School Inventory Software

[GavRob]

Hi am new to the forums. i appologise if i have posted in the wrong place but can any one help?

 

The school have asked me (Network Manager) to find a new inventory system for the school, at the mo they use an excel spreadsheet. not the most high tech method i know.

 

We would like a hand scanner, barcode printer and different user accounts with different access rights, if any one can recomend a system that they use it would be much appricated.

 

Oh and if the company do training that would be even better cheers and of course the finance department want it to be as cheap as possible (as always)

 

Tahnks GavRob

[webman]

There's the Hardware Management System from MST Software (from our very own forumite Metalmonkey) but does not have the barcode interface you're after. I've also just started working on a web-based hardware inventory but once again will not have the barcode functionality.

[Geoff]

I use OCS inventory.

 

http://ocsinventory.sourceforge.net/

[MkII]

How about free!

 

OCS Inventory Is free and runs on LAMP and Windows.

 

Personally i'd really really like something that would act as a dual PAT test database and IT repair log/ Helpdesk. Not much to ask I think!

[GavRob]

Cheers guys, what i am after is somthing like a wasp system that the admin staff can use to track everything in the school that cost over £50, i am sure they won't mind paying some money.

[plexer]

Don't most barcode readers have the ability to input what they scan as text? therefore you go to the serial number field on whatever system you use and scan the barcode then fill in the rest of the details?

 

Ben

[plexer]

Mark: Have a look at:

http://glpi.indepnet.org/article.php3?id_article=43&lang=en

 

In conjunction with OCS does that fulfill your requirements?

 

Ben

[MkII]

I'll give it a go! - Thanks!

 

On the PAT test thing, my idea is that anything new that's electric goes to the pat test person first, is tested and added to the inventory. All repairs to electrical items should be logged, and known to the tester.

 

Schools have to do PAT testing, so it seems mad to be duplicating the work.

[Andrew_C]

The PAT regime (using Safety 1st) is the way I track kit I am responsible for, but due to manglements shortsightedness this doesn't include everything in the school.

[plexer]

Last year we contracted our PAT out to the LEA I think who got a firm in. The hassle of doing it is just a nightmare I haven't got enough time with everything else that goes on to do it.

 

Ben

[Geoff]

County send people in to do PAT testing every 12 months here.

[MkII]

Science Tech does it here, Caretaker before him - we have our own tester and everything's recorded on a Lotus Database.

[u8dmtm]

We use an online inventory system which is part of our Intranet Portal which also encompasses machine service logs so that we can build up a service history of problematic items etc. I developed it and it supports barcode scanning because barcode scanners turn the data into numbers anyway. It runs on IIS 5 and 6 and can be integrated with Windows Authentication so that different users have different levels of access (e.g. full, add but no delete, different areas, read-only).

[CyberNerd]

PAT testing - don't get me started. County insist that its done by one-particular firm and cannot be done by anyone else (so I'm told by SMT). Firm charges £1 per lead for PAT testing. Even the bloke who came to do it said its the most massive scam he's seen as it only takes 2 sec per test.

[Andrew_C]

Even the bloke who came to do it said its the most massive scam he's seen as it only takes 2 sec per test.

Then he's not doing it properly, and should be sacked! You MUST do a thorough visual inspection of plug, socket & cable before connecting to the tester. The tester should pass a high current through L&N and earth for a prescribed time (10 secs?) and then test the insulation resistance and polarity of the lead. Still money for old rope, but not 2 seconds! (And if you think watching paint dry is dull... )

[CyberNerd]

2-secs - I was exagerating a bit.

even a pound a minute would be a good deal !

[webman]

Even the bloke who came to do it said its the most massive scam he's seen as it only takes 2 sec per test.

Then he's not doing it properly, and should be sacked! You MUST do a thorough visual inspection of plug, socket & cable before connecting to the tester. The tester should pass a high current through L&N and earth for a prescribed time (10 secs?) and then test the insulation resistance and polarity of the lead. Still money for old rope, but not 2 seconds! (And if you think watching paint dry is dull... )

 

... and I've just finished watching House of Horrors on ITV

[john]

@webman, LOL, I saw that, GEEEEZ talk about duff electrics, thats bad even when I have seen bad ones in the past.

