By Marla Williams, CPPM
President, Integrated Asset Management, Inc.
Executive Vice President, Federal Center Chapter
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Verify that your records match the actual
physical conditions
Includes:
◦ Identifying property that is not currently in the
system
◦ Identifying assets that are no longer needed by the
organization.
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What loss rate is acceptable?
Typical acceptable loss rates are between 0.5
and 5%.
Weapons, hazardous materials, laptop
computers with sensitive information may
have a zero acceptable loss rate.
Low cost items may have acceptable loss
rates as high as 20%.
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Cost and effort to replace the item
Lost productivity
Release of company-sensitive or personal
info
Danger to the individual, the community or
the organization
 Capital
Assets
 Accountable or Controlled Assets
◦ Sensitive Assets
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Not Purchased for Resale
Useful Life of Over One Year
Acquisition Cost Greater Than Threshold
◦ $5,000 to $300,000, depending on size of
organization
◦ Usually represents 80% of total asset value
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Reported on financial statement
Any additions or changes must be noted on
annual statements
Ultimate responsibility of the Chief Financial
Officer.
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Purchase cost less than Capitalization
Threshold
Items that may be vulnerable to theft
Computers or PDA’s with personal or
sensitive information
Hazardous material
Weapons
See ASTM E2608 Standard – provides
Equipment Control Matrix
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Inventory is an audit
Needs to be performed by individuals who
have no vested interest in the outcome.
Use:
◦ third party vendor
◦ headquarters personnel
◦ teams from another location
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Over 1,000 assets, should justify investment
in automated inventory tools:
◦ Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Single
Workstation System with one HandHeld Computer
<$10,000
◦ COTS Multiple Workstation System over a network
with two HandHeld Computers $20,000-$25,000
◦ Oracle or SQL-based system with customized
screens and interfaces to suit your specific needs
$250,000+
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Old handhelds had proprietary operating
systems and limited memory
New handhelds are portable computers
running Windows Mobile or CE operating
systems:
◦ Can read RFID, UID codes or bar codes
◦ Allow multiple configurations or prompts
◦ Run multiple applications (e.g. work orders,
preventative maintenance, etc.)
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Linear Bar Codes
◦ Most common and affordable
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UID
◦ DOD Program for Equipment over $5,000
◦ 2d matrix codes and linear bar codes assign unique
identification numbers to serialized equipment
◦ Purchase Information is sent to a National Registry
◦ Benefit to non-DOD. . .
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RFID
Tags can be passive or
active
Inventory with Handhelds
or Fixed Station Scanners
Fixed Scanning at Loading Dock, Entrances, and Hallways
makes collection automatic but can be expensive
◦ Consider for server rooms or areas that contain sensitive
or hazardous materials
◦ Not a “real” security measure unless hidden inside
equipment
◦ Cost Effective for High Volume Supply Chain
Management Applications like Wal Mart
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Project Manager should develop a detailed
Inventory Plan and share it with all interested
parties
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Inventory personnel
Employees
Security personnel
Management
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Main Contact
◦ Available during work hours
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Location Contact or Custodian
Access Cards/Security Badges
If escorts are required, how many?
Procedures for Locked Rooms
Maximum Number of Returns to Location
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E-mail or Flyer to Employees
◦ Ask for complete cooperation
◦ Instruct employees to remove property from
overhead compartments, desk drawers and storage
closets and leave the items out until inventoried.
◦ Give employees a contact name and telephone
number for questions.
◦ Provide copies of the e-mail to the inventory team
- to reduce interruptions.
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Bar Code Label Supply
◦ Consider pre-printed labels or print your own
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Bar Code Labels for Locations
◦ Some systems use bar code room tags to identify locations.
