Picking Smart Tool Investments, With Sean
Buying tools is fun. One might say I’m addicted to it... however, having a well-equipped toolset has made me an asset throughout my career. Choosing when and what to invest your hard-earned money into is important to having success long term. Knowing where you can save is just as important as knowing where you should spend the extra money to have the best. Here are some of the strategies we use to decide how we spend our money
How badly do we need this tool?
Generally, if we need it more than two times a month then we will buy something to increase our productivity or solve a problem. Some of our work is done in restrictive areas where it's very difficult to move around and carry a tool belt. Too often we’d end up dumping our handtools or nuts and bolts out and have to climb down to retrieve them. I found some small Klein Buckets to hold our hardware and now we stage these buckets anywhere we need them. This means we never have to climb down to get more hardware or pick up any fallen items. This increases productivity and decreases frustration, and in this case, also comes with some added safety benefits. The cost of a tool like this is easily compared to the time it saves us, making it simple to evaluate the benefit of this investment.
What level of quality do we need for this tool?
If we are only using a tool once a year the nicest, most expensive, option likely isn't needed. If we will use something almost every day then it may be worth investing in the nicest one available. Our spud wrenches for example are used often as see heavy wear and tear. We bought Wright Tool wrenches for this purpose because they are regarded as one of the best. Having a cheap tool break when you need it most is simply not worth the risk in many situations.
How will this work with our current and future equipment?
Thinking long-term saves money and complications down the line. We stick to one power tool brand so we only need to have one brand of battery around. One kind of truck so our parts are interchangeable and we can buy our fluids and routine maintenance items in bulk. It also helps us grow our working knowledge quicker, and makes it simpler to find a preferred mechanic to service all our needs. Sometimes a tool that will work well in the future is worth investing in even if it doesn’t meet your needs perfectly currently. Having plans is important.
Can it be used to solve a problem that is currently without a solution?
An example of this is welding on structural steel erection sites. Nearly every company we work with has one engine-driven welder per person on site. We see this as a wasted opportunity to get clever with investing in smarter gear. Running that many generator welders adds up quickly and will cost you a lot of money, fuel, routine maintenance, and precious space on a work truck. To contrast this, we invested in a small and highly efficient inverter machine, the Fronius Transpocket. This machine can be powered comfortably by the auxiliary power of an engine driven welder, meaning our truck only needs one generator for a team of two to weld all day. This saves us money on fuel, oil, filters, and welding lead, and also offers many convenience benefits. It’s not perfect for every situation, but it allows us a high degree of flexibility. The money we save can help us offer better rates to our customers, or gives us the windfall we need to continue to invest in quality equipment and sustain our growth as a business.
How will this tool pay for itself?
A good tool might pay for itself in a few different ways. It could save you time on your work, reduce mistakes that cost you time and money later, or it could offer an alternate way of doing something that is less costly than your current methods. These all go hand in hand, but one thing they all have in common is that they can all be expressed in terms of time. A $100 tool that saves you $100 dollars in time the day you buy it is an easy choice. As the return on investment takes longer, it becomes more challenging to weigh the costs and the benefits of an investment sometimes. Perhaps a larger tool may take several years to pay itself off. Will you still be doing the type of work that requires this tool that far into the future? If not, you may never see any of the true benefits of that investment. What matters most is you are aware of what you expect to gain from this investment and are thinking about all the factors that affect when you will see the fruits of your labor.
