A savvy business owner is always looking for ways to save money, cut costs and protect their own inventory while simultaneously ensuring they take care of the customer. One major pain point along that journey is damaged inventory, equipment or supplies. A solution to the problem of protecting your assets is necessary both for loss prevention and saving money.
A superb way to take up a defensive position in your own inventory and logistics management is to use an impact recorder to keep an eye on what’s happening with your equipment, measuring and preventing damage in the process.
What is an impact recorder?
Impact recorders are essentially devices that record the severity, duration and time of potential shocks or mishandling that may occur on equipment. Whether it’s in transit or sitting on a lot, equipment can be subjected to a variety of issues when left unchecked.
Impact recorders are not designed to prevent damage on their own, but they are an invaluable tool for detecting problems and creating potential resolutions at every level of the shipping process.
Prevent mishandling
In some industries, equipment damage can cause much worse issues down the line. If a supply of temperature-sensitive medicine, pharmaceuticals or life-saving medical equipment is dropped, delayed or shipped improperly while in-transit, the shipment is not only damaged but may also result in the products themselves becoming damaged. This not only causes supply issues but costs time, money and energy.
A good impact recorder monitors potential damage to equipment as it happens (in real time) and the duration of the impact event, which the device then sends the information wirelessly to its destination. The information can then be utilized by the company to analyze the details. Some impact recorders are designed to be extremely visible on the equipment, effectively acting as a visual deterrent to careless handling. Preventing mishandling of equipment and supplies at all stages of transit is much easier with the right tools for assessing impact, shock and mishandling.
Discover concealed damage
Concealed damage leads to an assortment of problems. Damage creates equipment downtime, loss of supplies and results in costly repairs or in some cases, equipment damaged beyond repair.
Hidden damage creates potential for catastrophic failures in equipment after installation or triggers a series of problems with the equipment that eventually leads to failure. Take for example transporting large power transformers. Imagine no oversight, accountability or impact monitoring solutions. Combine that with an freight line that is ill-suited to the task and it becomes a recipe for disaster.
Something similar occurred in both 2013 and 2014, when two large transformers were damaged in transit resulting in large repair bills, court settlements and extended project delays. If the damage hadn’t been severe enough to be noticable, the transformers would have been installed and brought online, after which the concealed damage would eventually lead to failure or further problems in the future. Impact and shock recording data becomes an invaluable resource for large and small equipment alike, especially when it comes to detecting the damage that you can’t readily see.
Audit your equipment
Protecting your business and equipment is easier to accomplish with the data provided by impact management tools. Repacking and reshipping due to damage creates additional expenses for both the business and the client. Impact and shock recorders are valuable for creating accountability during the shipping process, while giving you the ability to oversee and audit your equipment with ease.You’ll know who is mishandling the equipment, deduce how and when it was impacted/damaged and eventually be able to pinpoint where along the line the damage occurred. In this way, you’re effectively auditing your supplies and saving yourself from potential future issues.
Seek a trusted vendor for your own devices
While you have plenty of options for damage control within your own organization—inspection, revising handling procedures and training employees to properly handle packages to name a few—it’s a good idea to find a trusted vendor to supply impact and shock management devices.
Spotsee is one such industry leader worth looking into for their line of impact recorders and shock sensors. Manufactured to suit a wide variety of needs, Spotsee’s supply chain management products offer incredible ROI when it comes to their impact recorders. Their recorders can be used many times each year, with a long service life of several years. Keep your equipment from with one of Spotsee’s impact recorders and look forward to a future free of equipment damage and mishandling.
