Overview

I have proposed and began implementing a new low-cost equipment inventory system that will allow my colleagues to self-sufficiently locate and check out equipment.

Challenge

I transitioned into the role of managing the lab and all of its equipment in the R&D building. The previous coworker in charge relocated to the Boston Landing site, and I was best suited to take over the role. One of the objectives I was given was to develop an inventory management system that could easily track the whereabouts of each piece of equipment. The process in place involved manually documenting the researcher that borrows the equipment in an excel sheet.

Process

I set up a meeting with Jason Conway, a coworker on my team that is in charge of lab management in the Boston Landing location of Bose. Together, we identified key features to look for in an inventory system and prioritized these features based on their importance. We also set up biweekly meetings to go over the progress of the management system as well as any other lab related updates. 

We researched different inventory management options and discussed which one would be the best budget-friendly option. I then set up a meeting with my manager and Jason to discuss and demonstrate the proposed system. The proposed app system got approved for purchase, and we began  implementing it. 

I familiarized myself with the new app inventory system before deciding how to best approach incorporating our inventory. I assigned both Jason and myself to update our current equipment inventory. 

Then, we discussed a systematic naming convention and incorporate before incorporating it into the system. Since we lacked the bandwidth to do this ourselves, I delegated it to our co-op, Amber Chong. Together, we discussed the best naming convention across our locations and asked Amber to begin implementation.

Outcomes

We got approval for the inventory management system, completed the inventory all of the equipment, and established a systematic naming convention across two locations. We are now in the process of transferring all of that information into our system with barcodes so that colleagues can easily scan and check out equipment.