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Asset tags are the secret weapon that savvy organizations use to simplify asset management and boost efficiency. These unique identifiers address one of the most persistent challenges in the industry: maintaining accurate control and visibility over your inventory, regardless of the sector you operate in.
Equipment asset tags can keep your assets organized no matter whether you're in charge of assets in a government agency, construction site, or even an educational institution.
There are numerous benefits of deploying asset tags including increased accountability, reduced losses and theft, improved maintenance scheduling, and enhanced financial reporting.
And who wouldn't want that?
In this article, we'll cover everything you should know, including the types of assets that require tagging, common mistakes to avoid, and tips for selecting the best tags for your needs.
Main Takeaways from This Article:
- Asset tags provide a reliable way to track and manage both fixed and movable assets, improving efficiency across various industries.
- Different types of asset tags, such as RFID, QR codes, GPS, and tamper-proof labels, offer tailored solutions for various tracking needs.
- Effective asset tagging enhances inventory management, reduces asset loss or theft, and simplifies maintenance scheduling.
- Integrating asset tags with a tracking system improves decision-making, regulatory compliance, and long-term cost savings.
What Are Asset Tags?
Asset tags are durable, printed labels made from materials like vinyl or polyester that you attach to your assets. Each tag includes a barcode, equipment ID number, and your company's name and logo, making it easy to identify and check assets.
When you pair asset tags with management software and barcode scanners, you can more effectively gather, organize, and maintain vital information about your assets. Consequently, you'll find it easier to oversee acquisition, usage, maintenance, and disposal, ultimately enhancing your organization's asset management system and asset visibility.
When it comes to managing your organization's physical property, your asset identification tags are your go-to solution. These identification tags play a crucial role in keeping track of your assets, which can be divided into two primary categories:
- Fixed assets: Think of the infrastructure around you: road signs, bridges, tunnels, water and sewer systems, dams, lighting systems, land, buildings, and even the equipment and machinery attached to buildings. These are all considered fixed assets.
- Movable assets: These assets aren't attached to a building and can be easily moved. Examples include furniture, computers, printers, and other equipment often used in your business.
Key Types of Asset Tags
With a wide array of asset tags available, you'll have no problem finding the perfect fit for your unique needs. Let's explore some popular types:
- RFID tags: Radio Frequency Identification tags offer efficient, contactless asset tracking for high-value items and large inventories, enabling real-time tracking.
- QR code tags: Quick Response (QR) codes provide a fast, scan-to-access method to see information about assets, perfect for mobile-based tracking and product details.
- NFC tags: Near Field Communication (NFC) tags allow assets to be scanned via smartphones or specialized devices for streamlined, low-energy asset tracking and data sharing.
- GPS tags: Ideal for high-value or mobile assets, global positioning system tags provide real-time location tracking, ensuring assets can be monitored over long distances or across various locations.
- BLE tags: Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) tags use Bluetooth technology to offer cost-effective, low-power solutions for proximity-based asset tracking and management.
- Tamper-proof asset tags: These tags are designed to leave a visible mark or damage upon removal, ensuring asset integrity is not compromised and providing an added layer of security.
- Industry-specific asset tags: Examples include warehouse barcode labels, UID labels for the defense industry, or utility asset tags like meter tags and pole tags.
- Two-part asset labels: These tags streamline record-keeping and reordering.
- Metal asset tags: Aluminum asset tags or barcode labels offer extra durability in indoor and outdoor applications.
- Tamper-evident asset tags: Offering enhanced security, these tags deter theft or unauthorized transfer.
- Specialized asset tags: These tags are tailored for specific applications, like traffic sign asset tags, work-in-process barcode labels, LDAR tags, steam trap tags, or warehouse rack labels.
- Foil asset tags: These security-focused, durable tags are designed to maintain readability throughout their lifespan.
With so many options, you can create a tailored asset management solution that caters to your organization's unique requirements.
How Do Asset Tags Aid Asset Management?
Asset tags play a crucial role in managing assets effectively, ensuring their efficient utilization and availability when needed — regardless of industry.
As part of a well-rounded asset management strategy, asset tags contribute to an organization's success in the following ways:
Identification and Tracking of Physical Assets
Asset tags are designed to provide unique identifiers for all assets within an organization. This makes it easier to manage and track them, regardless of their type or location. With asset tags in place, you can maintain a more organized and systematic approach to their asset management.
