggled to get a true picture of its items as the asset picture consistently changed on the ground. The goal was a comprehensive asset management system that would provide an accurate inventory and include images of assets, their details and location, as well as easily identify third party assets and that could be easily reconciled against financial systems.

The Asset Management Solution

Assettrac conducted the project in two phases. Phase One was an asset audit that focused on the identification, classification and tagging of assets in all 9 locations.

Phase Two saw the implementation of a customised cloud asset management portal and asset tracking system. This system was designed to enable BMW to continuously monitor its asset position, improve accuracy and thereby save time on periodical audits and reporting.

This allows the 9 UK sites and a site in Ireland to be managed both centrally and locally. The head office controller works with the site responsible to maintain the asset register with better, more up-to-date information.
BMW Finance Team

Phase 1

Assettrac’s professional and experienced auditors project managed the audit both on-site and remotely in a short project time period. To help the client maintain business-as-usual, it was important to conduct the audit quickly and with minimal disruption on-site and asset usage. Using android handheld devices (with laser scanners) for efficient data collection, the audit team rapidly identified, tagged and logged asset information across all 9 sites.  With items ranging from furniture to specialist diagnostic equipment, all assets had detailed information collected including pictures. All audit data was sent automatically to the BMW’s dedicated portal via the app on handheld devices, giving BMW and Assettrac an up-to-date view of the asset details being recorded at every stage of the audit and implementation process.

Phase 2 - The Cloud Asset Management System

Having agreed a scope with BMW Finance for their on-going reporting needs, Assettrac developed a customised, central online portal for all BMW asset information with reporting functionality.

The full data collection stage was completed over a few months for all the sites. Once completed, Assettrac provided BMW with its customised online portal, populated by the data collected and designed around their specific information requirements, including: text, numerical, dates, specific data-sets as well as attaching and filing documentation.

Detailed reporting functionality provided the Finance Team with up-to-the-minute management oversight of the asset
register for each of the designated sites. Assettrac provided training for BMW personnel to enable them to manage their assets (both current and future) in real-time, on an on-going basis. Training included how to use the tagging and handheld devices, as well as updating and interrogating data and creating reports on the central asset management portal.

Client Outcomes

BMW Finance now has full visibility over the current asset situation for all sites nationwide, so they can be confident that the information they are using is up-to-date and applicable. Assettrac continues to fully support BMW’s asset management system requirements on a continuous basis.

  1. Digital Asset System & Transparent Reporting: the customised online asset management portal enables BMW to remove long-winded admin processes and gain real-time oversight across all sites.

  2. Information Accessibility: handheld devices are employed so that changes to asset information can be updated easily and is immediately sent to the cloud asset portal for reference and audit trail purposes.

  3. Significant Time Savings: BMW’s historical, labour-intensive, periodical audits are now a thing of the past. Updating item information and creating reports now takes just minutes.

  4. Asset Lifecycle Management: from delivery to ultimate disposal, Assettrac records a full history of every item including every location,
    interaction, movement, inspection, or loan of items to departments or personnel.

  5. BMW Company Equipment Identified: asset tagging and logging has made it easy for the company to identify, manage and maintain its
    own equipment versus those owned by third parties.

  6. Maintenance & Compliance Made Easier: identifying assets for inspection and maintenance is made easier as teams can run reports for the scheduled inspections demanded for compliance standards.
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Asset Management Information System

Wireless Infrastructure Group - WIG

Assettrac provides WIG with an asset management information system for its communications infrastructure.

WIG instructed Assettrac to develop its new asset management information system to help track asset data for its communications towers and wireless infrastructure across the country. 

Wireless Infrastructure Group (WIG) is an independent infrastructure company that builds and operate communication towers and other infrastructures to enable the connections between networks and communities that rely on their services.

 

Project Objectives

  • To manage an accurate asset information system for communication towers and other wireless infrastructure.
  • To be able to record unique asset number, description, model, quantity, serial number, locations and responsibility data.
  • To secure durable asset tags to equipment due to the harsh weather and environment the assets that are being tagged are in.
  • To obtain the necessary hardware and software to enable designated WIG to conduct their own asset tagging, equipment and information management.
  • Achieve Offsite Data storage, security and back up services.
  • To control data access and updates by personnel throughout the company.
  • Complete electronic audit history for each asset throughout its lifecycle.

