Fastems: More Transparent Asset Management Globally with Trackinno Service

Internationally operating Fastems Oy Ab aims to improve its asset management system. The goal is to achieve transparent operation between different departments, where everyone is aware of assets’ locations and statuses.

The challenge of tracking tool containers and keeping information up-to-date

Fastems Oy Ab‘s equipment travels from worksite to worksite around the globe: In addition to nine European countries, Fastems operates in the United States, Japan, and China. In order to do the installation work, Fastems delivers tool containers to the worksites. After the project is completed, the container is inventoried and moved to the next destination. “One of the objectives of my department is reducing lead times,” Fastems’ Global Startup Team Manager Terhi Korjonen explains. One of the main issues in reducing lead times is asset management. Tool containers have to be on time with the right content in order to make the installation possible.

When it comes to making the tool container management more efficient, transparent operations and easy access to information are critical. Monthly, several hours can be wasted in the clearing of asset related issues. “It is contemporary to be able to track assets in real-time,” Korjonen says. “After all, we are dealing with tool containers having a value of 12 000–14 000 euros.”

From Excel files to transparent cloud service

At Fastems, Trackinno was chosen to provide the solution for asset management. The tool containers are labeled with Trackinno’s QR code/NFC tags, which act as links to asset information maintained in the cloud service. This way, containers’ information is in one place and always easily available. “The best thing in Trackinno service is that it provides transparency for every operator and interface,” Terhi Korjonen says.

Besides the fact, that the locations and statuses of the tool containers can be monitored in the service, Trackinno also provides lots of other information. Trackinno helps logging devices’ life cycle information as well as makes it easy to communicate about containers’ restocking requirements proactively. “It is truly outdated to communicate via email or Excel that a tool is broken. Trackinno makes communication easy, the service provides visibility and operation is more in control,” Korjonen explains.

With the help of Trackinno, also the operations of the subcontractor responsible for Fastems’ equipment are made more effective, which in turn has an impact on the effectiveness of the overall operation. “The information about restocking requirements reaches us before the tool container returns to Tampere, which enables us to order the needed assets in beforehand. Because of this, the containers can be quickly forwarded to the next worksite,” Transval Group’s storage worker Roni Lehto explains. Also, asset related documents, such as calibration certifications, are safe in Trackinno cloud service.

More extensive commissioning in the future

In the future, Fastems aims to put Trackinno into practice in its other departments around the world. Korjonen thinks one probable next-step could be Germany, for example. “First we need to complete the commissioning here and gather the positive feedback. After that, we can rationalize the service usage to other departments by presenting them the added value created,” Korjonen says.

Fastems’ CIO Janne Harri Kivinen sees lots of potential in Trackinno service and finds its commissioning easy. “The service is completely cloud-based and does not require any server solutions of our own. The labeling of the assets with tags and registering assets to the service is quick and easy.” Kivinen also feels positive about the service pricing model. “I think it is good, that the price is scaled by the number of assets that are managed with the service.”