Tracking Lost Tools

I know of a lot of persons who would love to have such a device. My own people have misplaced or lost their own tools and I, myself, have lost a couple. Personally, though, I think the cheaper way is to just be more careful with your tools.

Advice that I've received regarding tools (not counting the proper way to use them):

• Don't lend them to others - maybe a bit rude but if you start out that way, people will probably accept your way and avoid borrowing from you.
• If you do lend them, have them sign a piece of paper - my old supervisor did this. Before he let you have the tool, you'll get a lecture on returning them and then hand you a piece of paper for you to sign. I doubted the effectivity of this but was convinced when he said that nobody borrows from him anymore.
• If someone asks to borrow a tool, get the tool and ask him where the job is and tell him you'll do it yourself - most get the message.
• If you lend your tool to someone and he lends them to someone else (probably the most common reason for losing tools), never lend him another tool and let others know about it.
• Keep your tools in a locked toolbox and put them in a locked cabinet - I've forgotten how many times I've scolded my people when I find a toolbox, wide open as if in invitation, in a place where anyone can get in and find it, and the owner nowhere in sight.

These are good advice and come from people who've lost tools themselves. They learned what to do about it.

Hello

I think you can look at www.mobitron.se They manufacture things like that you want.

Anders

Dear aussiviking,

If we are little careless towards our tools losing is sure. Take care of it. The suggestions made by Vulkan are very good and must adhere to it. Your idea for electronic device/transmitter is not possible onboard ship because signal loss is very common phenomena within the closed compartments because of steel/metallic structures. Direction finder by using radio waves again more difficult because getting bearings not practicable within metallic compartment. However there could be another form of transmission/reception but it will be surely so costly by comparing the cost of any hand tools. Instead you can purchase many set of tools and maintain it but using electronics device will be more costlier. Also, don't you think if you don't take care of your tools same thing may happen to your electronic gadget which will monitor your tools! So think twice before you opt!

I'm not clear on you're operational system , but how about using a tally disc system as used in mining to account for personnel ; Issue each worker with a set of metal discs (marked on one side with an item , and the other side with employee number). When borrowing equipment the worker hands you the corresponding tally , and receives the tally back when the item is returned. By that means you keep track of who has what equipment . If someone cannot give a good reason for failure to return an item , then you have to impose some form of penalty . If a worker is not prepared to accept some personal responsibility I would question if I should be employing them.

Transmitters sounds like an expensive solution , and I doubt there is a foolproof system . Better to maximize use of tool-belts/lanyards/high-visibility handles etc.As Vulcan says , the basic methods are usually best , coupled with an understanding that some loss of equipment is always going to happen.

What about something as simple as a 'ferret finder' ?

The collars are tiny tranmitters that send out pulses twice a second at 60 kHz, so the signal should get around the ship's metal structure better than high frequency.

The reciever is directional and has a control to tell you how close you are to the collar...

Different collars can be set to give different beeps... say:

1) one beep per second.. 2) two beeps per second, 3) 3 beeps etc...

I designed a system for a friendly poacher I know it was very effective!!

John. email me and I will send you the cost price!!

Please man that transmitter of yours is very interesting can you send me also its price and where to get it?

Regards

If you are looking for something to simply make sure all of your tools are in your box, an RFID system would seem to be a good answer. The RFID receiver could be a small box about the size of a multimeter, semi-permanently attached to your toolbox. When you close the lid, a magnetic switch would tell the computer to take a RFID Inventory, and if one or more IDs were missing, issue a beep. RFID chips are quite small, ones in the veterinary world are injected into pets with hypodermic needles; and they would be easily and permanently attached to tools, especially large ones or powertools, with epoxy. Another RFID box could be activated and carried with you. I believe RFID systems can achieve one meter ranges... But I'm not an electronics guru. This system could theoretically be built for the $500 range.

Your solution is not in a tracking device but more as to how you store your tools. When cleaning up after a job look for slots that are empty. I'm sure a variation can be discovered for those akward tools.

tayo

aussiviking;

Loss on board ship is only one of the places this problem occurs. Job sites ashore abound with (the most unfortunate practice of) tool theft.