The Cloud Asset Management Information System

Assettrac met WIG’s objectives by customising Assettrac’s online portal to record their specific asset information requirements.  In addition they devised workflows around their unique processes to address their need for real-time field work information regarding maintaining equipment located at multiple sites.

Working with WIG staff on-site, Assettrac’s team of consultants tailored the system for them to ensure they were able to capture the right data on-site. Assettrac and WIG undertook an asset audit during a 4-week trial which included asset tagging and information management at one of WIG’s customer locations. WIG users were trained to use the software and handheld hardware on-site, showing them how they can collect and update their asset item data in real-time even at height in varying weather conditions! The associated information collected was sent automatically from their handhelds to their portal system where instant reports could be generated.

Following the on-site trial, Assettrac visited WIG at their Solihull office to train designated office users on their cloud based system to manage all assets and create a workflow process that included the new digital information management system. Assettrac supports WIG throughout for their system usage, equipment informational needs and on a continuing basis.

Find out more about Assettrac’s highly configurable asset management system here. 

Asset Tracking Platform: Tools, Equipment, Health & Safety

Cappagh Browne Utilities

southern water and cappagh browne partner with assettrac for digital asset management

Cappagh Browne is a UK utilities company that specialises in repairing and maintaining Southern Water’s wastewater networks for 4.7 million customers across the South East of England. The company’s remote teams of engineers service more than 40,000km of wastewater pipes spanning from the New Forest to the Kent coast.  Cappagh Browne approached Assettrac to deliver an asset tracking platform that would help them manage tools, equipment and health and safety for remote working teams.

To service this wide area, the company employs more than 500 people and has over 100 operational teams and their vehicles that need to be ready and equipped to respond to any incident wherever it is. In the 2022-23 period, the teams responded to over 60,000 call-outs.

In the UK water and waste sector around 8,000 workers sustain a work-related injury every year. Not only is this a worry for individual safety and wellbeing, it has a knock-on effect of lost working days and efficiency. Unsurprisingly, this means safety is a top priority and for Cappagh Browne, it is its guiding mantra.

How Tracking Assets Effectively Improves Safety & Costs

“One of the only things I lose sleep over is safety. I have people working all over the place and usually I don’t know if there is a specific problem until it’s reported to me. Using digital asset tracking gives me immense peace of mind because I can be sure we’re following the correct procedures and processes and that everyone has the equipment they need,” comments Managing Director, Jeff Birtwhistle.

Without careful management and an effective safety culture, the utilities sector can be a high risk working environment. Operating across a wide geographical area with more than 500 people split across over 100 remote teams, the business needed to ensure that all team members had all the safety and business critical equipment required to technically do the job as well as to minimise incidents.

Typically, each team will carry a lot of equipment (both owned and hired) and the company needed a more effective way to track and manage each van’s equipment, inspection and maintenance cycles, losses, as well as equipment hired. Just one piece of missing equipment will affect a team’s safety and ability to do the job explains Birtwhistle,

“Whenever we dig holes, there are so many things down there that can kill us, like live electricity or high pressure gas or water. If you’re missing a cat and genny (which helps us identify the services below ground using radio waves) you won’t know where the underground services are and therefore can’t dig around them. It’s a mission critical piece of equipment that frankly, can get lost in so many ways. Sometimes the teams don’t even know it’s missing because they’ve put it down somewhere and missed it when they pack up.”

The manual audit paper train was slow – it could take 6 weeks to report on missing equipment.  Operationally, teams work 24/7 and can be called out at any time. In order to optimise productivity, the management wanted engineers to be focusing on operational tasks rather than spending all their time logging equipment on paper audit sheets every week. At the same time, they needed to keep track of more than 1500 items including plant, equipment and vehicles.

The key problem was that the manual audit paper trail was slow. With teams working in the field it took a long time for the paper audit sheets to be received at head office and then processed by the admin team. Typically it could take 6 weeks to report on equipment, by which time the situation may have changed. There was never a clear view of what critical equipment was missing and this meant there was an increased accident risk because operatives didn’t have the equipment they needed to keep them safe.

Asset Tracking Platform for Managing Tool & Equipment Assets in the Field

Cappagh Browne’s customised digital asset tracking portal enables them to audit all equipment remotely every week, even if a remote-working team hasn’t come back to base. Any team member can evidence they have their equipment in their vehicle by tapping it against the item tags, either using their phone or a handheld device.

