Make Asset Management Better With an Equipment Tracking System

Asset surveillance systems—like those available in our AssetTracer smart lockers for asset tracking—connect physical lockers with equipment tracking software and our other real-time security systems. Whole new workflows are possible when these tools are integrated. 

Different types of asset surveillance make sense in different environments. This article unpacks how asset surveillance systems work in smart lockers and shares some use cases for asset surveillance. It also helps determine what type of asset surveillance makes sense for your equipment tracking system. 

What Is an Equipment Tracking System?

Equipment tracking systems verify that a user takes or returns the correct items from a storage locker. They can also provide data on electronic devices. For example, most electronic devices that charge with a USB port can identify themselves when plugged into a locker. This way, they’re both recharged at rest, and their status is verified. 

Asset surveillance is just one of the ways you can use electronics and sensors to make a locker system “smart.” To explain, let’s consider the opposite: a standard storage locker. It is a metal cabinet with a mechanical lock. It is effective, but it can’t tell you very much about who is using it and what is inside of it. It is a little dumb. 

If you add an electronic access control panel to that locker, suddenly, you get better insights on who is accessing your equipment and when they sign it out and return it. So that is a little smarter. 

Finally, you can add equipment surveillance. You can verify what people take from the locker when recording a transaction. Did they take everything they needed and return the wrong item? With asset surveillance, you’ll know instantaneously. 

The goal of any asset surveillance is to provide better insight into the asset and its use. By logging transactions, a smart locker system is already a source of business intelligence. But adding asset surveillance turns assets themselves into information sources.

Equipment Tracking Methods

AssetTracer systems from Real Time Networks can use various asset surveillance technologies.

When You Need an Equipment Tracking System

Any organization using asset lockers cares about security. But businesses that benefit from equipment tracking systems care just as much, if not more, about how their assets are used. 

An asset surveillance system lets you build workflows around the real-time availability of different assets. For example, you can restrict access based on the specific staff member signing the asset out, by the time of day, or by other criteria. You may want to rotate sign-outs to distribute wear and tear if you need to provision rugged laptops for heavy-duty field use. 

With a asset surveillance system, your smart locker system can verify which laptop is in which locker and how many hours of use each has received. Then the system will only unlock the laptop with the least use. 

That’s just one example. You can improve a whole range of workflows: 

Kit component checks

As mentioned earlier, asset surveillance systems can detect multiple items in hardened carrying cases. Some organizations want—or need—to ensure that individual components are returned, like medication, controlled substances, or government-regulated materials. 

Asset surveillance can notify EMTs if life-saving medications are missing from a kit bag before they go on a call. Or notify supervisors if a regulated narcotic is missing upon return.

Temporary storage

Some law enforcement agencies and medical centers need a way to temporarily secure the assets of individuals coming into their facilities, like patients or suspects. The officer or technician escorting that individual can register a locker in that individual's name, deposit their assets, and give them a unique code only they can use to unlock the locker. The locker becomes free for the next us when that individual claims their assets. 

Compliance reporting

If you’re managing regulated equipment, medications, or other assets, you probably need to account for them in compliance reports. These reports are easily and automatically compiled by smart locker management apps in real-time as asset transactions occur. 

Or, as we discussed in a previous smart lockers article, alternate forms of asset surveillance, like scales for weight checks, can measure and verify assets upon return. That automates an important compliance task for law enforcement agencies who must verify whether OC (pepper) spray cans have been used by checking their weight. 

Automating workflows

If IT teams need to be notified of break-fix issues as soon as laptops, tablets, or other assets return from the field, you can turn smart lockers into a service tool for them. For example, when a staff member returns an asset, the touchscreen interface on the smart locker can prompt them to log any issues encountered. 

For laptops, for example, it could be anything from a crashing application to an entirely dead device. That logging triggers an email alert to the IT team and unlocks a designated service locker. The asset surveillance system then ensures that the specific device the user signed out is placed in the service locker. 

This general workflow—a staff-entered code triggering a specific locker opening—can be used for other assets that need attention, like supply kits that need restocking, firearms that need maintenance, or delicate instruments that need cleaning. 

How to Choose the Right Equipment Tracking System

Asset surveillance is powerful, but not every organization needs it. If your organization is concerned about theft, RFID tagging is the best choice. If theft isn’t a concern, then a more basic tagging system like barcodes or USB connections are sufficient. 

You can also consider how many assets you store per compartment. If you’re storing more expensive, dangerous, or sensitive assets, plan to only house one per compartment. For medium levels of security, you could also tag each component with an RFID chip and store multiple assets per compartment. You’d give users physical access to all housed assets, but you’d know instantly if they signed out more than they requested. 

If keeping staff accountable for their transactions is important, even if the value of the assets is low, then basic asset lockers again should be sufficient. Even without asset surveillance, basic asset lockers still provide useful data through access control reporting, like our RTNHub equipment management app. For complying with some industry regulations, this level of reporting is sufficient.