The Client
The University of Phoenix Stadium is the home to the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals and the host of many conventions, trade shows, and concerts. Each year, the scoreboard production department is responsible for technical execution and oversight of the 10+ Cardinals football games, as well as an additional 100-200 sport, entertainment and trade show destination events held on and off-premises.
The Challenge
Nick Heller, Scoreboard Production Assistant, manages the audio and video board crews for all games, shows and events that take place at the University of Phoenix Stadium. To successfully facilitate these events, Heller and the Scoreboard Production department work with many expensive production equipment items including television cameras, truss structures, speakers and microphones.
The cost of the equipment needed to run the scoreboard show for the Arizona Cardinals football games or put on events such as the University of Phoenix graduation ceremony is extremely high. On any given day, up to $100,000 of equipment is utilized during production.
After joining the Cardinals Scoreboard Production department, Heller quickly discovered that equipment wasn’t being tracked. The production crew realized this might lead to equipment loss or theft. Whenever items went missing, the crew didn’t have an efficient way to investigate whereabouts – they didn’t even have an easy way to determine who had last used a certain item or for what purpose. With such valuable assets, the crew needed a system in place to better manage production equipment.
Sometimes there are multiple events in a single day. Heller and his team desperately needed the ability to forecast where equipment was needed each day. With some items being limited to availability, planning ahead and potentially renting additional equipment would improve their ability to plan and produce all events in their scope of work.
The Solution
Heller found Wasp Barcode Technologies through an online search. He was looking for a portable, intuitive solution that would allow multiple people to work with the program and track equipment movement instantaneously. After participating in a live demo that allowed him to try out Wasp's asset tracking software prior to his purchase, Heller knew he found the solution that provided all the required features.
“I really liked that I was able to take part in the demo that allowed me to become familiar with the software before purchasing,” said Heller. “We chose Wasp because the program was extremely user friendly for everyone on the staff. Portability was another priority due to the large number of offsite events. With Wasp, we are easily able to pack and transfer our Wasp barcode scanner when take equipment to offsite events.”
Before Wasp, the crew did not have an accurate record of inventoried equipment. Some of the full-time employees had an idea of what was on hand and where it was located, but there was no record or set location for an item that could be referenced by any department member.
The Result
Since first implementing Wasp's asset management software two years ago, the scoreboard production crew has gained an accurate depiction of their assets. They are now able to accurately track their assets at various events both on and offsite. Using Wasp has decreased the possibility of theft of their products as well. A Cardinals labeled barcode is a clear deterrent.
Overall, the Arizona Cardinals scoreboard production department estimates that since using Wasp's asset management solution, they have saved five to 20 labor hours per event, which has accumulated to saving 500 to 1,000 labor hours in the past two years. This time used to be spent manually tracking equipment, double checking what was needed versus what was available, and tracking down misplaced equipment.
“The reliability and accuracy of the product is key," said Heller. "It always works and there is no need for constant software upgrades. Wasp’s barcoding and asset tracking system is a must-have item for any major sports team or large production venue.”
