Many organizations believe they do not need indoor asset tracking, because almost none of their assets leave the premises. But even when assets stay on site, many are still lost, misplaced or stolen.
Large premises make it easy to misplace assets, which is why indoor asset tracking matters. Many industries already use it. This article covers which industries use indoor asset location tracking and who else can use it to improve their work.
What Is Indoor Asset Tracking?
Indoor asset tracking is carried out inside an organization’s premises. It provides current information and tells you where each asset is. That information is essential to any organization that depends on assets for its daily operations.
GPS needs a clear view of the sky, so indoor tracking relies on technologies that work inside buildings, such as BLE beacons, RFID readers and scanned labels. Small tags are attached to assets, and receivers or phones around the building pick up their signals, so the system can tell which room or zone an asset is in.
Indoor asset tracking reduces the chance of misplacing assets. It also provides data that helps organizations take a strategic approach to solving problems, many of which involve keeping assets maintained.
Recommend To Read: Best Proven Technology for Outdoor Asset Tracking
Which Industries Are Using Indoor Asset Tracking?
These are the industries using indoor asset tracking:
Aviation
The aviation industry spans airports, manufacturing units, warehouses and more. Each covers a large area with many valuable assets, and every part must be looked after so it can be found easily.
Aviation is a technically advanced industry that has taken up indoor asset tracking. BLE keeps track of each asset and its movement and also improves day-to-day operations.
BLE is a strong option for indoor location tracking of assets, especially in aviation.
Manufacturing
Manufacturers have many valuable assets and inventories that need to be tracked as they move, because they are essential to production. Tools, molds, carts and test equipment move between lines and storerooms all day, and each one that cannot be found holds up a job. With BLE indoor tracking, you can see where an asset is.
That means you always know where your assets are and can use them as needed. When asset tracking is done manually, assets are not found in time, production is delayed and the business can lose money.
Healthcare
The healthcare industry has many assets, such as costly equipment, machines and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), and inventory such as medicines, gloves, masks and health kits. Most importantly, it has patients who depend on nurses and doctors, such as accident, heart and Alzheimer’s patients. Equipment such as infusion pumps, wheelchairs and monitors moves constantly between wards, and staff can lose a lot of time searching for it.
These patients must be handled with care and given their medicines on time. BLE beacons are used to keep track of patients and monitor them.
With BLE technology, hospitals can locate patients inside the building. BLE tags also collect data that helps staff make informed decisions.
Hospitality
Hotels have complex assets that need regular monitoring to keep them maintained. BLE also helps improve the guest experience: staff can tell when guests are out and clean their rooms then.
Staff can also see which rooms are available. Housekeeping carts, linen trolleys and maintenance equipment can be tagged too, so staff spend less time looking for them. Overall, BLE helps hotels provide a better guest experience, and the data it collects shows how guests use the hotel.
It gives hotel staff a deeper understanding of how visitors use the hotel’s facilities and amenities.
Information & Technology
Some IT organizations use BLE to track hardware, such as laptops, projectors and test devices that move between desks and meeting rooms, and also to keep track of how their teams work.
Managers can see how work is progressing, and if someone is taking longer to finish a task, they can help resolve the issue and make the organization more productive.
They can also see how much time is spent on each system.
Why BLE Suits Indoor Asset Tracking
BLE is one of the most widely used options for indoor asset location tracking, and more organizations are adopting it every year. Keeping track of assets is important, and the right technology makes it practical.
If you still track assets manually and run daily operations on spreadsheets, there is a lot of room to improve. Once you combine asset tracking technology with asset management software, you will see the difference in how your business runs.
Also Read: Reasons why you should choose BLE asset tracking over RFID asset tracking
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What are the benefits of using asset management software?
Asset management software has many benefits. It extends asset life, so assets keep working for longer. It sends reminders for asset maintenance, so sudden equipment failures are reduced. It improves asset performance and reliability, and it provides data for effective business decisions. Cloud software lets you access data from anywhere, including from a mobile app. It makes you more efficient and productive.
2. What are other technologies used for asset tracking apart from BLE?
Other technologies used for asset tracking include barcodes, QR (Quick Response) codes, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification), GPS (Global Positioning System), IoT (Internet of Things) sensors and NFC (Near Field Communication).