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Software Keeps Track of Tools and Equipment

Bosch Power Tools, a division of Robert Bosch Tool Corporation, has announced that it has added ToolWatch® to its Digital Power Tool line. The new software tracking system provides construction companies with a higher level of control over their tools and equipment.

Founded in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1886, Robert Bosch Tool Corporation is a member of the National Council of the Housing Industry — the Supplier 100 of NAHB.

ToolWatch Express can reduce the number of tool thefts on the job site by roughly 96%, the manufacturer says, and companies that have used it report saving tens of thousands of dollars on equipment costs and substantial gains in productivity. Results have shown that even a small specialty contractor can easily save $10,000 in the first year, while typical general contractors save between $50,000 and $200,000 annually, Bosch reports.

ToolWatch allows a company to collect enormous amounts of information about each tool in its inventory by using barcodes and portable scanning devices to deliver tool information back to a desktop computer system, according to Bosch. After applying an identifier to a tool, a company can track its location by job site or by employee.

In the same way the library tracks books, companies can track tools, scanning them in and out of a tool crib, says the company. Suddenly, the timely return of tools becomes a priority for those on the job site, not just those in charge of inventory management.

ToolWatch currently supports more than 3,000 companies with comprehensive solutions including hardware, software and implementation support.

Bosch launched Digital Power Tools in 2002 to help field project managers become more efficient in their work, communicate more effectively with subcontractors and customers and save time and money on the job. 

For more information about ToolWatch, click here or call 800-676-4034.