Tool Sign Out Sheet – Why is keeping track of tools important?
Losing track of your tools can add up quickly and become a very costly issue for any business. To minimise your losses, it is essential that you consistently track the whereabouts of all your tools.
Knowing which tools are available allows you to allocate your resources more efficiently and ensures that your employees are suitably equipped for their specific tasks.
Tracking your tools helps ensure accountability among your employees especially if a tool goes missing as you can easily check who used the tool last and when.
What is a Tool Sign Out Sheet and why is it important?
A tool sign out sheet records which tool is being checked out, when, by whom, and the condition that the tool was at that point in time.
Having a tool sign out sheet which is used consistently will enable you to uncover useful information about your tools, such as frequency of usage, when and where they are being used, and who tends to use them the most.
This in turn, allows you to identify which tools are the most integral to your daily operations and prioritise them, so that you’re not wasting money on tools that are rarely used.
If a tool does end up being stolen, you also have an easily accessible record of the last person to use it, when, and where.
A tool sign out sheet will also help flag other important information, for example if an employee is consistently returning equipment late and impacting others it will be easily evident in the data your tool sign out sheet collects.
How to create your own Tool Sign Out Sheet.
When planning your tool sign out sheet, you first need to consider the specific information you want to capture using the form.
For a tool sign out sheet you need to think about all the data you will need to record to ensure that you can thoroughly track the usage and whereabouts of all your tools.
We recommend using a table format for your data collection as they are clear and easy to read. This means if you need to check on the location of a tool or find out who used it last before it went missing you can do so quickly.
There are two crucial areas of data that your form needs to collect.
Firstly, you’ll want to record important details about which specific tool is being signed out.
In our free example which you can download below, we suggest collecting information like the name of the tool that is being checked out and it’s individual ID number.
Secondly, you should also collect information about who specifically is checking the tool out and when to establish both traceability and accountability.
Our example suggests recording important data such as the date and time the tool was checked out and the condition it was in at that time.
However, you may also wish to record other important information such as the specific job or project the tool will be used on or if your business faces more time sensitive pressures having a column to record when a tool should be returned.
Using Jomo247 to track your tools.
A lot of businesses are still reliant upon more traditional methods, such as spreadsheets of even pen and paper to track and manage their tools.
However, keeping on top of a task as demanding as tool management can become a challenge for any business no matter their size.
Using outdated inventory management methods like these can prove highlight inefficient, are easily subject to human error, and can cost firms both physical and human resources.
We recommend investing in a management system, like Jomo247 which can help you easily track and manage all your tools in one centralised location.
With Jomo247, you’ll get real time updates when your tools are checked out helping establish employee accountability as you can see who has signed out what and when with the click of a button.
Jomo247 will help you quickly see which tools are available for use allowing you to allocate them to specific jobs and individuals with ease.
Jomo247 will also help automate your tool sign out process, meaning you can reduce your time wasted on admin and focus on the tasks that really count.
To learn more about how Jomo247 can help you with asset management click here.
