How to Equip Your Engineers So They Keep Their Tools Close to Hand

If you are running a manufacturing company, you will know the importance of keeping your engineers equipped and closeto their tools. For the majority of the working day, engineers are on the move, rarely having time to spend at their desks. They have to think on their feet, especially when new or problematic projects are in the process of manufacturing.

It is, therefore, important that you can keep track of them and that they have everything that they need close to hand, preferably where they are unlikely to put the items down and walk away from them. To do this, you need to think about what they need both tech-wise and for tooling.

#1 Issue smartphones

Every engineer should be equipped with a company smartphone; this is not just so they can be called upon to provide assistance over the phone or to book a consultation slot. This is mainly so that they can access important information that is held within your databases, such as drawings or abill of materials (BOM) which holds component information and descriptions, or for that matter, work instructions.

#2 Provide tools

Of course, every engineer is going to need tools. Some of these will be specialized and not available to everyone within your manufacturing site. This is due to them either being particularly expensive or being able to cause damage if wrongly utilized. That said, these tools should be kept securely yet still close to hand so your engineers do not waste time wandering around looking for them.

Toolboxes

You could have your engineers carry toolboxes around with them, but you may find that this is cumbersome, and having space to open them up when visiting operators could be restricted.

Tool belts

Tool belts will allow quick and easy access to the tools required, but your engineers will likely find themselves limited in the number of tools they can physically fit in their belts.

Fanny packs

Fanny packs could be more the type of thing that your engineers feel comfortable with, as they are available in an array of different sizes, will still keep items close to hand, and will be secure. As well as this, you can have them carry your business name or logo by using custom fanny packs by anthembranding.com or something similar.

Final thoughts

To save your engineers time running backward and forward to their desks to gain access to the valuable data you hold on your computer system, you should make sure that each one of them has a smartphone. Alongside this, they should also be equipped with their tools and a way of carrying them around the factory floor.

This is so that they resist the urge to ‘collect’ tools from operatives that require certain tools to complete their work. As a result of this, your engineers will be able to complete their work quickly and efficiently while your operatives can then get on with their work and get the customer’s order finished and ready for shipment.