5 simple ways to avoid your camera from being lost

The title of this article could also have been: simple ways to avoid your AV gear from getting lost or simple ways to avoid your video equipment from getting lost. It doesn’t matter what gear you are trying to track. This blog will help you reduce equipment loss.

Cameras, lenses, cables, and tripods are all constantly being taken from one location to another. It happens that someone forgets something or that the item is being shipped to the wrong place or person. When that happens, it’s usually tricky to get it back or to know when you will see it again. An example is Fox Sports at the World Cup in 2012. Five hundred thousand dollars worth of AV gear was left on a loading dock. They could never find all the gear again, meaning they had to purchase thousands of dollars of new equipment.

Luckily, there are ways to avoid such costs. We’ve listed them below:

1. Use scannable asset tags: These are a life savior. With QR codes or asset tags, you can instantly identify equipment anywhere, anytime with a quick scan. This makes your asset tracking system error-proof and eliminates paper.
2. Use an asset tracking app with geolocation: An asset tracking app holds all your equipment’s information, including real-time location. You won’t have to remember who is using what asset. You can simply select it in the app or check the calendar overview. If an item gets lost, the geolocation will point you in the right direction.
3. Ask for a signature at check-out: When a piece of equipment is being checked out, ask for a signature on a document stating that the person renting the equipment is responsible for all damage or loss. This will increase responsibility and ensure people handle your equipment with care.
4. Work with an equipment booking system: Having an equipment booking system allows you to see who is using what type of equipment at what time. This avoids the back-and-forth between the equipment managers and people renting out the equipment and lets users reserve available equipment themselves. No more people will forget equipment in their car or at home when they know someone else might need it in the future.
5. Send automatic SMS or e-mail notifications: No more hunting down late returns or losses as these reminders will increase accountability. Also, the system is pretty much waterproof if you do this in combination with a mandatory signature at checkout.

Cheqroom decreases equipment losses by at least 85%. Want to know more? Sign up for our newsletter!