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Construction companies utilize local storage yards to store large, high-value assets for construction projects. Storage yards, often referred to as "Laydown yards" may extend for hundreds of acres in which materials are stored in close proximity to a job site. Large construction projects typically require handling thousands of different assets as they are continuously being checked in and out of the yards. Unfortunately, many laydown yards are also riddled with inefficiencies due to lack of organization and control. Loss, theft, misplacement, and misidentification of material and equipment are common issues that affect many construction projects. Given these challenges, real-time asset visibility and inventory accuracy becomes the ultimate goal of an effective yard management solution.

Locating assets can be time consuming, especially if assets are hidden in vegetation or covered by snow. Excessive time spent searching for assets have a measurably negative impact on construction productivity. This lost time is compounded when assets are not located, despite spending considerable time searching. When workers can easily determine an asset's exact location in real-time, it not only reduces overall construction time, but also helps maintain accurate inventory levels, avoiding the need to order excess material and reducing scrap / waste levels significantly.

This paper describes InSync's laydown yard management (LYM) solution that gives yard operators the ability to precisely control their yard inventories. The LYM application combines bar code, RFID and GPS technologies to provide complete inventory identification, location and tracking, ensuring that the right asset is available when it is absolutely needed.