Getting by with Spreadsheets Asset Tracking?

Aviation is truly one of the most global industries we know, working in unison with the many moving parts that keep passengers, cargo and cultures on the move. Like most other industries, aviation businesses purchase expensive tools and equipment that perform complex tasks that manual labor can’t. These tools are checked in and checked out for reasons such as service and calibration, among others.

 

Some equipment may represent primary assets, others secondary, but in the end, all of these are assets technicians need to account for. Besides knowing where a particular tool is, techs often need to know where it’s been and how it’s been used. We call it asset usage tracking.

 

What is Asset Usage Tracking?

Asset usage tracking refers to, in part, knowing how much of an asset or piece of equipment you have and each transaction it’s involved in.

 

Examples of an asset transaction can include:

• Checking the asset in and out
• Service and calibration history
• How the asset has been used
• How often the asset has been used

 

For basic asset tracking, some avionics companies turn to spreadsheets. Read on to see why spreadsheets and usage tracking don’t mix.

 

The Trouble with Excel Spreadsheets and Asset Usage Tracking

On the surface, asset tracking with spreadsheets is easy to get started, often inexpensive or free to use and allows simple row/column customizations. Spreadsheets are readily shareable by linking or attaching the file to email or chat using apps like Google Sheets or Microsoft Teams.

 

But as your aviation operation grows, so does your arsenal of equipment inventory and the information you need readily accessible. You input all your tools and equipment and create new columns to track yet another tool specification or date. It works well for a while, but before you know it, your Google spreadsheet has become a confusing display in partially filled-out columns and rows, requiring more time and effort to account for even the most basic information.

 

More Spreadsheet Tracking Troubles

Since spreadsheet tracking relies on error-prone humans to input the data, the information becomes unreliable over time. Anyone who mistakenly edits or deletes essential data soon finds out how challenging it can be to restore.

 

In the end, you lack reliable real-time information you need about a particular tool, its whereabouts, how and when it’s been used and its service history.

 

For example, let’s say over the last year, your spreadsheet tracking has gone smooth. You’ve logged each time a torque wrench has been checked in and out, the reason for its change in status, often within the same shift. Now your torque wrench is scheduled for its annual calibration to manufacturer specs.

 

Upon testing, the torque wrench measures off significantly. With growing concern, you wonder how long the wrench has been out of calibration and on which equipment it’s been used. You go to the spreadsheet. Finding the torque wrench is simple, but the information is incomplete. Sure, you’ve logged check-in and check-out, but as you go through the wrench’s history, you realize you have no way of knowing for sure where it’s been used.

 

Consider what that means for your operation.

 

Connected Asset Usage Tracking

Tracking your aviation assets plays a critical role in operations. Aviation companies need to track assets like torque wrenches and keep the information available to auditors and communications systems so their operators can stay informed, in clear communication, and safe.

 

Asset tracking through spreadsheets is ineffective and inefficient. An asset tracking solution is critical for effective usage tracking for the aviation industry. From avionics to medical, pharmaceutical to manufacturing, Anytime Assets helps you track essential avionics assets better and more thoroughly than any spreadsheet software or other manual processes.

 

Anytime Assets is a single platform that tracks and manages your aviation equipment. From a best-in-class asset tracking software, you can track equipment usage more reliably and effectively. From an easy-to-implement usage tracking solution, items tagged with a unique identification number are seamlessly tracked, scheduled, and managed.

 

By tracking your avionic equipment usage through Anytime Assets, you can:

• Gain more visibility into your assets usage, history and service
• Know the location and status of each piece of equipment
• Know where the equipment has been used
• Keep equipment maintenanced and serviced
• Get improved asset management efficiency and productivity
• Simplify auditing and reporting processes

 

Aviation companies can search by specific details, even by serial number or tail number, then track changes to the status through custom alerts.

Should a piece of equipment become involved in a safety incident, alerts are sent immediately, automatically, and in real-time. Operators know whether an asset is ready to go, being repaired and who last signed off on it.

 

Reliable Asset Usage Tracking

Anytime Assets eliminates manual spreadsheet processes, saves time, and eliminates manual data entry errors. Through increased accuracy and accountability, aviation companies remain compliant with industry and company policies and procedures.

 

• Identify problems and damage
• Perform preventative maintenance faster
• Track more data on aircraft and expensive equipment
• Make better aircraft and equipment decisions
• Get better insights on aircraft usage and condition

 

Anytime Assets provides the ability to track each aircraft transaction by tail number. Operators can trace the aircraft tail number through the system to determine whether aircraft maintenance was performed and more.

 

An Anytime Assets user can view the asset history to identify affected aircraft. Aircraft tail number traceability saves valuable time and resources if tooling is found to be out of calibration or broken.

 

Dive deeper: check out our FOD education center and prevention solutions

 

Anytime Assets Simplifies Usage Tracking

Anytime Assets combines the power of barcodes, scanners, and asset tracking software and tools in an efficient, intelligent, and secure assets management system. We provide you with customized aviation solutions to help your business grow from an integrated and secure cloud-based architecture. Now you can have real-time assets data delivered in a moment’s notice.