What is a location?

A location is any place where your agency stores inventory. It can be as large as a fire station or as small as a single compartment on an ambulance. Locations are organized in a hierarchy — bigger locations contain smaller ones.

The location hierarchy

Locations can be nested inside each other to match how your agency actually stores things. For example:

  • Station 1 (facility)
    • Supply Room (room)
      • Shelf A (shelf)
        • Bin 1 (bin)
        • Bin 2 (bin)
    • Medic 5 (vehicle)
      • Driver Side Compartment (compartment)
      • Airway Bag (bag)

There is no limit to how deep the hierarchy can go. You can put a bin inside a shelf inside a room inside a facility, or a bag inside a compartment inside a vehicle inside a station.

Location types

Every location has a type that describes what kind of place it is. The available types are:

  • Facility — a building, station, or campus
  • Room — a room within a facility
  • Shelf — a shelf or rack
  • Bin — a bin, drawer, or small container on a shelf
  • Vehicle — an ambulance, engine, rescue truck, or other vehicle
  • Compartment — a compartment within a vehicle
  • Box — a portable box or container
  • Bag — a carry bag like a jump bag or airway bag
  • Locker — a personal or equipment locker
  • Safe — a locked safe or secure cabinet
  • Other — anything that does not fit the types above

Location codes

Each location has a short code that uniquely identifies it. This code is used in barcode labels, CSV imports, and reports. Keep codes short and consistent. For example, STA1 for Station 1, M5-DRV for Medic 5 driver side compartment, STA1-SUP-A1 for Station 1 supply room shelf A bin 1.

Active and inactive locations

If a vehicle is taken out of service or a storage room is closed, mark that location inactive. Inactive locations stop appearing in dropdown lists, but any historical data tied to them is preserved.

External designation

Some locations can be marked as "external," which means they represent a place outside your agency. This is useful if you need to track inventory that has been sent to a repair shop, loaned to a mutual-aid partner, or moved to a temporary staging area.