Time Management and Equipment Checkout Software

Why is good time management so important when it comes to equipment checkout? Quite simply, it’s because equipment lending generates a lot of work! Staff tasked with coordinating equipment loans are often burdened with a raft of administration tasks. It risks eating into the scarce hours available for maintaining the equipment and environment that they’re primarily responsible for managing.

So we’re exploring what counts most for supporting improved time management in these circumstances. In this installment, we’re focused on time savers and where equipment checkout software can step up and lighten the workload for staff. How can it do this and in what ways does it help most?

Part I: Time Savers

Over 120 university representatives shared their opinions with us on the effectiveness of these checkout systems for saving staff time. Such software can save staff many hours every week – our poll result lists the ways in which this is made possible.

Here’s the full rundown of top time savings:

Lending out media equipment and hardware for student use requires some rigorous processes. On the one hand, staff need to ensure their department’s investment is protected, with careful tracking and circulation of these valuable resources. Plus they need to manage adequate access to items that are often critical to students’ academic success. However, with the right system these responsibilities become much more manageable, with time-intensive tasks automated and new efficiencies in place.

The reservations aspect of the software is what really counts here. According to our findings above, this is the most effective way to save a lot of staff time. With our Connect2 software for example, students are enabled to make their own bookings from an online catalog. They simply click on what they need, add it to their cart, and submit their order for the time needed.

It sounds simple enough, and with a well-designed facility like Connect2, that’s exactly what it is. Our research shows that empowering students in this way can save staff between 7 and 10 hours a week.

As you can see from the chart, other ways equipment checkout software helps range from a rapid checkout/in process to inventory stock taking support.

Technical staff responsible for maintaining media and AV equipment are absolutely indispensable to their department and institution. If encumbered by a constant stream of equipment booking email requests and fiddly spreadsheets, their valuable skills and knowledge will not be getting used to their full potential. So it’s definitely worth learning more about how equipment checkout software can help.

To find out more, get in touch or see further information from Connect2 here.

Thank you to everyone who took part in our poll.

Next time – we’ll be looking at how staff can better manage their schedules. Imagine having clear knowledge of all checkout/in volumes by hour or day – both historically and in the time ahead. Well with Connect2, you can do just that! Watch this space for Part II of our Time Management feature.