I like the RFID chip suggestion, as it contains the owner's name, etc. I don't know if it can be made cheaply, but if a chip is concealed in the tool's motor or gear mechanisms somehow, a police officer with a detecting wand could discover it in any pawn shop or second hand store, or on the hardware store parking lot as it was being hawked by the thief. Quick examination of the ownership data and a call to the owner would determine if the tool was stolen or not.

Perhaps the system would be less expensive if the chips were purchased in bulk by, and installed at a tool shop or sharpener's shop, or the like --as it is for veterinarians-- so it could be sold and installed for not too much money.

Mark

Your post hits the heart of the matter; however--maybe I missed it but--one thing seems to be missing here.

Ultimately, perhaps the only enduring protection against a vanishing tool is to be found in resort to a bit of personal philosophy.

It is said that every idea that could be thought, has been thought. So, as respects a tool tracker/homing devise it would seem, in answer to why they are not so readily available or popularly sought after, that it could be asked: Having found and acquired the tool tracking devise, where will one then find a devise to track the tracking devise...and another...and...

...a case of "Be careful what you ask for?"

CowAnon

In my blog, I didn't suggest that you should own the tracker, although I can see the usefulness of that if you are following Electroman's system of tracking things down and using his kind of tracker.

All too often, tools are stolen right out of the crib, off the truck or out of the toolbox, locked or not, at the jobsite.

Since the owners are not interested in providing security cameras to protect patrons, only themselves inside the stores, there are thieves who blithely wander the parking lots of big box stores looking for a window that's a little bit open, an unlocked car door or trunk (boot) with anything they can steal inside, including tools (and even preferably, since there are any number of trades out there all too ready to buy somebody else's freshly stolen tool at a cheap price).

We don't use the RFID chips to track or find our pets (yet!-- until they are hooked up to a GPS/base communication system like police vehicles, army tanks or train cars). We use them to identify the pet after it has been recovered by animal rescue or a concerned neighbour, etc.

So what I thought was that police would make their regular rounds through the pawn shops, etc., and raids on fencing operations together with RFID chip readers for the purpose of getting some of that stolen equipment back to the owners.

People who keep the tools where they need to be during use are, as many of these blogs imply, away ahead of the game. But perhaps not as completely protected against theft as to not take precautions.

I think the original poster has a good idea here.

and

Vulcan:

Those are 'three little words' that men love their women to say to them. Besides "Put that back!", there's the lovely "Pick that up!", and the unforgettable "Why didn't you...?" I'm sure there are others for which men are incredibly greatful, since the fair sex makes great attempts at every avenue to organize our lives. Perhaps they've settled on three little words because any more than that would lose our attention.

Mark

Hi Mark,

Actually, I'm the one who says "put that back" and "pick that up" but I can't seem to get to say "why didn't you". My wife beats me to it all the time!

Theft, as you say, is a whole different ball game. Forgetting your tools or people not returning them are the number one reason for losing them, by my observation. Still, keeping your tools with you is a deterrent and putting them in a locked cabinet or room is also a deterrent but only to the half-hearted thief. A determined one will break any lock or even steal it directly (stick-em-up, hand me your tools ).

However, the OP (original poster) didn't say anything about theft. He just said "lost" and "misplaced", so my answer was in on that aspect.

Mark...

You didn't say, own the tracking devise, but aussiviking did: a beacon transmitter to attach to the tool(s); by which it seemed he might be concerned with personally-owned tools, possibly also tools used in variously changing locations; or at least that was my take. I selected your blog to which to input, because it seemed to recognize the (let's call it, probable) futility of any one tool toter's trying to protect his tools (actually himself) with yet another usable, and salable, "tool"--one that could wind up adding value, ...but only to the person into who's inadvertent possession the missed tool happened to fall. I would not disagree that, given circumstances of work environment controllability--of the sort not usually available to "individual producing units"--a beacon devise is feasible (as in the example of police car theft stings) if it bears a rational cost relationship to high-value objects wanting to be (deterred from theft or) recovered when mislaid or misapproprated; but as a means of self-help for the typical individual, and even the typical expensive tool, it seems to give hope most likely to prove false: just like the hope that a police department would divert resources to intrude (without warrant) into businesses in order to detect (unremoved) beacon senders on tools which might or might not have been reported missing. It is for these reasons which I also alluded to the fact that one (or at least this one) does not see such transmitter items made available for general distribution in stores. On the other hand, I, too, think it might be a workable idea...if the tracking devise was built into a tool by its manufacturer; unfortunately, tool producers benefit mightily from tool loss.