 

We use Safety 1st for our PAT management.

 

As for testings, my advice BEWARE with PAT testing, I had 2 servers suffer catastrophic failures whilst being PAT tested by a county tester, one had hard disk failure and another suffered the effects of a power surge! including a rather crispy motherboard in the end Now I have been learning PAT testing in preperation of going on a course later this term, and it appears that the last bloke that I saw do my server at my last place Flash Tested the server EEEK thats not what you do with them.

 

Our PAT tester at work has a special IT Hardware program, you can really hammer the IEC leads etc but PCs should be lightly tested, they do need testing but you have to be careful with it so not to risk any damage to the hardware in the machines. So beware, I advise my clients to let me know when the tester is coming and I meet with them and supervise them or, ask my mate at work who does ours to come out and test my clients PCs and Servers for them so they have been done and are valid and then I don't have the worry of them doing them in.

[MkII]

Way back when I trained PCs were off limits. You could only test monitors and power leads.

[john]

Who knows what I will do on this course, technically HSE say so long as I am not doing it for other people, IE just for my school, I don't need to do a course, I just need to be trained on the use of the tester and the things to look out for by a compitant person. But they are going to send me on a course rather than just do that, it makes sense and its another thing I can show that I have done and if I leave, I could, with the right equiptment and insurance etc start up as a mobile PAT tester

[GrumbleDook]

IIRC you should only test PCs (or an sensitive electrical equipment with unstable components, ie ROM that can be destroyed, RAM that can be wipe or other chips that may suffer damage on receiving large loads) for sustained current and for earth leakage. No flash testing or overloading may be done.

 

Since this is usually in the operating manual of testing equipment you can ask the tester (or their company) to reimburse you for parts, time and stress for sorting out a problem they caused.

 

The company that did our testing failed 3 perfectly safe PCs, failed to test all power leads, didn't even speak to any of the support team until the final day they were in (in spite or repeated attampts to find them) and destroyed 2 printers with flash tests.

 

They refused to come back and complete the testing or to talk about rectifying their mistakes ... we said we would withold the appropriate payment and they agreed ... and then they discovered that we will not be inviting them back next year.

 

2 Members of the team, 2 of the site supervisors and 2 others will do a course (in school) and we will get 2 kits and have a rolling program of testing throughout the year.

 

It will save us several thousand pounds even after taking in costs of training, kit and time taken to do the job *properly* and because they are not doing it day in day out people should not get into a boring routine and cut corners.

 

Having been on the end of a nasty shock with faulty electrics whilst in the army (and having to evacuate people from barracks late at night due to fires caused by it on other occassions too) I want to make sure it is done properly.

[nick]

Hi am new to the forums. i appologise if i have posted in the wrong place but can any one help?

 

The school have asked me (Network Manager) to find a new inventory system for the school, at the mo they use an excel spreadsheet. not the most high tech method i know.

 

We would like a hand scanner, barcode printer and different user accounts with different access rights, if any one can recomend a system that they use it would be much appricated.

 

Oh and if the company do training that would be even better cheers and of course the finance department want it to be as cheap as possible (as always)

 

Tahnks GavRob

 

You could try out Parago (http://www.itvision.net/) automated discovery, PAT testing fields.. and soon to have wifi barcode scanner integration for instant auditing.

[Andrew_C]

Way back when I trained PCs were off limits. You could only test monitors and power leads.

Not so. A tester designed for IT equipment will be capable of doing a 100mA earth bond test. You do need to inhibit the "run" test, as there is insufficient time for a boot sequence. Under no circumstances should a PAT tester in a school be flash testing anything except perhaps, seriously dodgy looking power tools.

 

Guidance can best be found in the IEE Code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment. ISBN 0 85296 776 4

 

For training, go to your local Tech college and do C&G 2377 Southampton Tech College

[MkII]

I did my course at a tech college in Leicester and the instructors advice was not to touch PCs. That was a while ago tho' as I said.

[beeswax]

Way back when I trained PCs were off limits. You could only test monitors and power leads.

..and you've tried to follow that advice ever since?

beeswax