Hello team.
I'm currently sitting in my office at VAWG Encampment 2016, serving as the Communications Officer. Keeping track of 150+ radio assets is challenging but not impossible.
I am looking at the CAPID tag and thinking that there is a way to scan that code, scan a 101 card code and have the data entered into a program or spread sheet.
Is anyone using a system like this? If so what are you using? Is it CAP provided or personal? Has the process been beneficial?
NESA uses something along those lines, but I've never seen it from the other side of the counter, just checking out or returning assets. Maybe Husker will share the secret sauce.
There are dozens of handheld barcode scanners that you can use. They, effectively, act as a keyboard, so they work with anything that takes an input field.
Your CAPID and 101 have your CAPID number encoded on them. With a bit of back-end processing (and your encampment commander knows how to do this...I've talked to him about this kind of thing, not related to encampment) you can derive a lot of info from just the barcode/capid/asset tag, saving a lot of manual input.
However, right now, in the midst of encampment, is not the time to put this together!
One of my PAOs rigged up a system for sign-in/sign-outs using the barcode on the back of the CAP ID. We're currently working on creating a system that allows for asset tracking, but I'm not sure of the status on this yet. I do know that it is possible!
I was on NESA Comm staff this year, and the inventory program used was very useful when coupled with a barcode scanner. I'm still tinkering with it myself in hopes to use it at encampment next year, but would be willing to help as I can.