CowAnon:

Just like Sc6Chuck9, I have accumulated duplicates of tools I couln't immediately put my hands on, but needed right away. You are absolutely correct about tool manufacturers making a good buck from stolen tools. It's a wonder they don't get into the tool-theft business themselves!

I have had a few tools stolen as well, by workers under my direction at a jobsite who took things they were supposed to be loading and hid them, then came back and picked them up to sell (you can't prove anything unless you catch them red-handed), thieves breaking into my vehicle overnight and even from my vehicle parked at a Home Depot while I was inside shopping.

Here in Toronto, we have a pawnshop squad, in fact an entire unit, of police whose job it is to daily check the stock of pawn shops and second hand stores against the list of stolen items reported to the police department by the theft victims. It's the reason I now keep a list of the serial numbers from the tool labels of the power tools I own (in addition to scribing my name on almost every one). If there were tool owners who previously stuck a chip inside in case of loss or theft, and the police had the detectors, their job would be much easier...when looking for the chipped items, at least!

When I see the words "lost" or "mis-placed" in regard to tools as i did in the opening blog, I'm inclined to not discount "theft" also, as a possibility to explain their absence.

Mark

I think the biggest bonus for thieves nowadays is eBay!!

I've bought stuff on there and been quite shocked at how blatent the seller is about where it was nicked from!!

John.

Ouch! Very Ouch!

Any ideas about how to clean up the world, John?

Mark

In English law you can't 'buy' something that is stolen . It makes no difference if you know it's nicked or not . If you 'bought ' something for 100GBP and it all came to light , the goods would be returned to original owner , the thief would get a caution , and you would get life for handling - The great British Justice system !

...you would get life for handling...great British Justice system...

Maybe it's a left-over from the 18th century industrial revolution, where the artifact was much more valuable that the holder

(You know I'm kidding, right?...)

HOW DARE You s.. Hah -gotcha going for a sec !

Kris, Yuval...

Heh, heh! Wouldn't that be, "…mustn't…buy?

While subjects and citizens alike are usually aware of the Common Law precept that "ignorance is no defens(c)e," the "Thou shalt not buy" provision mentioned has (to this writer at least) all the look and feel of Statute law (i.e., …in the exercise of which, enforcement is reserved to the sovereign/state); and, I dare say, it seems of much less archaic vintage than Yuval's historical perspective suggests, kidding or no…. Moreover, examined in depth, it reveals considerably more rational good sense—even commoners' good sense--than is readily apparent; and greater measure of modernity than, say, 18th century (i.e., 1700's) gallows.

First, an honest purchaser, of majority age, who omits ("I didn't think…" or "I wondered, when they offered me a pistol and a wrist watch to go with my radial saw, but…") to seek proof of ownership of a resale item, or assurances otherwise of seller's authority, can scarcely be said to be without culpability.

Second, no, it doesn't seem fair for the thief to get off lightly on misdemeanor or be left (seemingly) unpunished (due to legal niceties mentioned elsewhere in this thread), while his hapless customer is treated as a felon. However, there is a modicum of punishment for the thief in that, as his client base disappears behind incarceration or deterrence, he must in due course face starvation (possibly even the wrath of his customers' kinfolk as well), be caught stealing (not just selling), be ratted out by accomplices, or reform and switch to lawful employment.

Third, if there is to be any deterrence in punishment, it would seem to have greatest impact, for thief and buyer alike, not on a person (like the thief) who must, or by habit does, steal to have money, but on a person who has excess money with which to buy, and seeks to gain even more money by buying on the cheap—by "looking for a steal" so to speak!

