Industry — Manufacturing
Asset Tags for Manufacturing and Plant
On a production floor a tag has to survive vibration, heat, oil and washdown, and it usually has to be readable while the equipment is running. That pushes manufacturing tagging towards heavier metal plates with mechanical fixing.
What gets tagged
Assets typically tagged
- Production machinery and lines
- Compressors, pumps and motors
- Forklifts and material-handling equipment
- Workshop tools and jigs
- Boilers and utility plant
- Laboratory and quality-control instruments
- Warehouse racking and equipment
Numbering
Structuring the numbers
Plant registers commonly use a line or area prefix with a sequential number, for example LINE2-0007, so a number locates the machine before the register is consulted.
For a fuller method, see how to number company assets.
Practical considerations
What matters when tagging in manufacturing
Mechanical fixing over adhesive
Rivets or screws hold where adhesive fails — on hot, oily, vibrating or textured surfaces.
Size for distance reading
Where a number must be read from a walkway or across a machine, a larger plate with larger characters is the practical choice.
Support maintenance regimes
A QR code tag can reach the maintenance record for that specific machine, which keeps history attached to the asset rather than a spreadsheet row.
Tag sub-assemblies where useful
Motors, gearboxes and pumps that are swapped between machines are often tagged individually so their own service history follows them.
Process
A typical tagging exercise in manufacturing
- Walk the plant with the maintenance lead and mark each machine, its operating temperature and exposure to oil or coolant.
- Choose a mechanical fixing for machinery and a numbering scheme that matches the maintenance system.
- Tag by line or area so that a number tells maintenance where a machine belongs.
- Photograph each tagged machine with its tag visible and link the photo to the register entry.
Avoid
Mistakes worth avoiding
- Using adhesive tags on oily, hot or vibrating surfaces.
- Positioning tags where guards, covers or other equipment will block them.
- Changing numbering format part-way through, which splits maintenance history into two schemes.
Recommended formats
Tag formats that suit this sector
Aluminium Asset Tags
Durable numbered tags for long-service equipment and furniture.
View detailsBarcode Asset Tags
Faster verification where assets are counted by scanning.
View detailsQR Code Asset Tags
Phone-readable tags for inspection and maintenance workflows.
View detailsAsset Tagging Services
Numbering, specification and identification set up end to end.
View detailsFAQs
Manufacturing — questions
Which tag type suits heavy machinery?
A thicker aluminium or metal plate with rivet or screw fixing and larger characters. Adhesive tags are generally reserved for smooth, cool, low-wear surfaces.
Can tags carry both a machine number and a QR code?
Yes, where the plate is large enough for both to remain legible in the installed position.
What fixing is best for machinery?
A mechanical fixing such as rivets or screws is usually the most reliable on machinery, because adhesives can fail on oily, hot or vibrating surfaces.
Other sectors
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