IoT Implementation in Electrical Construction: Streamlining Asset Management
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Asset Management Systems (EAM)
- Functional Applications - Warehouse Management Systems (WMS)
Applicable Industries
- Cement
- Equipment & Machinery
Applicable Functions
- Quality Assurance
- Warehouse & Inventory Management
Use Cases
- Asset Health Management (AHM)
- Asset Lifecycle Management
About The Customer
The customer is a leading electrical construction company on the West Coast with extensive experience across all industry groups and delivery models. The company operates in various sectors, including tech office spaces, historical renovations, high-rise commercial and residential towers, and industrial and manufacturing process facilities. The company manages over 40,000 assets across two locations, including construction tools and IT devices. The company was struggling with asset management, particularly tool tracking and auditing, which was a time-consuming and inefficient process.
The Challenge
The case study revolves around a leading electrical construction company on the West Coast, managing over 40,000 assets across two locations. The assets include construction tools and IT devices. The company was grappling with the challenge of tracking these assets, which was a time-consuming process. The manual workflows for tool tracking often led to discrepancies between the report and the tools being returned. The company was also experiencing tool fade, i.e., the loss of tools without a clear understanding of what was happening to these items. The average cost of replacing these tools ranged from $20,000 to $50,000. The auditing process was another challenge. The company would print a report of the tools needed for the job, handwrite the names of items or take pictures of their barcodes, a process that would take an entire day's work for 2-3 people. However, without a way to aggregate this data and create audit trails, they were unable to find any data trends from these audits or pinpoint the source of the problem.
The Solution
The company adopted Asset Panda in 2017 to manage their California warehouse and later expanded its use to their Seattle location in 2018. Asset Panda's customization was a key factor in their decision. The company used Asset Panda to track the construction tools and IT devices. The new process involved using the Asset Panda mobile app for tool returns. The Field Manager would scan the items to be returned, which would generate a transaction report sent to the local warehouse. The warehouse would then dispatch a driver to retrieve the items from the job site. The driver would check the assets against the transaction report before returning to the warehouse. Once back at the warehouse, the driver would complete the tool return, generating another transaction report shared with the General Foreman of the job site. The Warehouse Manager would then reconcile any discrepancies. The company also refined their auditing process by creating an Audit Request Form. Administrators or Warehouse Managers would assign the audit to the Field Manager to conduct through the Asset Panda mobile app.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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