Fourth, assuming that the cited "English" law, indeed is statutory law, the discretion, afforded (solely) to Constable and Solicitor, resectively, to arrest and prosecute, or not, and thereafter to the Court, should provide protection against actual injustice being done.

In short, the English law cited seems not so much designed against everyday exchanges among neighbors and everyday folk, as against organized criminal (theft ring) enterprises. In that respect, it is the kind of law not unique to English justice, or the Commonwealth.

Interesting CowAnon

My posting was somewhat flippant , and my legal knowledge is limited to exchanges(!) with a lawyer I dated. A stolen item is not 'sold' because it is not the thief's to sell - I think this position is directed at finding a solution for original owner and 'buyer'.They cannot both have legal ownership . The implication is that 'buyer' has been conned (if unaware of the item being stolen). With some exceptions (houses,cars etc) the vendors ownership and right to sell is assumed by the buyer- transactions would be impractical otherwise (imagine a supermarket trip ).Most people who buy at a car-boot sale , know there is a high probability that goods for sale are not legitimate (a CD sold before release date is usually a good clue etc) but a presumption of innocence on the buyers part is assumed. In practice , the event originally proposed would result in the buyer loosing the money they paid and the 'seller' receiving a fine (usually not much). Organised crime usually involves fast disposal to intermediate parties so the main-players keep themselves as far from accountability as possible.

Looking back at the original question , theft of small items is very hard to control .The most basic methods are probably best , coupled with a fairly hard-line response to consistent loosers of tools . The time loss etc of a missing tool can really stack up.

Mark, you wrote:

"Here in Toronto, we have a pawnshop squad...of police whose job it is to daily [in-person and palpably/visually] check the stock of [inside]...stores against the list of stolen items reported to the police...by...theft victims.

[In those little (accentuated) words lies a distinction: the squad does not "search" from afar, or at random, for items for which there is neither warrant nor probable cause to suspect theft....said another way, they do not search for a crime....for a unlawful act not already known or reasonably suspected to have been committed; but, instead, confine themselves to specifically seeking known stolen items...items for which it has been established (in order for the warrant list to issue) that there is probable cause to suspect that a theft occurred. In this regard, Toronto would not be unlike many if not most municipal jurisdictions both within and without Canada.] [You go on to say:]

"It's the reason I now keep a list of the serial numbers...in addition to scribing my name on almost every one [tool]).

[...which is a prudent idea, not only for theft reporting but also for insurance claiming-- which is why I also: inscribe a pseudo serial number (for reference in my list) if there's not one already; add a distinctive indicator (something which would not be recognized by a thief as anything other than normal, in-use wear & tear; something which a thief would not be tempted to un-inscribe); keep a photographic record of valuable items/item collections (including serials/markings); and keep the list in a certified (i.e., insurance industry accepted), printable, on-line inventory application.] [You go on to conclude:]

"If...tool owners...stuck a chip inside...and if the police had the detectors, their job would be much easier...when looking for [?!] the chipped items...!"

[...easier, yes, ...if they were willing (and authorized by policy) to take on the (largely unquantifiable and possibly quite considerable) added duty (and distraction) of...so detecting. But as implied in an earlier post, they will not be either, so authorized or willing. There are numerous reasons both practical and legal, all of which reduce to the question of what can be legally sustained in courts of law where there is a presumption of innocence. That is to say, even if a police agency was willing to (not only assume liability but also) make the extra effort searching for a person's missing item (his missing chip) with some (essentially, with that person's) detecting devise, they even so will not undertake such efforts, where the government's attorney would almost invariably refuse to prosecute...essentially for lack of proof and lack of legally admissible evidence: no provable chain of possession; no suspected perpetrator; no eye witness; no certification (proof) that the detector could not detect other than the specific, suspected missing item; no proof that the chip was not removed or tampered with; no probable cause to suspect that any IC-revealed item was not legitimately obtained; no service of warrant before the "search"; ....; and, most importantly, no one to arrest! Even if an identifiable item was found, there would be proof at best only that it was lost, not that it was stolen--and any assertion as to how it got anywhere would be deemed for the most part to be hearsay, and thus inadmissible as proof. So a policeman would be constrained to politely advise the "victim" that he (victim) would be free to use the detecting devise to search for the item; and a really sympathetic officer might also advise the "victim" that doing so will most likely prove to have been a waste of time and effort; and a potential, self-inflicted exacerbation of the original insult.

