Inventorying...

[PaulRiley]

(Mods, feel free to move this if it is in the wrong place)

Hi all,
In short:
This is a question that came out of a discussion I had with my heads of P.A and Music at my college (UK college). Is there a program that exists that would allow lighting inventory to be tracked? What kind of programs do hiring companies to track their stock?

In long:

My college are currently creating four shows in the two spaces we have onsite: a dance showcase, musical theatre showcase, an acting showcase and a music showcase. I've been asked to either program or help light all the shows which is fine by me. However, each of the shows takes place in two different venues that we have - a small theatre and a larger studio space. The theatre is an entirely conventional rig made of, I think, 20 Source Fours while the studio space is an entirely LED Source Four and LED frensel rig.

I've sat with all the heads of department (all four - one for each of the subjects being showcased) and I've tried to create a rig which I can share across the two shows happening in each of the spaces. I think I've got something usable but the issue is that I want to supplement our existing rigs with some fixtures from each space and from the three stores we have on site. Only issue with that is while we know exactly what is in each space, no-one seems to know exactly how many fixtures we have onsite.

So I was wondering if there was a program that did the following:
A) Allowed me to enter fixture types and how many and all the other associated information like wattage, lens size etc.
B) Allowed me to enter exactly where those fixtures are stored
C) Allowed me to edit and say how many of each fixture had been "hired" by each production and for what date range

And then this is sort of a wishlist but:
D) Allowed me to enter how many of each gel we have in the store
E) Allowed me to enter how many accessories (barndoors, tophats etc.) we have in store and in the rigs currently.
F) Allowed me to enter how many lamps we've got and of what wattage they are.

I looked at Lightwright and that may work but it seems to me it's more geared towards venues and shows that are touring or hiring a rig and are playing in more than one venue or are playing for a long time (6 months plus). These shows will only run for a maximum of 4 nights before that's it on that show. I know that I could create a spreadsheet that allowed to do all of this in Excel but that's sort of my last resort.

There may be a slight chance that the Music and P.A departments will spend some cash on gaining a license but overall I'd rather it was a free program because then I can use it at home as well or on my own laptop without having to argue with the college about it.

Does such a program exist? Or is there something similar in existence?

 

[Dionysus]

Honestly, I'd just create a spreadsheet (that's what I've done for one space with two venues). Google docs is great as anyone in the department can access it as needed.

If you want to track individual fixtures you'll need each item listed independently, likely using a id number to keep track of which one is which, what condition its in and such... For notes like "sticky slide; please repair" to "out of service replace socket". But this is of course more spreadsheet-fu than a more simple total number of each fixture type then numbers of fixtures in different areas. Would set up very different. Either will work.

 

[alich]

I had looked into this in the past because we're tracking inventory across venues - we had initially looked into getting a barcode system using an Intelliscanner or something like AssetPanda, but after doing some digging we kind of determined what Dionysus suggested. It's a headache to have to go through your entire inventory and assign IDs to everything, then enforce your crew to actually scan everything in and out everytime you use it.

 

[macsound]

I've wondered and wanted to make something like this for a long time. What solution comes to mind is a sunday school system I saw at a mega church. Essentially every kid gets assigned to a parent and that parent has a card with a barcode (or barcode on their phone). Then when they show up on sunday, they can use the self service kiosk to check their child in. After church, they check their child out. Then the staff knew which kids were there on any given day.
I'm sure under the covers it was complicated, but just thinking outside the box that maybe your perfect inventory system might have another name, like in the childcare case.

Still it would be complicated to actually inventory this way, and in reality it might be easier to just label each fixture with a number in paint pen.

 

[PaulRiley]

Alich: that's kinda what I thought after posting it but then I don't have to worry about enforcing crew to sign it out as it'd literally just be me doing it or maybe our inhouse tech if I can prise them away from the music department... I think it'd would have been easier to do when they first got the stock and then built on it that way but unfortunately, that never happened.

Macsound: That sounds like a good idea in theory as then I can make each department a "parent" and then have the fixtures which each department has requested as the "children" but like you said, it's probably very complicated underneath. The paint pen might be the least painful way to do this but I don't know - I have a feeling that the upper management of the college won't be massively happy if I started writing on their lights despite it being for inventory control and tracking; the joys of education...

 

[SteveB]

Well obviously the first thing is to get a count of what fixtures you own. Without knowing that, no software solution means anything, Excel, Lightwright, whatever. You need to get a handle on the gear.

Excel is likely the easiest and cheapest. Fixtures, lenses for ellipsoidals, etc..... total inventory, that what's currently at Theater A, what's at Theater B, etc..... it's a real simple method.

