Keeping Tabs On Tools

Nothing can shut down a conveyor system, a dragline shovel or other multi-million dollar pieces of mining equipment faster than a little 19 mm socket. One socket, left behind under a belt, near gears or in an engine compartment poses a significant foreign object damage (FOD) threat that can lead to costly downtime but importantly, it can also become a safety issue.

The key toward eliminating that threat, and helping ensure safety, is to make sure that tools don’t get lost or misplaced in the first place and that involves the ability to pinpoint the location of a tool and the person using it.

Like most things in life nowadays, computers help solve problems and that’s why we have developed asset management software called Level 5™ Tool Control System to maintain accountability of tools in and around mine sites and the workers who check them out.

When returning tools at the end of a job, the system recognizes if a tool is missing. This development is helping to reduce the FOD threat, and is also saving customers millions of dollars from equipment damage.

One of the biggest challenges traditionally faced by mining companies is that they lose control over their tool inventory. No one knows what tools are available, who’s using them or if they’ve been returned. But with the asset management technology incorporated into mobile tool cribs, it helps cut down on lost tools and provide a greater level of control. Not only does the Level 5 Tool Control System help prevent FOD, but it improves the productivity of the crew. No one wants a yard foreman wasting time digging around in an unorganized crib full of tools looking for a 30 mm wrench. The goal is to give that professional the right tool for the job and allow them to get back to work; conveyor or equipment downtime is expensive.

Improved efficiency is another benefit

that comes along with mobile tool cribs. Instead of having workers go back-and-forth to a tool crib, which is often in an existing facility a distance from the actual jobsite, tool cribs are now coming to the workers. Mobile tool cribs can be customized and set up directly on a jobsite to best meet the needs of customers. Modular in design, mobile tool cribs include storage and control systems, cabinets, shelving, electrical components, lighting and air conditioning, and electronic keyless entry systems.

When a new mobile tool crib is set up on a jobsite, the first thing the attendant accomplishes is entering each worker into the tool tracking software and assigning each of them a barcode. A quick scan of the employee’s barcode by the attendant — followed by a scan of the tool, will accurately track the equipment that has left the crib and who’s responsible for it. Keeping accurate tabs on tools and equipment has traditionally been a difficult task for many companies.

For example, if a worker gets the tools he needs for a particular job, but gets called over to help with another job, the tools could be left at his previous location because he intends to go back at some point. However, he needs tools at the new location, too. And soon enough the tool crib is empty and tools are scattered all across the jobsite. This scenario has a direct affect on productivity.

When managed properly, these next generation mobile tool cribs become an integral component of a jobsite, especially at larger sites or sites in remote locations. For Alstom Power Inc., a manufacturer of integrated power plants, air quality control systems and a power production services provider, the mobile tool crib provided a much needed level of control over its tooling inventory.

Its previous tooling program traditionally involved purchasing any necessary tools from outside vendors, and then deploying the tools to jobsites in fully loaded “tool cribs.” Despite its efforts to manage the tools, the company was having difficulty controlling the crib’s inventory once it was delivered to the jobsite.

The need to analyze its tool situation was important enough to management that they looked to an outside source to help develop and manage its tooling program from start to finish. A mobile tool crib with more than 5,000 tools was set up. With mobile tool cribs operating on different jobsites, the company began to see improved return and accountability rates for its tools. These rental mobile tool cribs offer many of the same features of its regu- lar mobile tool cribs, but they can be deployed and on site in a matter of days. The company has set aside a fleet of mobile tool cribs that are built, stocked with tools and ready to go on a moment’s notice. For example, when heavy rains flooded a power plant, leaving several low-lying areas of the plant, including the tool crib, inaccessible, a rental mobile tool crib was deployed and operational within a few days of being ordered. It remained on site for about a month until its regular tool crib was cleaned and back open for service.

The rental mobile tool cribs are outfitted with tools designed for mining operations, refineries, power plants, wind farms and mechanical construction sites. The company can add special tooling and equipment if requested by a customer.

Our company is also manufacturing customized metal job boxes. Much smaller than mobile tool cribs, these customized metal job boxes range in size from a standard tool box to as large as a 6′ by 6′ walk-in unit. The shelves, drawers and tooling equipment all can be specified and fabricated to the customer’s exact specifications. Because technicians often customize their own tool boxes and storage cabinets, which can be a time-consuming process, the customized metal job box not only saves customers time, but can be built to their exact specifications with safety and functionality at the forefront of the design process.

*Dale Alberts is the director of business development for Snap-on Industrial.