Many maintenance departments have employees that provide their own tools to work with. Not only does this save on costs but you can rest assured that they know how to use the tools and are very familiar with them.
Let Facilities Management Software help you determine the pros and cons of maintenance personnel providing their own tools and it's up to you as a maintenance supervisor or facility manager to decide which is more ideal for your work environment.
Pros of an Employee Having Their Own Tools:
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Familiarity
An employee who has their own tools are always familiar with them and can use them properly in almost all cases. You won't have to worry about your employee getting behind on a job with having to learn how to use a certain tool and as you know, not all tools (especially power tools) work the same way or feel the same to the person using them. -
Cost
Obviously, if your employees provide their own tools then you don't have to pay that initial cost for your own tools. However, it is sometimes best to have your own anyway which we will cover under the inaccessibility area of this article. -
Experience
Your employees who have their own tools will most likely have experience with these tools and be able to use them properly. You also won't have to worry about a worker taking care of this investment because workers who have to buy their own items to work with are more likely to take care of the tools.
Cons of an Employee Bring Their Tools to Work:
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Inaccessibility
One of the biggest drawbacks of your employees having their own equipment is inaccessibility. If the employee is out sick or leaves the company, those tools are no longer available. In addition, a person who has had to pay to provide their own work items will not, and should not be expected to, want to loan them out to other employees to use. So if that person is not at work, you may have to improvise unless you have the items yourself or another employee has the same needed equipment. -
Affordability for Employee
The best pro for your employees is that that they can use your equipment and learn from it without having to invest a lot of money in tools of their own. Or, if they do plan to buy in the future, they can start out slowly and pick a piece at a time as their finances allow.
Read More: Pros/Cons: Renting vs Buying Equipment
No matter what you decide, there are good points and bad in both but either one can be the best idea for your individual company.
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