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Floor Plans with Location Names and Organization
boundaries
◦ Assign location names to workstations/cubicles
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Condition Codes
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Consider using GSA Codes
Put them in writing
Give Examples
Ask for specific damage information
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Status Codes
◦ IU-In Use
◦ IS-In Storage (available for use by another)
◦ EX-Excess to be turned in
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Strategy for Laptops, PDA’s, Cellphones
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E-mail known owners
Create Flyer for inventory team to leave
Host doughnut stations at elevator banks
Create Mail In Packages for Remote users
Don’t Forget Federal Continuity of Operation Assets
(COOP)
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Laptops and Docking Stations
◦ Many users are not familiar with proper undocking
procedures
◦ Check with IT Department for proper “undocking”
procedures
◦ Consider assigning special IT Help Desk person to
assist with docking issues during inventory
 Leave flyer with Help Desk contact at each station
when finished
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Strategy for Vehicles
◦ Station Inventory personnel at Centralized
Maintenance or Fueling Locations
◦ Use fuel card system data
◦ Organize special inventory times that minimize
disruption
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Catalogs keep descriptions uniform and
consistent
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Identify Categories and Classifications
Basic Types (e.g. PC-Desktop, PC-Laptop)
Manufacturer Names
Model Numbers, Part Numbers
Dimensions (Floor Standing Equipment, Furniture)
Furniture Attributes (Color, Material, Finish, etc.)
Document Catalog Development Guidelines
Determine Process for Adding New Catalogs
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Digital Images
◦ Linked to Catalog/Asset
◦ Can be done with $100 digital cameras
◦ Place sign in photograph with number to allow you
to rename later
 Can be dry eraser boards with magnets/velcro or preprinted numbers generated in Excel in a large font
printed on plain paper
◦ Some companies use cameras that will allow them
to assign the name in the camera
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Standardize Tag Placement Guidelines
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Keep it simple
Use photographs to illustrate
How will it look?
Is the tag easy to remove or tamper with?
If locked, can I access the tag?
If moved, will it block the tag?
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Training
◦ If Contractor is using your equipment, be sure they
have been adequately trained
◦ Consider train the trainer sessions for handhelds
◦ Consider detailed scripts for inventory personnel
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Flyer to Leave for Employees Who Are Out
Set Progress Goals and Monitor Them
◦ How many assets will be inventoried each day?
◦ What level of accuracy should we find during
auditing?
◦ Are we on target to meet our completion deadline?
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Ideally, wall to wall inventories should be
conducted building by building, floor by
floor, room by room
Rooms should be inventoried sweeping from
left to right, right to left or some consistent
pattern
If done by Organization or Custodial Officer,
may miss items or whole room/areas not
previously recorded – suggest tracking
carefully on master floor plans
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Uploads
◦ Equipment failures or accidents could lose hours or
days of valuable work if not transferred
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Enter New Catalogs
◦ New catalogs should be entered immediately to
reduce duplications and keep descriptions uniform
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Update Master Floor Plan
◦ Master Floor Plan should be updated to reflect each
team’s work, locked rooms or unusual conditions
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Run Reports by Location
Randomly audit 5% of each inventory team’s
work – catching problems while they are
small . . .
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PM posts each team’s counts and reasons for daily
gains and losses
PM meets with teams at the end of each day:
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to receive feedback from teams about their progress
review previous days audit results
share productivity gains or losses
Go over information about changes in schedule, etc.
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Run Exception List of Items Not Found by
previous location
Send Inventory Personnel back
Update inventory data
Run Exception List of Items Not Found by
Organization and Location
Send list to the Accountable Organization for
further research
Third Party should verify items found
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Reconcile all assets inventoried by tag
Does the system look for duplicate Serial
Numbers?
Look for Serial Number matches between:
◦ List of All New Assets Tagged
◦ Exception Listing of Items Not Found
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Update reconciliation
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Run several reports or spreadsheets:
◦ All New Items Tagged by Organization
◦ All Items Not Found with Purchase Cost by
Organization
◦ All Items Found with Purchase Cost by Organization
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Measure annual overage or loss rates by
overall number and value
Also makes these calculations for each
Organization
Also calculate these values by category of
equipment
Compare new information to previous
losses/gains for trend
Generally, if the total value of your losses are
in excess of 5%
Or you have an Organization with losses in
excess of that rate, further investigation is
required.
You can just rely on the physical inventory to
maintain accuracy and continue to get the
same results, or worse,
or
you can look at the physical inventory as an
opportunity to make improvements in the
property management process
Marla Williams, CPPM
President
Integrated Asset Management, Inc.
marla@weinventoryassets.com
(800) 731-9569
Millersville, Maryland