Record-Keeping of Essential Information
Asset tags enable organizations to maintain detailed records of each asset's critical information, such as location data, condition, and maintenance history. With an asset register readily available, you can make informed decisions about asset allocation, regular maintenance, and replacement.
Automation of Asset Tracking
Asset tags streamline and automate asset tracking, significantly reducing the time and effort required to manage assets manually. With an automated asset tracking system in place, organizations can focus their resources on more critical tasks and initiatives, thereby increasing overall productivity and efficiency.
Real-Time Information for Better Decision-Making
Asset tags provide real-time information about the location and condition of assets, allowing organizations to make better decisions about when to repair or replace assets.
Timely and accurate data on the environmental conditions for individual assets helps you minimize downtime, reduce maintenance costs, and ensure that your assets are always in optimal condition.
Effective asset management is critical to the success of any organization. By leveraging asset tags, organizations can ensure that their assets are used efficiently and that they are available when needed.
Preventing Loss or Theft Through Asset Identification
Asset tags can deter theft and unauthorized transfers by making assets easily identifiable. In the event of asset loss or theft, asset tags can help organizations quickly locate and recover the missing items.
Improving Maintenance Scheduling
With detailed information about asset history, you can proactively schedule maintenance, reducing the risk of asset failure or malfunction. Properly maintained assets last longer and perform better, minimizing the costs associated with asset replacement.
Enhancing Asset Life Cycle Maintenance Management
Asset tags enable organizations to manage assets throughout their entire life cycle, from acquisition to disposal. With a clear understanding of each asset's life cycle, organizations can optimize asset utilization and plan for future asset requirements.
Facilitating Audits and Regulatory Compliance
Asset tags simplify the audit process by providing quick access to critical asset data. This makes it easier for organizations to demonstrate regulatory compliance and maintain accurate records of their assets.
What Assets Need Tags?
Understanding which assets need tags in your business is crucial for effective asset management.
It's important to remember that not every asset requires a tag. Generally, assets should be tagged and tracked if they are critical to your business operations, present a significant liability risk if they fail, or represent a considerable cost if they are damaged, lost, stolen, or misused.
Let's explore the various assets that may need tags in your organization.
Computers and Peripherals
Laptops, desktops, monitors, external hard drives, and other devices fall into the same category. By tagging and tracking these items, you can gain insight into the bigger picture of asset utilization, enabling you to make informed purchasing decisions based on actual usage patterns.
Office Equipment
Capital items like phones, printers, TVs, and conference equipment should be tagged to facilitate expense tracking for accounting and tax purposes. This ensures that your business is accurately reporting its capital expenditures and depreciation.
Appliances
Appliances such as refrigerators, microwaves, water heaters, dishwashers, and air conditioners are commonly tagged assets. These larger appliances can be quite expensive and require specific maintenance. Tracking them helps account for costs and depreciation, monitor performance, and ensure that necessary maintenance is performed on time.
Machines, Equipment, and Tools
Assets like turbines, transformers, hydraulic power units (HPUs), medical devices, power tools, jacks, and more are essential for your day-to-day operations. Tagging these assets, regardless of size, helps you keep track of their usage, maintenance, and location.
Furniture
Depending on your business needs, tagging furniture such as bookshelves, chairs, cabinets, and tables can be beneficial. As your company grows, hires new workers, rearranges the office, or transfers items between buildings, tracking these items can improve overall efficiency.
Vehicles
Many businesses maintain vehicles for various purposes, such as when employees visit from other offices or as part of a bigger fleet of vans, trucks, and mobile cranes. Tagging and tracking these assets is crucial for ensuring proper maintenance and availability when needed.
Tracking various asset types enables your business to better assess usage, understand associated costs, plan maintenance schedules, standardize equipment, and reduce overhead and taxes.
The Asset Tagging Process Explained
Effective asset management is vital for the smooth operation of any business. Tagging your assets correctly ensures that you can keep track of them, making processes like reordering, maintenance, and accounting more efficient.
Below are four simple steps that you can follow to successfully tag your assets.
1. Assign a Unique Identification Number
The first step in the asset tagging process is to assign a unique identification (ID) number to each asset once it's been purchased and categorized. This ID number will differentiate assets from one another, making them instantly recognizable in your asset tracking system.
Unique ID numbers will streamline management and departmental processes, saving time and resources.
2. Choose a Suitable Tag or Label
As mentioned above, there are many asset tag options available, and it's essential to select the right one for each asset. Different tags have distinct characteristics, so what works for one asset might not be suitable for another.
