Lessons In Asset Tracking

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Hayes Software Systems Partners With Metalcraft To Provide Complete RFID Solution To Schools

The Opportunity

With a total enrollment of 4,500 K-12 students, the Tehachapi Unified School District is relatively small; however, they had a big problem on their hands. They needed a better way to identify and track the district’s nearly 5,000 IT assets.

Hayes Case Study
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Ryan McKay, Director of Technology for the district, wanted a better understanding of the equipment he had been tasked with keeping track of. With no asset management system in place, he turned to Hayes Software Systems, an Austin, Texas-based solutions provider. For more than 30 years Hayes’ holistic approach to asset management has allowed K-12 schools to know what they have, where their assets are, and how they are being used.

The Challenge

Determining which technology to use was one of the first decisions the team at Hayes Software Systems assisted McKay in making. Ultimately, McKay decided on RFID for everything rather than a hybrid system because RFID does not require a line-of-sight in order to get a reading – meaning you don’t need to physically touch all the assets. This will be a real time-saver for McKay and his small team inventorying assets spread across five campuses. Plus, RFID allows McKay and his team to get a real-time inventory count.

During the discovery phase, the experts at Hayes worked with McKay to define the goals and objectives for the application, performing a needs analysis, and determining RFID tag selection. For the latter, they turned to their RFID partner, Metalcraft. “We’ve had a relationship with them (Metalcraft) for as long as we’ve offered the RFID component to our software,” said John Mellios, Director of Client Services at Hayes Software Systems.

The Solution

For this application, the Hayes team used the Oversized Universal Mini RFID Tag from Metalcraft. The overlay on the tag provided additional protection against normal wear and tear, which came in handy in this instance as the majority of tags were going on mobile items, i.e. Chromebooks that repeatedly go in and out of bags, lockers, etc. “The overlay also makes it harder for wandering hands to pick at the tags,” said Mellios.

In addition to providing the software for this application, Hayes also had an audit team onsite to assist with installation. This required a quick turnaround time from tag selection during the site survey to on-time delivery from Metalcraft.

The Result

As a result of the implementation, McKay and his staff have a better grasp on what equipment they currently have as well as the ability to better forecast future equipment needs. “It made him look like Superman,” said AnnaMaria Gallozzi, Solutions Engineer with Hayes Software Systems. “The system gives him all the tools they need to be successful. They have more confidence in what they have because they have confidence in their system.”

To learn more about our asset tracking solutions, contact us today at [email protected].

 

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