ShareMyToolbox
Plain-Sailing Tool Tracking

“Sorry, but I never had that tool” is the typical response for queries regarding the whereabouts of a tool on a construction job site. And mostly no one shoulders the responsibility when a tool is lost. In the construction arena, as opposed to the manufacturing space where everything is in a tool crib, tools and equipment are out in the field, being used, and moving from one project site to another. The tools often wind up at a different location or suddenly vanish, bringing work to a grinding halt. The field contractors find it cumbersome to keep track of the tool or ascertain the person responsible for it. There is an impending need to abridge these tool-related losses at a job site, which surprisingly run into several billion dollars.

In the aftermath of trying physical tracking devices like GPS beacons and RFID scanners to manage their tool inventories, contractors are now looking for a simpler tracking solution. ShareMyToolbox’s eponymous solution exactly fits the bill. “Our goal is to provide customers with a very simple way to keep track of the tools and equipment within the company,” says Chris Wirtz, co-founder of ShareMyToolbox.

ShareMyToolbox is a mobile-first application that eases tool tracking for construction businesses with tool management needs. Built on the peer-to-peer sharing platform, contractors can effortlessly distribute tools between locations or personnel. The application is device agnostic, flexible, and can be operated on multiple Android or Apple devices simultaneously.

As the first step, a field superintendent needs to set-up a tool inventory catalog by either importing a list from Excel or manually adding the list of tools directly into the grid available in the web interface. Superintendents can check the tool’s availability on the application, from a tablet or phone, request, and have it delivered to them. Now, it is easy to move tools lying idle at a job site to where it is needed most.

The on-boarding process is a cinch. An acceptance message pops up asking the person, to whom the tool is assigned, to accept/decline the tool at the time of delivery. The simple acceptance and swiping on the phone process establishes who is accountable for the tool making the process of searching and transferring of any tool and its responsibility hassle-free.

Our goal is to provide customers with a very simple way to keep track of the tools and equipment within the company

This cloud-based solution enables the company to view the detailed history as every transaction on acceptance, location, and assignment is continuously updated. For instance, if a truck is stolen from a job site, the contractors can ascertain the tools assigned to the truck and the superintendent from the history to compile comprehensive insurance. They can also understand how often they are replacing particular tools by certain manufacturers and the spend with a specific vendor and more.

“We worked extremely hard to make the app simple and easy to use for field,” states Wirtz. The simplicity of the app is best illustrated with one of ShareMyToolbox’s clients that wasted plenty of time figuring out a particular tool’s owner by emailing, texting, or calling them. Today, the app enables them to instantly locate and contact the owner as opposed to dropping a text or email, saving a lot of time. Moreover, they can access every tool in the catalog, locate any tool, check on its availability, and be more responsible for their tools.

Having crossed 10,000 active users in a short period, ShareMyToolbox has virtually marked its presence in every state in the U.S. and is in use across many other countries. Bracing for tremendous growth, Wirtz says, “We believe a good solution should cater to every need of the customer. In the coming years, we will constantly be improving and adding functional features that are easily accessible via the app’s updates to help customers flourish in their business.”