Managing Cutting Edge Assets

As Australia’s largest provider of post production services for reality TV shows Cutting Edge has worked on over 15 shows in the last four years. Managing the post production service for shows like Hell’s Kitchen (UK), Big Brother (Australia), Australian Idol 2 and Survivor creates massive logistical nightmares for shipping, tracking and re-locating production and audio visual equipment all the way around the world. 

With 5000 pieces of equipment spread out across hundreds of thousands of kilometres the Cutting Edge production team have a big job to ensure that the location of every piece is known at every moment of the day. Not forgetting that one third of the equipment may not in fact be on-location but rather off-site being serviced or repaired somewhere across the country. 

At any given time production equipment is being re-located to another show and with assets individually valued at anywhere from $10,000 up to millions of dollars Cutting Edge ensures that the management and tracking of their assets is unparalleled. 

Like everything else that Cutting Edge do they have ensured that the new asset tracking solution that they have deployed is leading the way in efficiency, traceability and accuracy so that every piece of equipment, irrespective of whether it is a plasma screen, audio visual unit or computer monitor, can be tracked and traced at any moment of the day. 

The Objective

The previous asset management solution used by Cutting Edge was not designed to be portable which meant that a laptop had to be transported to every location and updates were transferred manually back into the central database system. On-location paperwork was crucial to the accuracy of the uploaded information and data could not be downloaded and updated into the central database until someone physically returned to the Cutting Edge offices. 

The main objective of the new solution was to find a system that had the ability to be portable and capable of uploading data directly back into the mainframe offices from remote locations. Asset Explorer was determined as the most ideal solution available in the country to meet and exceed these expectations. 

According to Mr Arthur Gough, Cutting Edge, the new asset management system, Asset Explorer, has enabled his team to account for equipment offsite, interstate and overseas. 

“The previous asset management system we were using did not have the capability of being remote and this mobility was one of the key features that we identified in Asset Explorer.” Mr Gough said. 

In addition, Cutting Edge was looking for a solution that could eliminate paper work and reduce the amount of man hours associated with the management of their assets. 

Cutting Edge wanted the flexibility to know accurately where a piece of equipment was going and where it was residing at any given time. Sunshine Technologies the Australian owned and operated company who developed Asset Explorer came to the rescue and worked with Cutting Edge to customise a solution that would match and exceed their expectations. 

What is Asset Explorer? 

Asset Explorer is a new asset management package designed for organisations wanting to maintain real time, accurate and efficient equipment tracking irrespective of location or remoteness.

Asset Explorer is compatible with hand held mobile collection devices running Windows CE.Net or PocketPC 2003 through bar code labels or RFID tags. The solution is ideal for companies wanting to maintain asset maintenance and insurance records and for organisations that ‘move’ large and expensive equipment. 

Asset Explorer is available exclusively through Sunshine Technologies and has been jointly developed with Cutting Edge. Sunshine Technologies focus on developing identification technology solutions with a focus on RFID in asset tracking and management; smart card, mobility and terminal solutions. Sunshine also distribute a range of RFID products and mobile computers. 

Key Points for the Solution 

Cutting Edge wanted a faster, more efficient and more accurate complete asset management tracking solution that offered: 

• Rugged hand held mobile computers that could travel with the staff on-location.
• Eliminate travelling with laptops.
• Eliminate the duplication of data on-location and in-office.
• Ability to remotely upload back into the main frame database.
• Multiple tracking functionalities including: Serial numbers, Barcodes, manufacturer, equipment types and brands.
• Ability to print real-time accurate reports of all assets.
• Reduce man power on-location tracking assets.
• Ability to trigger service and repair schedules on all equipment in the register.
• Ability for other departments to access and use the information stored on the asset management system including: the accounts department for insurance purposes and renewals and the service team for repairs and maintenance of all equipment.
• Ability to provide full and accurate stock takes of all equipment at any given time.
• Long-term ability to install RFID tags on all equipment within the register.
• Centralise documentation and warranty information for each asset
• Photo attachment to each asset 

The Challenge for Sunshine Technologies 

Equipment is always moving 

Every piece of equipment, or asset in the Cutting Edge register has a barcode label applied which provides it with an individual and specific identification mark. When the equipment is bought it is given an identification code that is entered into the central database. Equipment needs to be scanned before it is shipped, when it arrives on location, as it leaves the location and at the loading dock upon its return. Equipment is always moving and always going, coming and residing in various locations across Australasia. The data needs to be updated regularly on a daily basis and the asset management solution needs to be 100% accurate. 

