Pitfall: Serial Numbers are Not Unique

When tracking your equipment, every item must have a unique identifier (ID) assigned so the system can tell them apart. This can be called the “tracking ID”, “tag ID” or “barcode."

But how do you choose the format of that unique ID in your serial number tracking system? What do you encode into the barcode?

The History (and Future) of Cylinder Tracking

I was very honored to be asked to write an article on the history of gas cylinder tracking systems for the 25th Anniversary Issue of CryoGas International Magazine. I'm proud that TrackAbout has been a leader in developing asset tracking technology for the industrial gas industry for the past 15 years. That experience has given me a chance to watch this technology grow from its infancy.

Feature Spotlight: Maintenance Action Schedules

Our ongoing Feature Spotlight series highlights one important tool in the TrackAbout toolbox to help you operate more efficiently and maximize the utilization of your assets in any asset management programs.

Use Shortcut Barcodes to Accelerate Your Work

If you only think of a barcode as a tracking ID, think bigger. Shortcut barcodes can be used as work accelerators enabling great gains in worker productivity.

Barcodes: A Brief History

The first barcode, with a design like a bullseye, was invented in 1948 by two Drexel University students named Norman J Woodland and Bernard Silver. They were interested in tackling the problems of the supermarket industry, which sorely needed a better method of inventory management and customer check-out. The pair received a patent in 1952. Long story short, it worked in the lab but was wildly impractical due to the limitations of the technology of the day.

Feature Spotlight: Consumables and Hard Goods

Our ongoing Feature Spotlight series highlights one important tool in the TrackAbout toolbox to help you operate more efficiently and maximize the utilization of your assets.

Top 5 Asset Tracking Best Practices

In today’s economic climate, it’s not enough to know where your assets are. You must also use them as efficiently as possible. Competition is fierce. Profit margins are shrinking. You need every advantage to protect the well-being of your company. Your existing business software does a good job of managing your overall organization, but how well does it manage your assets?

Achieving Regulatory Compliance with Asset Tracking Software

Regulatory compliance is not an easy challenge. No matter the industry or the scale or complexity of business operations, companies throughout the world have to manage an ever increasing number of laws and rulings.

Feature Spotlight: Shortcut Barcodes

Our ongoing Feature Spotlight series highlights one important tool in the TrackAbout toolbox to help you operate more efficiently and maximize the utilization of your assets.

Raising Accountability for Oilfield Equipment with Asset Tracking Software

According to the Association of Energy Service Companies (AESC), oilfield thefts amount to an estimated $1 billion USD annually. Stolen equipment ranges in value from $100 to $10,000 USD or more per item and includes laptops with proprietary information, control panels, pipes, valves, heavy equipment and anything else that isn’t bolted down, as well as some things that are.