QR code asset tagging: a practical guide
How to QR tag the equipment you inspect and maintain in the UK: what to tag first, label materials and placement, what the code should open, what happens where there is no signal, and how to handle lost, damaged and replaced tags without losing the history.
By Hovermarks team
Quick answer. Give each asset an ID that never changes and does not describe where it is. Print it as a QR code with the ID in plain text underneath, on a label rated for the environment, fixed to the asset's own body. The code should open the asset's record, not hold its data. In the UK, a label that links back to the inspection record is the kind of physical evidence HSE's PUWER guidance describes for smaller items of equipment.
A QR tag does one thing well. It makes sure the inspection being filled in is about the item in front of the inspector. Most record failures are not missed inspections. They are inspections recorded against the wrong item, or against "sling 4" when nobody agrees which sling is number four.
What to tag first
Start with equipment that carries a statutory cycle, because that is where a wrong record costs most:
- Lifting accessories. Slings, shackles and chains are examined at least every 6 months under LOLER regulation 9(3), look alike, and move between jobs.
- Other lifting equipment. Hoists, cranes, lift tables: at least every 12 months, or as an examination scheme sets.
- Work equipment that needs a PUWER inspection. Items where deterioration could cause a dangerous situation, under PUWER regulation 6.
- Pressure systems with a written scheme under PSSR.
- Fire safety equipment covered by your fire risk assessment.
Tag one class completely before starting the next. A half-tagged class is worse than an untagged one, because people stop trusting the scan.
Label materials and placement
| Where the asset lives | Label that tends to last | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Offices, corridors, stores | Laminated polyester or vinyl | Adhesive, on a clean flat surface |
| Workshops, warehouses | Polyester with an over-laminate | Adhesive; avoid oily surfaces |
| Outdoors, yards, vehicles | UV-rated polyester or anodised aluminium | Rivets, screws or strong adhesive |
| Wash-down or chemical areas | Chemical-resistant polyester or metal tags | Mechanical fixing where possible |
| Hot areas | Metal or ceramic tags rated for the temperature | Mechanical fixing |
| Slings, chains, harnesses | Tag on a tie, ring or cable | Never adhesive on the sling body |
Placement rules that save time on every visit:
- The asset's own body. Not a guard, door or cover that gets swapped between machines.
- The same position for every item of a type. Inspectors stop hunting.
- Clear of required markings. Do not cover the safe working load, CE or UKCA marks, rating plates or warning labels.
- Reachable. At a height and angle someone can scan without climbing. For high items, add a second label at reader height that opens the same record.
What the code should open
The code should hold a link to the asset's record. If it holds the data itself, every change means a new label. If it holds a link, the record can change daily and the label stays the same.
Then decide who sees what. Contractors, visitors and tenants will scan your labels. A sensible split:
- Anyone who scans sees what the asset is, who it belongs to and, if you choose, when it was last inspected and when it is next due.
- Your signed-in team sees the full record: history, defects, reports and the actions to start an inspection or log a defect.
This links to a duty that is easy to miss. PUWER regulation 6(4) and LOLER regulation 9(4) both say equipment must not leave your undertaking, or be used when it arrives from someone else's, without physical evidence that the last inspection or thorough examination was carried out. HSE's PUWER guidance says that for smaller items a tagging, colour coding or labelling system can be that evidence, and that its purpose is to let the user check whether an inspection was done, whether it is current, and link back to the record (HSE L22, paragraph 105). A QR label that opens a record showing the next-due date does all three.
Scanning where there is no signal
Plant rooms, basements and steel-framed buildings often have no mobile signal. Plan for it:
- Print the ID under the code. A phone camera reads a QR code with no signal, but opening the record needs a connection. With the ID printed, the inspector can still identify the item and note it.
- Find out what the software does when the signal drops. Some systems lose the form; others hold the submission and send it later. Test it in your worst room before rollout, not after.
- Open the work before going in. If a room is known to be dead, open the inspection where there is signal and complete it inside.
Lost, damaged and replaced tags
Each of these needs a different response.
| What happened | What to do | What not to do |
|---|---|---|
| Label damaged or faded | Reprint for the same asset; it opens the same record | Create a new asset |
| Label missing, may be elsewhere | Revoke the old label so it stops working, then reprint | Leave the old label live |
| Asset moved | Update the location field; keep the ID and label | Relabel with a location-based ID |
| Asset scrapped | Mark it retired with date and reason; keep the history | Delete it or reuse its ID |
| Asset replaced by a new one | New asset, new ID, new label; retire the old one | Move the old label onto the new item |
The last row matters most for lifting equipment. A replacement sling is a different item with its own examination history, even if it looks identical. Moving the old tag onto it attaches someone else's examination record to equipment nobody has examined.
Add a label check to routine inspections: is the tag present and readable? A tag that fell off last month is easy to replace. One that fell off two years ago usually means a reconciliation walk.
How Hovermarks does it
Checked against the product, not the brochure:
- Short codes. Each asset gets a code built from your organisation prefix, a category prefix and a number, for example ACM-LE-001. Codes are unique within your organisation and are never reissued, even after an asset is deleted. The code is printed on the label under the QR.
- What the QR holds. A link to that asset's scan page with a signed token, so a code cannot be guessed or edited to open a different asset. A reprint opens the same record.
- Label printing. PDFs for one asset, a site, a category or the whole organisation, in 50 mm stickers (6 per A4), 21-up A4 office labels (63.5 x 38.1 mm), a branded 4-per-A4 layout, roll and thermal presets, or a custom size from 24 mm.
- Public scan page. Anyone who scans sees the asset's name, short code, status, site and your organisation's name and logo. You can switch on a status panel showing the last examined and next due dates, for all assets or per asset, and a "Report a problem" form. Pass or fail results and open defects are not shown publicly.
- Signed-in scans. Your team sees the record and can start an inspection, log a defect or create a work order, depending on role.
- Lost stickers. An admin can revoke an asset's sticker. Only that asset's old label stops working, and you reprint a new one.
- No signal. Hovermarks runs in the phone browser and installs to the home screen. It needs a connection to open and load assets. If the signal drops mid-inspection, the submission and its photos are held on the device and sent when the connection returns.