Software keeps tabs on expensive tools
Whenever workers need a tool, they simply punch their employee ID number into the computer and select the item(s) needed from the computer's inventory list. ToolHound communicates the request to the carousel, which spins around to the appropriate item and allows the employee to pick it off the shelf and return to work. — Photo courtesy ToolHound Inc
Suncor Energy's oilsands operations were using a chit system to track tools and required four attendants working on rotating shifts to keep track of issues and returns. But given Fort McMurray's relative isolation, the price of labour in the region is extremely high. In an effort to pare down these costs, the company began to consider the possibility of installing a completely automated tool issue/return procedure in its tool crib, involving a motorized carousel and a tool control software program called ToolHound.
"We were trying to reduce non-value-added work," said warehouse operations supervisor Eugene Boyko.
The ToolHound package Suncor selected as the basis for its automated tool tracking system is actually designed to work with radio frequency bar code scanners, not a carousel. Suncor was asking for a significant variation on this theme by cutting the human element from the equation. Equipment and employee IDs would still be bar coded, but there would be no handheld computers or tool crib attendants.
The carousel idea sounded like science fiction, but it worked—saving Suncor thousands of dollars a year. Now whenever workers need a tool, they simply punch their employee ID number into the computer and select the item(s) needed from the computer's inventory list. ToolHound communicates the request to the carousel, which spins around to the appropriate item and allows the employee to pick it off the shelf and return to work. To restore the tools to inventory, the procedure is repeated in reverse.
Employees can also access the system from any computer on site. They simply punch in their ID number and the tools they need, and when they return to the carousel, the system is ready to take them directly to the equipment they requested.
The results
The automated tool tracking system allows the end user to find tools quickly and efficiently while still tracking things like tool use, repair history and availability. In addition, the system also provides an efficient reporting system, which Boyko said he especially likes for its extensive criteria selection.
"It retrieves information quickly, and I can set a variety of parameters," he said.
Setting up the system was not easy
"We tried to develop something completely different from what ToolHound was trying to sell us," Boyko said. "We invented the bugs. They had to work hard to develop it into what we wanted."
Boyko said he was impressed with how ToolHound's support services handled the installation and overcame the start-up problems.
"They spent a lot of time with us, and were very professional and helpful."
As Suncor looks to further expansion, bar code technology promises to remain a key part in how inventory is controlled and managed at the oilsands operation.