All this also gives insight into why such devises are not widely available for individual ownership and use: the potential liabilities which could accrue to manufacturer and sellers of such a devise.

Hi aussiviking, there are several inexpensive divises readily available.

The most important is called brain, the other one is a toolbox or tooltray.

If they are company tools they are given out against a token, if they don't come back it comes of the paycheck, amen.

Important rule three; never lend your tool, your sport equipment (skis, kayaks, parashute ect.) your toys (ATV, snowmachine, bike) your car and your wife, in that order.

Hey Guys, Do what I did,,,,I own a small machine shop here in South Carolina and it had gotten to the point I had 2 or 3 or more of everything in hand tools because when I couldn't find what I was looking for I'd just go buy another,,,,,,,Well I'm sure most of you know what that did to my shop's tooling budget, lol,,,,,,,so my best friend lives about 3 miles from me and I helped him build a shop for himself to piddle in mostly. Wll after about three weeks went by after we completed his shop I drove over with the back of my pickup loaded down with hand tools. He said what's this,,,,,I said I want you to find a place to store all these so I'll atleast know where the hell they are,,,,,,,,lol,,,,,,,,now being serious I do spend way to much time looking for tools in my shop. I only have 2 part time employees and there both women and when they are here all I hear is PUT IT BACK CHUCK,,,,,lol,,,,,see they usely have to find the lost tools that they know I've left somewhere,,,,,,It keeps life interesting to say the least.

all I hear is PUT IT BACK CHUCK

You're right. The technique about preventing the loss of tools is to have a place for them and return them there when you're not using them. Differentiate this from returning them when you're finished with them.

Back in my technician days, I'd put my tool down for a while if I needed another tool or needed both hands for a job. When I needed the tool again, I couldn't find it because I had kicked it away accidentally or it had fallen down a hole.

You've got a tool belt or a tool box, put it in there. Don't leave it on the floor or on the desk because, chances are, you'll forget them. At least, if it's in the tool belt or tool box, when you get up to leave, you'll have all your tools with you instead of leaving one or two of them behind.

For some of us, remembering to do this is not easy. It's an acquired habit. If you won't practice it, it won't become part of you.

Once, I thought of putting strings on my tools so that they won't get too far from me. That idea lasted only one day. The strings kept getting in the way .

You can put tracking device in your tools but will that really help. Won't it make it worse? I mean, you'll get so confident that you'll find your tools again that you'll cease to become careful. Technology is no substitute.

Methodically:

Decide if you refer to a mental tracking method or with the use of an actual device.

If it's mental, then the best habit I know, is to always take and return the tool to the same, given spot.

If it's with the aid of a device, you'll have to decide if its an active tag or a passive tag.

An active tag is more expensive, and as mentioned above, may consist of a transceiver system, but can be utilised to great distances, with a relative operation ease. On the down side it requires it's own attached energy source, it's bulky and sensitive to impact. A known example is the electronic key-finder gadget, usually out of commission in less than a year.

A passive tag is likely to be a sticker-patch with a printed resonance-coil, to be located with an active radio locator. Such a system would consist of a single (Or few, in case of a factory) locator, with any given number of sticker-tags. A known example is these anti-theft stickers in shops, with the locator made as a proximity-alarm gate, at the exit of the shop.

A sign on a local garage's wall read, "The chap who lends money is on holiday. The chap who loans tools has gone with him."

On more than one occasion a steam locomotive's firebox has been removed to find miscellaneous decaying tools, "lost" during the firebox's installation, trapped between the inner 'box and the outer wrapper near the foundation ring. How an electronic tagging system would cope with that is anyone's guess.

You'll probably have to weather proof these yourself: they're designed for finding car keys and the like, but, cheap compared to your requirement.

http://www.loc8tor.co.UK