Streamlining equipment and COSHH management: Traka’s success with KIT

Client Overview

Formed in 1995, Traka is a global leader in intelligent management solutions for keys and equipment, based in Olney Buckinghamshire and part of the ASSA ABLOY Group. As they have grown, their solutions have spread across various sectors including healthcare, education, and government. Like many growing organisation, they faced an expanding inventory of tools and increasing complexity in adhering to COSHH management requirements for hazardous chemicals.

The Challenge

Traka were struggling with equipment management efficiency and control of hazardous (COSHH) chemicals, and wanted to find a better way to alleviate issues with:

• Manual tool and equipment management that relied heavily on spreadsheets, individuals’ memory and drained management time.
• Management and reduction in the amount of hazardous chemicals kept on-site.
• Manual manipulation of spreadsheets, schedules and communication to prompt action on calibration activities
• Random, unauthorised purchases of equipment that deviated from standards.

The Solution

Traka chose KIT over other solutions having already started using it for managing hand tools kept in foam inlays in their tool cabinets and on shadow boards. KIT was already helping them to audit tools and give them the visibility needed and Traka liked the way it work and the flexibility it offered and were excited by the ongoing development plans that could meet Traka’s evolving needs. KIT enabled Traka to overcome several operational challenges:

• Centralised tool and equipment management: Traka soon adopted KIT and very quickly saw significant changes to the efficiency of tool inventory management thanks to the intuitive user experience offered.
• Chemical Management (COSHH): Traka leveraged KIT’s digital COSHH management system to improve safety and reduce on-site chemical quantities by digitizing Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and marking them with QR codes.
• Calibration Management: Moving from spreadsheets to KIT automated Traka’s calibration schedules, reducing errors and enhancing accountability with automated email prompts and dynamic reporting.
• Uncontrolled Purchases: By assigning unique identifiers to each item, KIT helped Traka prevent unauthorised purchases of tools, equipment and hazardous chemicals, streamlining inventory control.

The Results

Since moving to KIT, Traka’s management team have experienced a massive boost to operational confidence and peace of mind because of the gains they have seen across the board:

• Efficiency: simple processes and centralised documentation for COSHH management has made this awkward area straightforward to manage and control and ensure audit-readiness.
• Cost savings: system audits and checks flagged unused and unnecessary chemicals, allowing their removal or further analysis and preventing unnecessary purchases.
• Calibration & validation accuracy: the automation of the entire calibration management process within KIT has removed ambiguity and reduced the risk of human error, whilst also increasing accountability from equipment owners.
• Increased process adoption & ownership: The intuitive dashboards and automated workflows make KIT admin quick and easy, improving user adoption and adherence to processes.

Moving from spreadsheets to a KIT system has revolutionised our operations. The intuitive interface and robust support have enhanced our equipment management efficiency and compliance with industry standards.

Nigel Chappell, Senior Quality Engineer

Traka ASSA ABLOY