Equipmentmanagementboostingsustainability

Martela & Trail Systems: Partnership of two Finnish companies with responsible values

Martela is a Finnish family business founded in 1945. Martela designs and manufactures user-driven workplaces and learning environments. Martela’s design and specialist services cover the entire lifecycle of a workplace.

Trail Systems supports the management of acquired equipment through a cloud-based asset management service. The data in Trail system is built on identifier labels attached to the equipment. Through labels, Trail digitalizes all fixed assets and centralizes all asset information throughout the lifecycle.

Martela and Trail Systems signed a partnership in 2018 to respond to the demand of equipment management services from the equipment supplier. Work is going through a transformation and so are working environments, and with that, the importance of equipment management is rising. Both Martela and Trail Systems are highly user-oriented and customer-centric service providers. Sustainability is also a common factor for both parties in this partnership.

Sustainable and cost-effective asset management

Together as partners, Trail and Martela, offer customers comprehensive equipment management service for work environments. Customers gain the ability to utilize equipment data in planning and decision-making. Most importantly customers gain the ability to make sustainable equipment investments based on proven need, and with that also the ability to control costs. A sustainable asset management culture can be built only when data-based decisions can be made regarding combinations of new and reused equipment.

Working well together

The partnership between Martela and Trail Systems is based on mutual appreciation, open communication, and added value for the end customer. There is a solid base to build the partnership on.

Detailed overall picture of the equipment usage

“Trail is very easy and simple to use. We have been very satisfied with it" states Juha Hirvonen, Sound production unit, Riveria

Riveria is one of the largest vocational education and training providers in Finland. Each year, 17,000 students study at Riveria, which offers over 130 different degrees.

In the media and communications department, students use AV equipment owned by the institution daily for various projects. Managing equipment usage and reservations was very time-consuming and challenging without an adequate system.

The sound production unit was the first to adopt Trail at Riveria. Previously, the unit used paper forms to track equipment reservations, which were unreliable and frequently outdated. Much time was spent searching for equipment and reservation information.

AssetOps improves monitoring and saves time

With the AssetOps culture enabled by Trail, the sound production unit has significantly improved its equipment management. Thanks to Trail's reservation feature, students can book devices anytime and from anywhere via a web-based interface. As a result, the overall view of equipment reservations is continuously updated, making it easy to monitor equipment usage.

Trail also helps Riveria ensure that equipment is returned to its proper place after a student’s reservation ends. With booking history readily available, locating equipment has become faster. Since introducing Trail, no equipment has been lost, and the time spent searching for equipment has been significantly reduced.

Building on the positive experiences of the sound production unit, Trail's use at Riveria has expanded. Today, the Radio and TV, Photography, and Graphic Design units also manage their equipment with Trail.

Achieved benefits:

• Reduction of time spent searching for equipment

• Reduced equipment loss

• Easily available devices

• Improved tracking of equipment reservations and returns

Effective solution for tracking equipment reservations

Pop & Jazz Conservatory is one of the most revered music schools specialising in rhythm music in Europe.

In many conservatories and music schools, students and staff frequently use the institution's equipment. The Pop & Jazz Conservatoire in Finland is no exception. They offer music education to people of all ages, and students frequently borrow a significant amount of equipment.

For Ossi Pelttari at the Pop & Jazz Conservatoire, managing equipment reservations had become a burden. “It was difficult to keep track of who was using what and whether everything had been returned,” Pelttari explains. Paper lists and Excel sheets did not provide adequate control, and equipment loss was a significant problem.

“We knew that our partner school, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, was using the Trail equipment management system for their equipment and reservations, and they were very satisfied with it. So, we decided to explore Trail as well,” Pelttari continues. “We have labeled our equipment with Trail asset tags and now have an effective system for managing it.”

“Trail allows us to easily make reservations and scan equipment out on those reservations, giving us better control over our assets,” states Pelttari. “Now that we use Trail, we have a clearer understanding of which equipment people currently have. Equipment loss has decreased, and we spend less time searching for equipment and reservation information. Of course, the system’s benefits depend on how actively people use it,” Pelttari continues. “Trail also provides the Pop & Jazz Conservatoire with better control over equipment maintenance. People now have an easy way to report defects,” Pelttari adds. “And we finally have a clear view of what we actually have and where everything is.”

Achieved benefits:

• An improved process for equipment reservations

• Decreased equipment loss

• An intuitive system and efficiency with having all information available in Trail

• A comprehensive view of all equipment and its lifecycle

• An easy method for reporting defects allows faster repair times

Senate Properties

Senate Properties is the work environment partner of the Finnish government. Senate Properties is responsible for the maintenance and development of the premises of government organisations and creates work environments that support customers' operations.

Trail was introduced to Senate Properties in 2018 through a public tender. As part of the implementation, a security and administrative audit of the system was conducted to ensure Trail's suitability for use by the state administration.

