The phrase “Chain of Custody” has taken on new meaning in today’s unique challenges generated by the pandemic.
When talking about assets and asset management, we’ve always needed to understand what we have and where it is. But today, there is an increasing need also to understand everywhere something has been. We need this “custody” information now, from a historical perspective.
Moving forward, we will continue to need to maintain that history – and to use it to project future asset needs and location placement.
For example:
- History – Once we determine that something has been contaminated or is ineffective, we need to understand where were the previous “touchpoints” that this particular item may have impacted. In this example, “something” could be either human or a physical object.
- Future – The best situation with physical assets is having the exact amount required based on what is needed, where, and when. This means positioning assets across an organization to optimize availability for use. The challenge in doing this is keeping asset visibility current.
Recently at HL Group, we have been working with different organizations assisting them with visibility and tracking of critical items with our mobilePLUS solution. This effort has involved the creation of item records, tagging those items for easy location scans, and updating the item data – including extensively logging all activities surrounding them.
This automation allows for rapid update of item information with “today’s data” while maintaining easy access to “yesterday’s.” Enabling this functionality to be implemented quickly (within a few days) and remotely (preserving cost, time & safety) makes it an attractive tool to meet our current challenges.
The purpose of our mobilePLUS solution is threefold:
- What do I have?
- Where is it?
- Where has it been?
Leveraging the technologies of mobile devices, barcodes/RFID markings, and our packaged software solution gives us all the tools needed to answer these three questions. The goal is to ensure our clients have timely and accurate data to make the best-informed decisions for the future – while creating detailed historical data of its past.
By creating a “Chain of Custody” in their data, organizations will be better prepared for the future. Naturally, we don’t wish for another crisis – or any other issues to arise – but things do happen. Your goal is to be as prepared as possible so that you can “flatten the curve” the next time you need this information.