Lightwright can do some of this, does inventory, stock vs. show, can count S4 ellipsoidal lenses, accessories, etc.... It'll tell designers when they've exceeded stock, etc.... Also counts gel cuts and sheets. Plus all the bells and whistles of dealing with addressing, porting and interface with Vectorworks, sending patch to Eos type consoles, etc..... so is good for a lot of what you need and is recommended in any event.

As note, I don't EVER count my gel, cuts or sheets. It's a perishable and gets used so quickly that there's no way to keep accurate track. And then there's stuff like did whomever struck the last show actually check for burnouts, etc.... so is the count real ?. I make sure I know what's needed in advance, have a crew member check and frame, and we order as needed.

I don't inventory lamps either, but do keep track (in my head) to have spares for each type of fixture needing. If it's a complicated facility I could see using a spreadsheet.

Note that even though you will likely end up just doing a spreadsheet, if you desire LW, there's a student version which cost's $115 and I believe you can upgrade after the 3 years is up. And you can install and run on multiple machines, just cannot run them at the same time.

 

[RonHebbard]

Alich: that's kinda what I thought after posting it but then I don't have to worry about enforcing crew to sign it out as it'd literally just be me doing it or maybe our inhouse tech if I can prise them away from the music department... I think it'd would have been easier to do when they first got the stock and then built on it that way but unfortunately, that never happened.

Macsound: That sounds like a good idea in theory as then I can make each department a "parent" and then have the fixtures which each department has requested as the "children" but like you said, it's probably very complicated underneath. The paint pen might be the least painful way to do this but I don't know - I have a feeling that the upper management of the college won't be massively happy if I started writing on their lights despite it being for inventory control and tracking; the joys of education...

@PaulRiley If / when you decide to write (PRINT) on your lights consider the following: Will you try to label your fixtures on a surface patrons won't see? Will any of your bosses (owners, administrators, department heads, house managers) care if patrons see your labels? Print legibly with a marker that will withstand room temperature at ceiling level and / or any heat being dissipated by the surface of the fixture. Color coding can be your friend, even if / when employing several different colors of markers. Do you want your self and your crew to be able to read your labels from the deck or is labeling on upper surfaces or the sides of hanging yokes better suited to your needs? Paint pens have stood up well in many applications, better than alcohol based markers. A few thoughts to mull over. I'll vote for Excel as well.
Posting from Canada, one of the colonies.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[Debra P. Holmes]

If you have a VectorWorks file of the design, it will export a list of instruments used in the plot. Perhaps that will help you to begin with?

I use Excel and a Count If statement: =COUNTIF(A:A,"S4 26") where the column A contains Type of Instrument and "S4 26" is what I call all Source 4 26 degree instruments (repeat with other types). You can use Conditional Formatting to change the color of the cell if you go over your inventory, that is, when you get it.

(Feel free to contact me if you go with Excel and need help with formulas . . . in a previous life, I taught MS Office and am an "expert" in Excel)

Good luck!

Debra

 

[Dionysus]

If you have a VectorWorks file of the design, it will export a list of instruments used in the plot. Perhaps that will help you to begin with?

I use Excel and a Count If statement: =COUNTIF(A:A,"S4 26") where the column A contains Type of Instrument and "S4 26" is what I call all Source 4 26 degree instruments (repeat with other types). You can use Conditional Formatting to change the color of the cell if you go over your inventory, that is, when you get it.

(Feel free to contact me if you go with Excel and need help with formulas . . . in a previous life, I taught MS Office and am an "expert" in Excel)

Good luck!

Debra

Hey Debra, yeah I've been wanting to get around to re-doing our inventory spreadsheet... Have put up this https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DzSoxZWQ1qaPSJiOTN9PmS-U1mq1rxQUTggbs2s03SE/edit?usp=sharing which is a sample template that Ive started... I think COUNTIF may indeed be part of the puzzle I was missing... Been a LONG time since Ive done something like this.
Currently, there is just a single dumb list for inventory done by a convoluted ID number system (no particular order). I have a much nicer version of the inventory I HAVE built that is simply the stock instruments for ONE venue with total quantities.
Would love to get that working better, and share it around when it is all sexy....
The real bonus of this is it is a Google Sheet, so anyone can just jump in and view it, and people with google accounts can be given edit rights. So we can all have it open on our devices at the same time. Plug in changes together!!!

 

[PaulRiley]

@SteveB That's a good point - I have several hours of downtime tomorrow so I'm planning on making some headway with actual physical numbers and locations before trying to find a software solution. As for the gels, I can see why in some venues that doesn't really work but in mine it's so infrequently used that it's more helpful to know what we've got rather than buying more and more when we've got loads in storage. The same goes for lamps.

