Laptop allocation / sign out

[Gaz]

We are moving site (at some point) and we will have 70 laptops that will be issued out to whoever wants them during the day and are to be returned at the end of the day. This is something completely new for us as we are currently 99% desktop based.

What I need is a way of issuing out the laptops in the morning or during the day that the students can just collect them and return them themselves but in a secure manner so we know whos signed out what laptop.

 

Space is at a premium in the new building so there may have to be in multiple locations. It would be nice to have some sort of automated system so it didn't require a staff member to allocate the laptops to students, but we need to track whos got what laptop somehow.

 

Cheers.

[Meldrew]

I would say that you're probably going to have a big problem with laptops getting damaged or going missing and no one taking responsibility. I would recommend putting the laptop number in very large text on the laptop lid and underside, eg 150 point text and CCTV cameras covering your collection/dropoff point. That way you'll hopefully be able to tell who actually took which laptop when you want to chase someone. They will however still get abandoned in rooms, cupboards, dropped and smashed.

 

Maybe you're in a school where this would work, but I know in my school, it would be a disaster. In one of our faculties which doesn't have a full time technician to manage the laptops, between 30 and 50% are unusable at any one time.

 

Meldrew.

[jmak]

Just take a swipe of their credit card and a photocopy of their driving licence or passport and you'll probably get away with only employing one dedicated technician to fix the machines (funded by the repair charges you make to the credit cards used for security).

 

Cynical? Me?

 

To try to be a bit more helpful, could you use an extension of whatever system you use in the library to control book loans or take a penny from their lunch cards?

[pcstru]

I did see some lockers at BETT which can be operated by swipe/nfc card and probably biometrics that were supposedly for that purpose. Couldn't see it working well myself. We do loan laptops and if we weren't checking then at the point of return, I think we would see unsustainable levels of damage.

[Gaz]

Well unfortunately this is just how its going to be. I was against the whole idea personally but like most things it was out of my control. Now I just need to find a solution that is viable.

They have swipe cards that they use to access the building but they are on a closed system which I won't have access to. A Swipe card locker system sounds good but expensive.

[FN-GM]

How about something like this? - https://www.lapsafe.com/products/fixed-charging/diplomat

[dry]

A Swipe card locker system sounds good but expensive.

I've seen this implemented in a few universities and you're right, it is expensive. There's also the problem that a laptop could be returned damaged and you're unable to trace who caused it- due to there being multiple issue/returns since the damage was caused.

 

At the secondary school that I went to, we had banks of laptops that were unsupervised. On one occasion I watched a classmate crack a screen and return the laptop to the cabinet. Nothing ever came of the fact that he broke the screen as (presumably) the IT techies weren't able to trace who had the laptop when the screen was cracked.

[Gaz]

Yeah I know what you mean about the damage aspect. I won't be checking the kit when its returned and I would hope that they would come to me if they do damage something. Its not a school I work for but an apprentice training college. We could probably get them to sign something to say if they break something their employer is liable. The employers are quite supportive of us in such matters.

 

If needs be we'll get their lecturers to sign them out and pay them a little extra but I would just like some sort of computer/automated system to do it.

[mattstevenson2005]

We have around 500 fixed desktop pcs and around 200+ laptops that students and staff can book out from different departments/locations around the site throughout the day. To say it's quite unmanageable for the staff in these areas to keep track of them all is an understatement. We have just come to accept that we have to expect a certain level of damage to keyboards/smashed screens from accidental drops due to the sheer volume of use and number of devices. We have introduced some custom written tools and utils to help the staff keep track of who has then/had them last to try and help with the management but the physical storage is lots of charge and store laptop cabinets around the site.

[FN-GM]

We have around 500 fixed desktop pcs and around 200+ laptops that students and staff can book out from different departments/locations around the site throughout the day. To say it's quite unmanageable for the staff in these areas to keep track of them all is an understatement. We have just come to accept that we have to expect a certain level of damage to keyboards/smashed screens from accidental drops due to the sheer volume of use and number of devices. We have introduced some custom written tools and utils to help the staff keep track of who has then/had them last to try and help with the management but the physical storage is lots of charge and store laptop cabinets around the site.

 

We have have about that number of laptops. When I started my place we had quite a bit of damage. Now we get hardly any. That amount of damage should not be accepted IMO. Our laptops are checked in and out every lesson, follow this procedure will work fine. If any damage is discovered and the previous lesson didn't follow this procedure their department gets the bill.

[AliG]

Issue them from the library like a library book?

[Gaz]

Issue them from the library like a library book?

 

I don't even know if we will have a library yet. The sector of education I work in is quite unique.

[jmak]

You could (will need to) set up some kind of system for tracking loans and short of building something yourself, a library system seems like a reasonable starting point.

 

You could try the open source Web User Booking System, developed for and by Loughborough University:

 

https://sourceforge.net/projects/wubs/

 

Features

 

Allows resources to be of arbitrary, admin defined types. For example you might have types of "Group Study Room", "Bookable PC", "Staff Loan Laptop", with multiple resources of each Type. Individual resources can have different booking periods defined, with gaps allowed between booking slots (allowing, for example, one group to a room and then another group takes up residence outside of the booked slot)Resources and/or types can have periods defined when they aren't available for bookings (eg during holidays or building refurbishments)"Librarian" and admin staff can act as other users to allow them to book resources on behalf of students (handy if sitting at a help desk or on the end of a support line)Different classes of user can have different limits to the number of resources they can book, with different rules for different types of resource as wellUser information picked out of the Active Directory

 

 

Disclaimer: I haven't tried it, just thought it looked useful

[strawberry]

Employ one person whos sole job it is to physically hand them out over a counter and take a photo of each person with the equipment. Once they bring it back photo gets taken off wall.

[Gaz]

Employ one person whos sole job it is to physically hand them out over a counter and take a photo of each person with the equipment. Once they bring it back photo gets taken off wall.

 

That in my opinion is the best solution but I'm not sure how practical it will be! Probably wouldn't even need to take a photo of them, just log it out using their swipe card and have someone hand them a laptop.

[strawberry]

That in my opinion is the best solution but I'm not sure how practical it will be! Probably wouldn't even need to take a photo of them, just log it out using their swipe card and have someone hand them a laptop.

 

Also works, I'm stuck in a teenage environment where none of the little terrors are identifiable so use photos to document what they've got ( not always time to process) and what they look like ( not who they claim to be! ). Not sure what minmum wage is but it could cover the cost of repair and you could assign the person to assist with "training" which always sits well with teaching staff.