- Tools and equipment · TDM
- Plant / Operations Director, Operations Manager, Team Leader / Supervisor, Quality / Audit
- Manufacturing, Logistics and warehousing
Equipment and tool tracking for manufacturing: from the toolroom to the line
In short
Equipment and tool tracking for manufacturing means every tool, gauge and piece of equipment has a record, a named holder, a due date and a recorded condition at return. It replaces the notebook at the toolroom window and the phone calls to find a tool on the line. Start with one toolroom or one line, label the tools that move most and run issue and return through a register for a few weeks.
The situation before adoption
A plant runs on tools that circulate: torque wrenches, micrometers, fixtures, cutting tools, handheld scanners, laptops for the maintenance team, personal protective equipment. Most are issued from a toolroom or a cage. The record of who has what is a notebook, a clipboard or a spreadsheet that one person updates when they have time.
The same problems repeat in plant after plant:
- The tool is circulating again. A shift borrows a gauge from another shift, nobody records it, and the next person looks in the toolroom for something that is not there.
- Nobody knows the user. When a tool comes back damaged or out of tolerance, the question "who used it last" is answered from memory.
- Inspection dates drift. Calibration and safety checks sit in a separate file. A gauge with an expired date is back on the line before anyone notices.
- Purchases double up. A new tool is ordered because the old one cannot be found. Two months later it turns up in a drawer at the other end of the hall.
- Handovers between shifts are informal. The register shows the first holder long after the tool changed hands.
Each of these costs time on the line first, and money second.
How the process looks with the module
Remanently Tools builds the process from a request to a confirmed return.
- Register. Tools and equipment are entered as individual records, and employees as a separate register.
- Request or reservation. A team leader requests a tool or reserves a specific one for a time slot. Availability is visible before the tool is issued.
- Identification. The toolroom operator scans a QR code or barcode with a phone camera, or reads an RFID UHF tag in the packages that support it. No retyping of numbers.
- Issue. The tool is issued to a named employee. The document is created at the toolroom counter, and the employee signs with a finger on a smartphone screen.
- Return and condition. On return the operator records whether the tool is complete and working. A good tool goes back into circulation. A damaged one moves to repair in Remanently CMMS, where the history stays with it.
- Inspections and calibration. In the Quick Start package and above, inspection and calibration dates and reminders are kept per tool, and issuing can be blocked for a tool without a valid inspection.
Larger plants can add self-service pick-up points for a Toolbox style toolroom, several issue points and locations, and an employee app for checking availability and requesting an extension. These sit in the TIME IS MONEY package, see pricing.
What changes for each role
| Role | Before | With a register |
|---|---|---|
| Team leader | Phones around to find a tool for tomorrow's job | Checks availability and reserves a tool in seconds |
| Toolroom operator | Writes in a notebook, retypes numbers, chases returns | Scans, issues, collects a signature, sees overdue items |
| Quality | Calibration dates in a separate file | Inspection date sits on the tool record, with a reminder |
| Plant director | Learns about losses at year end | Sees which teams hold tools beyond the agreed time |
| Finance | Approves purchases without knowing what is idle | Checks the register before approving a replacement |
The director's questions are the simplest: how many tools are out, with whom and for how long. The finance question is the most valuable: do we already own this? When the answer is in the register, fewer replacement orders are placed. Accounting also benefits from a clean history when a tool is retired or written off, though the treatment itself is a matter for your accountant.
Tools, machines and assets are different things
It helps to keep three questions apart. Where is the tool and who has it: that is the equipment register. What is wrong with the machine and what was repaired: that is maintenance, in Remanently CMMS. What do we own and where is it: that is the asset record, in Remanently Assets. A tool that is also a company asset has one record shared across these views. Spare parts and consumable material are stock and belong to the warehouse. Mixing them in one list is a frequent cause of confusion on the floor.
How to start at one site
Do not begin with the whole plant. Begin with one toolroom or one production line.
- Choose the scope. One toolroom, one shift pattern, one group of tools that move most: gauges, torque tools, handheld devices.
- List and label. Walk the shelves, label each tool with a QR code or barcode and enter the records. The free package holds up to 500 tool records, enough for a first toolroom.
- Load the people. Enter the employees who take tools. An employee in the register does not use a license, since limits apply to people who manage the process.
- Run it for a few weeks. Issue and return only through the register. Do not run the notebook in parallel for long, or the team will keep both.
- Review. Compare the overdue list and the number of tools that could not be found with what the notebook gave you. Decide what to extend: a second toolroom, inspection dates, reservations.
For the workings of a toolroom, read tool crib management, and for the paper tools that precede software, the tool check out sheet and the tool inventory template. For the category overview, see tool tracking software, and for plant assets rather than tools, asset tracking for manufacturing.
See it on your own tools
A demo is more useful with your own data than with a sample. Bring a list of tools from one toolroom, and we will walk through a request, an issue with a signature, a return as damaged and the overdue view. Book a short demo or sign up for the free package and try it yourself.
Frequently asked questions
How do we track tools issued from a toolroom?
Register each tool and each employee, then issue and return through a scan of a QR code, barcode or RFID tag, with a signature on a phone. The register shows the current holder, due date and history.
Can we block a tool whose inspection has expired?
In Remanently Quick Start and above, inspection and calibration dates are kept per tool and issuing can be blocked for a tool without a valid inspection.
Do all employees need a license?
No. Limits apply to people who manage the process. An employee recorded in the register does not use up a license.
Is there a self-service option for large plants?
The TIME IS MONEY package supports self-service pick-ups and returns, Toolbox style toolroom points, multiple issue points and an employee app for availability and extension requests.
What happens to a tool returned damaged?
You record its condition on return. If it needs work, the process continues in the maintenance module with the repair history kept with the tool.
Where should we start?
With one toolroom or line, a group of tools that move most and a few weeks of running issue and return through the register.
See your toolroom in a working register
Bring a list of tools from one toolroom and we will show a request, issue, return and overdue view on it in a short demo.
Module: Remanently Tools (TDM) · Pricing · Contact · Get started