The need for efficient MRO storerooms is more prevalent today than ever. Increasing demand for asset reliability, the skilled labor gap, and the aging workforce are causing manufacturers and other asset-intensive organizations to take a hard look at their MRO storeroom management. As a result, storeroom technology is getting more attention.
Storeroom technology typically focuses on helping with intelligent inventory management, warranty and repair tracking, and point of use vending, but storeroom security can also get a boost from MRO storeroom technology and the use of inventory cameras.
Read more on the need for efficient MRO storerooms and how technology-based improvements along with process improvements can help make the turn from reactive to proactive and predictive maintenance.
State-of-the-Art Storeroom Technology for Improved Security Solutions
While materials in maintenance storerooms are needed during business hours as well as after hours, in many cases, MRO storerooms are not attended 24/7. This is typically due to the cost of employing an after-hours storeroom attendant. Some companies rely on a self-serve honor system and trust that their users are complying with local policies to properly record material usage during unattended hours.
Companies now have the ability to use storeroom technology to mitigate inventory shrinkage and audit compliance during off hours. While the use of an inventory camera is not a new concept, the challenge has been in identifying technology that can work without requiring local DVRs and that wouldn’t flood the limited bandwidth that manufacturers typically have at their plants.
Inventory Camera Features and Benefits
SDI now offers an MRO storeroom technology solution that utilizes IP-based inventory cameras with optional monitoring service to aid in loss prevention, reinforce storeroom procedures, and improve storeroom security overall.
- With up to 120 days of footage stored locally on the inventory camera, there is no need to set up costly DVRs, NVRs, or servers at each storeroom location.
- Since users are given on-demand access and only timed thumbnails are sent to the internet, the bandwidth requirements are very low.
- All data is encrypted, providing a high security solution.
- This storeroom technology solution also has the ability to send alerts triggered by movement. These alerts are emailed to specific users and can be limited to certain times of the day and triggered by movement in specific areas in the inventory camera’s field of view.
- Power to the inventory camera is provided via the network cable, so there are no batteries to monitor and replace.
- The maximum resolution of each inventory camera is 2048 x 1536, providing crisp, clear images day and night, complete with zoom function.
- This storeroom technology solution delivers an easy way for manufacturers – both those who can provide after-hours storeroom attendants and those who do not – to achieve secure storerooms 24/7, with access to video footage via the cloud for multiple, managed users via an easy, intuitive interface. And it is just another way SDI is innovating MRO for a more connected supply chain.
Have questions about MRO storeroom services offered by SDI? Send us your question. You can also request more specific information about our storeroom management services.