All scanned item data is instantly uploaded to the cloud meaning that the company no longer has to wait for paperwork to come into the office to know if any equipment is missing. The team at HQ can call to check if they have just forgotten to scan it, or whether it’s missing from their van. The solution can be immediate, as the team member can immediately scan the missing item’s asset tag if it is in the vehicle..

As a result, Cappagh Browne can now keep an accurate record of which equipment is out in the field and what servicing or replacement is required, giving them the confidence that teams can do their jobs efficiently and in the safest way possible.

Instant Reporting: Asset Tracking Reports Produced 6 Weeks Faster

Following the launch of their customised cloud asset tracking system and tagging from Assettrac, Cappagh Browne saw a massive improvement in data visibility and speed of reporting. Under the manual paper audit system, it could take 6 weeks from an audit checklist being completed to having the reporting data, and now it’s instant. Operations can now run a quick weekly report to check if anyone has missed the audit and to identify any missing items and can then take immediate action to make sure the team has the equipment they need

Additional Operational Benefits

Equipment Maintenance & Asset Lifecycles

Digital equipment audits enable the business to track maintenance, calibration and servicing requirements for all equipment. The information is stored centrally and reports 60 days in advance on what equipment needs to be inspected and serviced; even when vehicle tax needs to be updated. The system shows a history for every item, tracking its lifecycle from purchase order to decommission, waste or return of hired equipment.

Cost Savings for Equipment & Tool Assets

With an accurate register of all equipment, Cappagh Browne can more effectively manage their inventory. Accurate, up-to- the-minute visibility saves unnecessary costs on hired equipment and replacements. The company also benefits from cost and time savings in administration because of the increased speed of data collection and reporting.

Real-time Asset Reporting

By making tracking easier and less admin heavy for engineers, Cappagh Browne now has more asset data to work with and more detailed business intelligence. As data is instantly updated, reporting is more accurate and actionable. The customised portal was set up with automated reports that can be run at the click of a mouse and an interface with Google Looker (Data Studio) helps teams easily run their own bespoke reports.

 

Comprehensive Safety Audits

Assettrac provides a robust mechanism to undertake safety audits and gives greater visibility than was ever achieved with a manual paper system.

A Customised Asset Tracking Platform in just 60 Days

As SaaS software has developed over the past 20 years, the ability to configure software uniquely to a business needs has become much easier. Previously, customised software was out of reach for many organisations due to cost and time to implementation.

Jeff Birtwhistle comments;

“There are various suppliers who can deliver an asset tracking solution but they are not all cut from the same cloth. We were quite a long way down the road of testing and scoping suppliers but we were meeting obstacles with time to implementation, on-going management and future development costs. Then we came across Assettrac. They were simply more agile. Assettrac could do everything we wanted and fast. Importantly, it also gave us the opportunity to develop the system over time without high on-going financial costs.”

For Cappagh Browne, the first scoping meeting to the implementation of their custom portal and training was a matter of weeks. The only challenge for the business was the speed with which they were able to tag their equipment with their custom NFC tags due to teams working remotely. Once tagged, the process has been easy to implement.

Initial training was provided by Assettrac and the company has provided further tagging and reporting training in- house. “It’s quite intuitive to use. The training has been excellent,” comments HQ Manager, Aves Bellamy. “The system has really made a difference to the way that I work. It gives you confidence that you’ve got all the right information at your fingertips.”

A Return-on-Investment Greater than Pounds & Pence

Jeff Birtwhistle continues;

“It’s become an integral tool in our business. In terms of return on investment, actually the value is more than pounds and pence. It’s more in governance and control, giving visibility of the actual facts on systems and controls helping us ensure we meet our legal requirements.

“Our industry is not without its accidents and incidents. This year we expect to do more than 66,000 jobs and safety is probably the only thing in my job that unnerves me. There are massive implications with safety out there.

It’s a return on investment in terms of sanity, of knowing that we’ve got the level of governance and control that we need. Not only can we use that governance and control to make sure we’re doing the job right, but then we can evidence what we’ve done so from time to time when something does go wrong, we can show that we’ve got the systems and processes in place.”

Read the full white paper by downloading it here.

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