@RonHebbard I did think about paint markers and it is something that I may do in the future when the stock expands slightly - I've heard rumours of this happening... I think that I'd mark them on the uppermost part of the yoke, the arm where it attaches to the clamp as it is out of the way of the patrons and everyone else... Plus I'd guess it'd help slightly with the rig plan (still need to do this too) if I knew exactly which fixtures I'd plotted and which I hadn't.

@Debra P. Holmes that's another good idea but I need to sit and learn basic VectorWorks modelling at some point as there is no model anywhere which is a pain. On the positive side, it does give me a very good reason to start learning VectorWorks. Just out of interest, do you know if there is a similar function in Capture Sweden at all?

@Dionysus Google Spreadsheets does seem like the way to go once I've got it all working so I will remember that solution - the ability to share and edit it with people is a definite plus in my books!

Thanks guys for all your help and advice. I'm about to head into the Christmas holidays so I will have plenty of time off to try and achieve something decent and that works.

 

[Chase P.]

I'm a fan of the individually labeled or barcoded fixtures. Over time, you're able to track problems and repairs, and know if it's say a new fixture failing, or a bad repair failing again. Since it sounds like most of the fixtures stay in one venue or the other for the rep plot, and only a few move to augment for each show, tracking shouldn't be as difficult. Color code the rep fixtures so they never leave the space, and you only have to update the spreadsheet/database for what goes in or out, not the whole rig.

Also, larger cables. Really helps when you have a socco failure and you're able to identify it as "the one that caused that other problem on that other show". Or you can track it back to "that cable that the rental group snagged on scenery while moving the batten, we should charge them for it now that it's failing".

Google docs is great. Being able to share the document but not allow changes is super helpful. And outside designers can see that the stock exists, but which fixtures are out for repair. You could even track re-lamping and preventative maintenance and the like if you were feeling OCD.

One could go so far as to set up a Google survey that has fields for the fixture number and "transfer to location_____" and the date and such. That would output to a spreadsheet you could merge with the "database" one. With everyone carrying a smartphone these days, you can hand out the survey, and no one has an excuse to not keep up to date.

Personally, I like barcodes, but only if they're nice and sticky, and are located such that they don't get damaged through regular use. Inside the side of the yolk at the top is a handy spot. Mostly visible when stored or in use. Even if all you do is hand key the number into a spreadsheet, they look official, and folks tend to respect them and not peel them off. Alternately, get a weird color combo for your label maker and go to town. That also lets you label for things like fixture wattage, if differing wattages are a thing in your house. One of mine is constantly battling between 575 and 750 in their two spaces. All fun and games until you twofer with the wrong lamp in one.

 

[Dionysus]

Yeah at one theatre I work at doesn't bother with individual identification, but the fixtures live in the venue and anything that needs repair gets repaired immediately.
The other uses ID numbers for each fixture up on the yolk as mentioned, done in either silver sharpie or paint marker depending on what was on hand at the time it was added to the inventory. It does make it easier to track issues in the long run, or track location better.

Hopefully I get that google sheet fixed up a little more sooner rather than later. Go ahead, steal it, use it for inspiration, etc. Toyed with the idea of the survey or building a "front end" sheet for adding, or making changes (such as location, lamping, condition, etc).

 

[Debra P. Holmes]

that's another good idea but I need to sit and learn basic VectorWorks modelling at some point as there is no model anywhere which is a pain. On the positive side, it does give me a very good reason to start learning VectorWorks. Just out of interest, do you know if there is a similar function in Capture Sweden at all?

Hi Paul,

I poked at Capture Sweden and it appears that it has an export to .csv file that can be used in Lightwright or Excel.

I'm in the same boat, actually! I have no drafting of the theatre space and not time to devote to drafting. But I only have about 35 instruments (that's another whole ball of wax!), so it hasn't been a huge deal, yet.

Good Luck!

Debra

 

[PaulRiley]

@Chase P. That does sound like a good idea with the whole barcode thing and then creating a google spreadsheet to work with that for both cables and fixtures - I might have to give that a go. I didn't think of the google forms option for requisition of fixtures by the various departments - I'm definitely going to either use that or keep that tucked in my toolbox for use at a later date.

@Debra P. Holmes I didn't know that there was an export to .csv file function in Capture Sweden. I'm definitely going to look in to that!

Thank you everyone for your help - there's some food for thought on exactly what I want to do and how now. We've gone dark for the Christmas holidays so plenty of time for maintenance and to get this working.