Background

Going above and beyond for their customers is something everyone at Robert Dietrick Company understands and aspires to achieve. The Indiana-based company is an industrial solutions provider that solves problems for manufacturers by helping improve safety, security, productivity and energy efficiency with their industrial equipment. They offer help with equipment installation, service and routine maintenance of resources at loading docks, warehouses and production facilities.

Opportunity/Challenge

As a solutions partner, Robert Dietrick Company is always looking for ways to add value to the customer experience. One way to do that is to provide information about the equipment they work on. To achieve this, they need to physically identify where something is at in a customer facility and all of the related information about that specific asset.

According to RDC's Director of Innovation, Patrick Miller, the implementation of a work order and asset management software system called Service Max allowed their team to track assets by creating and entering in equipment information while logging the work that has been done to a specific asset. "We needed to tag every asset with a unique number to pull up a record in future visits and see everything that has been done to the equipment," he said.

The biggest challenge wasn't with the equipment or anything else like that, but rather changing the mindset from how things had been done previously. "Our biggest issue was the shift in focus," said Miller. "Prior information was not as granular; it only existed at the work order level, but now it's more detailed to the specific asset and easier to access.

Solution

When it came time to select the asset tag to tie everything together, the company turned to Metalcraft, Inc. after another partner recommended the Iowa-based manufacturer. "Metalcraft checked all the boxes for what we needed," said Miller. "Namely, they had the ability to produce a unique and highly visible number on a tag that could withstand the normal operation of an industrial environment."

After receiving guidance from Metalcraft on what product to use, the company selected Metalcraft's Metal Barcode Nameplates. This best-selling product provided them with the durability they needed to resist the elements. Miller and his team felt confident with the performance of the adhesive.

The durability of Metal Barcode Nameplates is inherent due to the specialized material and production process used. The tags are photographically reproduced for maximum clarity and detail and then sealed within the anodic layer of the aluminum - ensuring accurate and reliable reads for years to come. Miller stated that Metalcraft was easy to work with because they could work with what they already had. They also understood the importance of not having any duplicates, which is something that Metalcraft prides itself in. "The tags were extremely critical to ensuring the success of the overall system," he said.

Results

According to Miller, having this information available and using it to make more informed decisions is a more proactive approach. "We know what to expect and can do better onsite diagnosing," he said. In addition, customers can use this information to make informed decisions regarding maintenance or new equipment purchases. Eventually the team at Robert Dietrick would like to put information like purchase and/or maintenance history online for the customers to access.

Miller is enthusiastic about what they are doing at Robert Dietrick Company. "Our competitors are not currently offering customers fast and reliable access to asset performance data," he explained. "We're very excited about what that means to the company - it's put us way ahead of the game."

To learn more about our asset tracking solutions, contact us today at [email protected].