Locations are always changing 

With three offices in Australia and 14 reality TV shows spread out across the Globe, not too mention 2 modern outside broadcast vans, every room in every building and remote production location is identified as its own area. For example the editing suite located on level 3 of the Cutting Edge building in West End, Brisbane is known as its own room. Every piece of equipment is then ‘sent’ to a specific room within the database so that every piece of equipment can be located in less than five minutes. 

“If someone is looking for twelve plasma screens we can ask Asset Explorer to ‘find’ them in the database. The 12 plasma screens are called up and we realise that they are all on location in Palau for the Survivor show. Asset Explorer also recognises how long each piece of equipment will be on location and we can schedule equipment to be re-located at the end of the production.” Mr Gough said.
Cutting Edge also wanted to eliminate database duplication issues that previously occurred with their old asset management system where staff were having to upload the updated asset information on the laptop on-location and then again when they returned to the central office and uploaded the information from the laptop into the central database. Cutting Edge were looking for a solution to this duplication and waste of man power on-location.

“Asset Explorer has the capability to download the updated information directly into a PSION Teklogix hand held mobile computer on-location which links directly back to the central database automatically. This ensures that the tracking is real-time and accurate and can be done from a remote location at any given time.” he said. 

Asset Explorer automatically records every change made to every asset in the register and develops and up-to-date and accurate asset history list. It also has the ability to attach an unlimited number of files to an asset and file types can be supported with images, documents and spreadsheets. This feature allows the attachment of photographs, receipts, warranties and operational manuals to assets. 

Equipment needs repairing 

Even the most expensive and technological advanced equipment has to be serviced and repaired occasionally. With Asset Explorer Cutting Edge can generate alarms and alerts to identify when a specific piece of equipment is due for its service so that the item is retrieved from location and returned to the central warehouse. Once a piece of equipment is due to be returned a second alert can be triggered to inform the staff of its due delivery date. These same alerts can be pre-determined for all pieces of equipment of high-importance and expense so that triggers can identify key messages to the staff. 

Asset Explorer has the ability to establish hundreds of triggers, alerts and reminder capabilities to ensure that the staff are efficiently meeting servicing and licensing agreements and guaranteeing that each and every piece is taken care of for its entire life-cycle. Supplier registers can be developed to keep relevant and up-to-date contact information for each asset supplier for warranty issues and servicing programs. 

Benefits for Cutting Edge:
 
• Real-Time on-location tracking
• Accurate and just-in-time tracing capabilities
• Remote ability
• Tracking is more accurate
• Tracking is more efficient
• Flexible
• Easy to use
• Cross-functional purposes eg: re-visit insurance policies, accounts department uses the database as well
• Useful for stock takes of what they own
• Reporting functionalities
• Ability to find and locate equipment all the way around the world
• Ability to re-schedule equipment for the next production shoot based on the bookings within the database
• Ability to advise and report what equipment is being repaired and when it is expected to be returned
• Ability to advise and report what equipment is due for insurance
• Ability to advise and report what equipment is due for a repair
• A choice to use bar code / RFID or both as the asset identifier 

Benefits of Asset Explorer: 

• SQL Database construction facilitates high level integration into advanced EDP packages; a high level of engineered solutions available as well as a stand alone PC version. 
• Asset Explorer automatically records every change made to every asset in the register and develops and up-to-date and accurate asset history list.
• Any bar code scanner with the appropriate operating system and performance standards will work with Asset Explorer.
• RFID ready and capable: in the future, through the use of active RFID tags attached to all of Cutting Edge’s audio visual and production equipment, the assets can be monitored geographically and tracked within the facility. Active RFID Tags can also be equipped with a tamper device which signals an alarm if removed from the asset. This is ideally suited for tracking of high value assets and for monitoring the movements of the equipment. Sunshine Technologies already has clients using this active RFID implementation for theft prevention and tracking.

“Asset Explorer is a faster, more accurate and more efficient way to track our equipment and with 5000 assets in the system Cutting Edge need to know where everything is at all times,” Mr Gough said.

For further information please contact:
Arthur Gough
Cutting Edge
PH: 07 3013 6262
Mob: 0419 724 780
Email: agough@cuttingedge.com.au