Consider factors like durability in various environmental conditions and security capabilities when choosing asset tags. Understanding the differences between tag types and knowing when to use each is key to fully optimizing your asset management system.
3. Create an Asset Profile
To properly manage your assets, it's essential to include accurate data when assigning tags. This data will help you create a detailed profile for each item that can be accessed through your asset tagging system. Relevant asset data includes:
- Serial numbers
- Manufacturer details
- Date of purchase
- Location
- Condition
- Value
- Typical usable life
4. Affix an Asset Tag
After identifying valuable equipment and creating a unique profile for each item, you can start the process of tagging your assets. This involves affixing the tags to your assets using pressure-sensitive adhesive methods or mechanical attachments.
Proper attachment is crucial for ensuring that the tags remain in place, providing you with accurate, up-to-date information on each asset.
With your assets correctly tagged and tracked, you'll be better equipped to handle the many challenges that businesses face, from reordering supplies to maintaining equipment and staying on top of accounting.
Using an Asset Tagging System
An asset tagging system works in tandem with an asset tracking system to provide complete visibility and control over your assets. By integrating unique asset tags with tracking software, you can monitor asset locations, usage, and maintenance history.
A well-designed asset tracking system offers key features that enhance its effectiveness, such as real-time tracking capabilities, seamless integration with asset management software, and mobile-friendly solutions for on-the-go access. These features streamline audits and regulatory compliance, reduce financial losses from misplaced or stolen assets, and improve operational efficiency. Scannable asset tags reduce manual data entry for your owned assets, reducing human error and improving resource utilization.
Common Mistakes to Avoid in Asset Tagging
Asset management plays a crucial role in your business's success, as it helps maintain a clear picture of your assets throughout their lifecycle. To make your asset management program effective, it's essential to avoid these common mistakes:
- Inaccurate inventory of assets: Ensure that you have an accurate and up-to-date inventory of all assets to avoid unnecessary expenses and inefficiencies.
- Insufficient asset descriptions: Asset descriptions should include manufacturer, model, and serial number information to provide a comprehensive understanding of each asset.
- Inadequate asset tags: Your asset tags should contain information that can be manually read and used in situations where asset databases are inaccessible, ensuring continued functionality.
- Unaccounted asset movements: Track all asset movements, including acquisitions, transfers, and disposals, to maintain accurate and reliable asset data.
Remember, information is the lifeblood of any asset management system. Take a complete inventory of your assets, record all necessary asset information, create tags that can be read by both scanners and human eyes, and develop strict controls for tracking assets throughout their lifecycle.
Improve Asset Tag Management and Tracking Efficiency with Red Beam
Asset tagging is an essential tool to streamline asset management, improve efficiency, and reduce financial losses. By using the right asset tags and implementing a structured asset tagging system, you can improve inventory control, simplify maintenance scheduling, and prevent loss or theft. Whether managing fixed or movable assets, asset tags provide a clear and reliable way to track and monitor resources throughout their lifecycle. Investing in an effective asset tagging strategy ultimately leads to better decision-making, regulatory compliance, and long-term cost savings.
Many industries implement asset tags. If you're part of the government, construction, or education sector, asset tags can streamline how you track, maintain, and check your assets in real time.
Schedule a demo to discover how RedBeam, a top-performing asset management platform, can provide you with exceptional visibility into your fixed assets.
Frequently Asked Questions — FAQs About Asset Tag Management
What Is an Asset Tracking System?
An asset tracking system is a software solution that helps organizations monitor and manage physical assets using asset tags. It enables businesses to track asset locations, maintenance schedules, and usage history in real time.
What Are Barcode Tags Used For?
Barcode tags are used to label and identify assets with a scannable code. They help streamline inventory management, reduce errors in asset tracking, and improve record-keeping by providing instant access to asset details.
How Do Asset Tags Help with Inventory Management?
Asset tags enhance inventory management by providing a unique identifier for each asset, making it easier to track movement, usage, and maintenance history. They reduce the risk of asset loss, especially important for high-value assets.
What Are the Different Types of Asset Tags and Labels?
Asset tags come in various types, including RFID tags for real-time tracking, QR code tags for quick mobile access, GPS tags for location monitoring, tamper-evident tags for security, and durable metal tags for industrial applications. The right tag depends on the asset type and tracking needs of your organization.