"The goal was to gather all the life cycle information of office furniture and AV equipment across different locations," says Jenna Mustonen, Adviser, Maintenance in Workplace and Maintenance Services at Senate Properties.

Efficient inventory

Trail is currently used to manage tens of thousands of Senate Properties' furniture and AV equipment throughout Finland. Physical RFID tags are attached to the equipment for individual tracking. The tags have basic item information and a QR code, enabling fast and effortless defect reporting through Trail's mobile application.

"We decided to label the devices with Trail’s RFID smart chips so that repetitive inventories can be completed using remote reader devices. In this way, inventories can be completed in a fraction of the time compared to before", says Mustonen.

Trail's mobile application and RFID reader are used to identify remotely readable RFID tags. In practice, a mobile device is connected to the reader, where Trail's application registers all RFID tags scanned by the reader, and then updates the system with the latest information.

A powerful RFID reader allows tags to be read from a distance of up to 10 meters, making inventory execution very fast. As an example of efficiency, about 800 articles from the entire floor were inventoried in less than 10 minutes in one of the Helsinki offices.

Gathering equipment information

Gathering equipment information into Trail works smoothly for Senate Properties as equipment suppliers provide the information in a system-readable format.

"With Trail, we finally have a comprehensive view of the locations we manage and the furniture and equipment used by different customers - and it's easy. In the past, compiling and updating such information was practically impossible," says Mustonen.

User rights management

All systems used by the Senate Properties must operate seamlessly and reliably in terms of user rights management. With Trail's comprehensive access control possibilities, information on equipment in different parts of Finland is only available to relevant personnel.

Achieved benefits:

• Up-to-date view of all equipment

• Efficient and reliable inventory

• Efficient equipment data collection

• Effective user rights management

Management of all equipment across the city

The biggest challenge was the lack of centralised information

Before the Trail Equipment Management system was implemented, the City of Pori’s equipment data was scattered across multiple systems and unit-specific spreadsheets. Some of the data had not been compiled anywhere. There was no centralised view of all equipment and their lifecycle information.

In addition to gaining a comprehensive overview, the City of Pori set the goal of standardising asset management practices and improving the efficiency of equipment utilisation. The aim is to promote sustainable development through the efficient utilisation of equipment, improved maintenance management, systematic planning of repairs, and predicting replacement needs.

“The goal is that these new practices will make it possible to make better use of recycled equipment that is still in good condition.” - Erja Haavisto, Finance Manager, City of Pori

From a risk management perspective, improved registration of equipment was also identified as a means of preventing the loss and unauthorised use of such assets, thereby strengthening internal control and risk management practices.

Trail provided a modern solution suitable for the city’s needs

After comparing various systems, the Trail Equipment Management service was selected as the City of Pori’s solution for equipment management. The decision was influenced in particular by the system’s support for tracking stock balance items and its item-based pricing model, which suited the city’s needs. In addition, the system was found to be user-friendly, technologically modern, and adaptable to identified needs.

The success of the implementation was the result of many factors

The City of Pori was successful in implementing the selected equipment management solution.

Several factors contributed to the successful implementation:

• Efforts were made at the city level to provide guidance and information.

• Sufficient staff resources were allocated to carry out the system implementation, and staff received extensive training in data collection.

• The implementation was well planned, and the groundwork was thoroughly prepared.

• The business units were committed to implementing the system, and responsible personnel were appointed

• Trail System’s key account manager and technical support team provided assistance during the implementation

One key factor in the project’s success was that the City of Pori was able to get its staff on board with compiling asset data and using the system. In this regard, securing the commitment of the various departments and appointing designated personnel were crucial components of the overall effort. The designated personnel were also provided with training and access to a shared support group to assist them in their work.

When the system was implemented, it was emphasised that each unit could go beyond the minimum requirements defined for their specific needs, and those in charge were given the freedom to decide for themselves how to use the system on a day-to-day basis. Initially, steps were also taken to ensure that responsibility was not placed excessively on any one person.

“We were able to build a strong sense of shared purpose among the admin users.” - Bettina Nirhamo, Lead Designer, City of Pori

Achievable benefits

The centralisation and standardisation of equipment management have increased visibility and awareness of the city’s entire equipment inventory. At the same time, the conditions for establishing consistent operating practices have improved, and equipment recycling and lifecycle management have also advanced. The goal is for the Trail Equipment Management system to eventually be in use throughout the entire city organisation.

Using Trail Equipment Management service is also expected to deliver financial benefits, particularly through increased equipment rotation between units and more systematic lifecycle management.

Achieved benefits:

• A comprehensive overview of the city’s equipment

• The ability to quickly check whether the city already has any equipment available for the task at hand

• The ability to integrate risk assessments and maintenance procedures into equipment data