10 Ways Flood Damage Restoration Companies Benefit from Asset Tracking

Flooding is a major concern in the US. Every year, flash floods cause extensive damage to property in the country. When flood waters start receding, flood damage restoration companies enter the scene. To get rid of water in buildings, these companies use powerful water pumps and other specialized equipment. Flood damage restoration companies also use different tools for flood damage repair and sewer clean up. Their water damage restoration equipment is the lifeblood for any flood damage restoration company. To avoid losses and ensure smooth operation, flood damage restoration companies must come up with a system that helps them track equipment.

Asset tracking: An introduction 

Asset tracking involves tracking physical assets. One of the most popular asset tracking methods involves barcode scanning. Companies following this method place barcodes on the surface of the assets they need to track. A barcode contains information related to the asset it is being used for. To get asset-related information such as its location, all a worker has to do is scan the barcode with the handheld scanner assigned to them. Once the barcode is successfully scanned, the scanner sends the data to the system.

Lately, many businesses have started using tags employing different technologies such as RFID, GPS, or BLE for asset tracking.

Benefits

There are more benefits of asset tracking than many flood damage restoration companies realize. To make a business case for asset tracking, we, in this post, take a look at some substantial benefits of the process.

1. Cost and time savings 

Equipped with several features, asset tracking solutions eliminate the need for manually entering and manipulating data. Asset tracking solutions automate the business’ processes, helping avoid filing and other errors and delays committed by human operators. Once your processes are automated, you won’t need to take out printouts regularly, which helps save costs. Additionally, an asset tracking solution consolidates data in one place, helping your managers avoid confusions and delays when looking for information to prepare reports.

Because most of your files will be stored and archived digitally, you won’t need to create extra space for storing paper files and documents. Shifting from a pen and paper system to a digital process also helps reduce your business’ carbon footprint, which can do a world of good to your brand’s reputation. Using an asset tracking solution helps free administrative time that can be utilized by your team members to perform more productive, revenue-generating duties.

2. Increased accountability 

Employee theft and callousness are two major reasons behind asset misplacement, misuse, and loss. The problem with manual systems is that they fail miserably at recording who used a particular asset and when. Many employees exploit the loopholes of manual systems to misuse the assets assigned to them. An automated asset tracking solution helps plug these loopholes.

Asset tracking helps create a culture of accountability. When you start scanning assets before assigning them to your employees, they become more conscious and aware of their responsibilities. When employees know that their managers have data related to asset usage, they begin taking more responsibility for the equipment and immediately bring any repair issue to their supervisor’s notice.

Asset tracking can also help improve productivity by giving employees the big picture. You can, for instance, use data generated by your asset tracking tool to explain to your employees how high asset maintenance expenses impact your bottom line, which has a direct effect on their career growth. When your employees are able to see the big picture, they will start realizing their accountability and responsibility towards their tools and equipment.

3. Timely and effective maintenance 

The environment that water damage restoration equipment are used in cannot be termed as ideal by any standards. Different parts of water damage restoration equipment come in regular contact with water and chemicals. To ensure flawless performance, you need to have an asset maintenance plan in place. Asset tracking helps achieve this objective.

Asset tracking helps you locate your assets providing visibility into their status. Your managers have every data related to business assets on their fingertips. Equipped with this information, managers can make more informed maintenance decisions. They are always in the know about which assets need immediate and regular maintenance.

To help schedule maintenance activities in a timely fashion, asset tracking solutions generate regular updates. Managers can also use the system to create maintenance reminders.

4. Improved customer experience 

Service delayed is service denied. Service delay is one of the most common reasons why customers abandon a business. For a flood damage restoration company, making their customers wait for the right equipment to arrive at their location is blasphemy and can result in friction between the field team and the customer they are serving.

Asset tracking helps avoid embarrassments due to service delays. When your team members know the exact location of tools and equipment required for the job, they can pick and load them up swiftly, which helps save time. Effective asset tracking has several benefits and can help avoid inaccurate billing and costly administrative mistakes, helping improve your customer experience.

Timely customer service not only helps you retain your existing customers but also gives them a reason to recommend your services to acquaintances, helping create new avenues for customer acquisition.

5. Business scalability 

Asset tracking can help you scale your business for growth. When your managers have usage and other asset-related data on their fingertips, they can come up with plans to avoid wastage and make the full use of tools and equipment your business owns. Your managers can use data generated by your asset tracking solution to ensure effective utilization of office, storage, and warehouse space.

You can also use the data to forecast future trends. Equipped with this knowledge, your managers can design a sustainable growth plan that addresses present and future concerns. In a nutshell, asset tracking not only helps you operate your business effectively in the current business environment but can also prepare your teams to meet challenges that are coming their way head-on.

6. Improved decision-making 

Asset tracking solutions can generate a number of reports that provide insights into different trends. Your managers can use this data to make informed, data-backed decisions. Asset managers can use maintenance data to get insights into asset performance. They will also have access to important data such as the date of acquisition, warranty expiration date, and cost.

Using these data, your managers can calculate the total value of ownership and arrive at one of the below three decisions:

Schedule maintenance, or

Keep on using the asset, or

Replace the asset

Data generated by asset tracking solutions can also help managers come up with better processes and steps to support assets. Given the fact that your asset buying decisions can have a major impact on your profit, you cannot ignore this benefit of asset tracking.

7. Ensure regulatory compliance 

Data generated by an asset tracking solution can help prepare different reports important for ensuring regulatory compliance. Because asset tracking centralizes data, it becomes easier for your managers to prepare detailed audit reports. Additionally, an asset tracking solution can help maintain different certifications, such as AIB certification. These tools can help track and manage more KPIs than a manual system.

8. Improved asset management 

Managing an asset as it moves from one stage to another of its lifecycle can be a challenging task. Asset tracking helps your asset manager take this challenge head-on. Your asset tracking solution helps your manager pinpoint the exact location of a particular asset at any given point. Asset tracking solutions provide complex transactional information regarding a business’ assets.

Reports generated by the tool can be used by managers to identify usage and other trends. Your managers can utilize the capabilities of your asset tracking solution and data generated by the tool to manage assets better throughout the different stages of their lifecycle. When your managers have important asset-related data on their fingertips, they are able to plan better to avoid problems such as asset unavailability and breakdown.

9. Enhanced asset safety 

Given the high cost of flood damage restoration equipment, every company using these tools would want to protect them. Asset tracking can help with this task. To ensure asset safety, businesses can opt for a GPS asset tracking solution that notifies the asset manager whenever the asset is being used. When the asset is operated during an unauthorized period or towed without permission, the solution will immediately set off an alert to warn the manager about the security breach, enabling them to take appropriate steps in a timely fashion.

10. Enhanced employee safety

Ensuring employee safety is one of the topmost priorities of any manager. A GPS asset tracking solution can help achieve this objective. These tools not only help managers locate assets, but can also provide information related to their condition. The data generated by the solution can help schedule preventive maintenance. Before workers start operating a particular equipment, managers can take a quick look at reports to ensure maintenance schedules have been followed and the device is safe to operate.