Equipment and inventory are key assets for any business, and they need to be managed at all times. The terms are often used interchangeably—but, they have distinct meanings. In a nutshell, equipment refers to those fixed assets used in the office, such as computers and chairs, while inventory encompasses those assets meant for resale.
That distinction is important for accounting and allied business purposes, but less so in terms of the management and control thereof in an office environment. As such, equipment and equipment management will be catch-all terms in this article, which also includes applicable inventory.
This article intends to provide insight into some of the easiest ways in which both equipment and inventory can be tracked in offices. Importantly, it will also seek to address how recent, quite dramatic evolutions in the world of work have also impacted the way equipment is used in office environments.
Getting the Fundamentals Right: Asset Tracking
It makes sense to commence with the most straightforward way in which office equipment can be best managed, namely via asset tracking. Simply put, asset tracking refers to those methods used to track a company’s physical assets in real time and as needed.
A centralized equipment or asset repository or register is key. Tracking asset utilization and performance means that an office can monitor equipment performance, as well as better plan for needed upgrades or new purchases.
There are four main ways in which asset tracking is typically done in offices:
1. Barcode labels can be stickered onto office equipment and devices and are easily scanned with a barcode reader. It is an inexpensive method of tracking office assets. For example, it should be standard practice that any office has all computers, printers, scanners, and other digital devices barcoded as part of an equipment register.
2. A radio frequency identification (RFID) tag can also be scanned to identify and locate an asset. It works by using electromagnetic fields to automatically identify and track tags that are physically attached to equipment or inventory. RFID tags can be either active, meaning they have their own built-in battery source, or passive, meaning they do not. Most offices will only need passive RFID, which can only be read by up to a few meters distance, as opposed to active RFID, which can be read from farther distances. RFID tags should also be linked to an equipment register.
3. GPS transmits the geolocation of an asset via cellular networks or satellite technology. This form of tracking is most beneficial for tracking assets across distances or those that are mobile or in transit. GPS makes the most sense for the tracking of very large or expensive assets, particularly inventory. Unsurprisingly, GPS is not the cheapest form of tracking, which is why its use in offices is limited.
4. Bluetooth/WiFi positioning are wireless technologies that can also be used for tracking certain office equipment. Both are suitable for indoor tracking regarding the location of devices, albeit limited by any connectivity issues that may arise.
The Game-Changer: Hybrid Work
The mix of in-office and remote work that defines the hybrid or flexible mode was a work revolution that swept the world in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. More employees wanted the option and flexibility of being able to work both from home and in the office, with all the scheduling machinations that such work entails.
However, the hybrid model has done far more than merely change how and where people work. It has also dramatically changed how facilities departments manage buildings and office spaces. Office space is no longer as fixed and linear as it used to be. Desks, meeting rooms, huddle spaces, and even storage spaces have all become far more transient in the contemporary office.
It has been said that hybrid work in turn necessitates hybrid office spaces. Matthew Dobry, senior vice president of CBRE (the American real estate services giant), had this to say about hybrid offices: “The traditional office now must compete with other places employees will want to work—including from home… For many offices, this means adapting how services, technology, and the space itself [can] support how we work, connect, and socialize with our colleagues.”
This adapted workplace has immense repercussions for the facilities’ function and the tracking of office equipment. Why? Because fixed assets that are more fluid and mobile have a greater tendency of being unaccounted for, misplaced, or even going AWOL. Hybrid office spaces, therefore, demand that office equipment and inventory be tracked more efficiently than ever before.
Space Management Boosts Inventory Management
Proper space management is an excellent way of ensuring that all equipment is easily identified, tracked, and managed. Space management, when done correctly, ensures that space is used optimally, ensuring greater productivity and lower costs per square foot.
More specifically, space management also enables gains regarding the total cost of occupancy (TCO), which is particularly beneficial for the more sophisticated and complex demands of having hybrid working spaces.
The software can facilitate smarter utilization of space and, in turn, better control of equipment and inventory. For example, space management software can keep track of a host of pertinent factors, ranging from office locations and meeting rooms, to floor plans and office layouts.
In turn, this software can ensure far greater flexibility regarding the management of office equipment and its usage. Desks alone are an excellent example—the assignment of desks, desk-sharing, hot desks, and desk hoteling. Further examples include work-zoning, work visualization, and the assignment of parking spaces, as well as office relocations and moves.
The Other Fundamental: Smart Maintenance
As this article commenced with the fundamentals of asset tracking, it concludes with how maintenance fundamentally equates to better equipment control. Optimizing maintenance should ensure better asset management, itself a part of inventory control.
Computerized maintenance management software (CMMS) does much to ensure the smoothest running possible of an office building’s maintenance regime. The combination of web-based and mobile software enables the automated capture and management of all maintenance information, including maintenance schedules, work orders, work histories, parts inventory, maintenance reports, and, critically, overall asset management.
Standard office equipment—printers, copiers, scanners, and other office machines—should be considered workhorse assets. That is because they’re frequently used by a lot of different users nearly every day. Therefore, regular maintenance checks are an important way of ensuring optimal efficiency. Equally important, smart maintenance is an excellent, low-impact way of keeping tabs on all office equipment for tracking purposes.
Let’s Wrap Up
Office equipment is invariably the lifeblood of any office environment. They are the tools of the office trade, and they need to be easily and efficiently tracked. Asset-tracking technologies and smart maintenance are two assured means of attaining this priority. Furthermore, tracking equipment is undoubtedly more necessary than ever in the brave new world of hybrid workplaces.
Bryan Christiansen is the founder and CEO of Limble CMMS. Limble is a modern, easy-to-use mobile CMMS software that takes the stress and chaos out of maintenance by helping managers organize, automate, and streamline their maintenance operations.