EqMARS Version 2.8.3 has been beta released on March 2nd, 2015 to a select group of customers. Thanks to Liz Liguori for giving us feedback. We are happy to announce that production V2.8.3 roll-out is scheduled for the second week of April. This version includes new features and bug fixes:

New Features / improvements

• Improved reservation speed to 3 seconds (by Re-writing of the reservation module)
  
• Administrator can cancel reservations pending pickup
  
• Change email notifications sent to administrators from To to BCC (send emails individually)
• EQ-MARS now has LDAP Integration capability: EqMARS uses Shibboleth Authentication, includes integration with all SAML compliant implementations, connection to Identity Providers and Federations that use LDAP / Kerberos, and integration with Microsoft Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS)*

* requires additional configuration

Bug Fixes

• Double clicking during reservations produces duplicate reservation records
  
• Pressing "Remove Hardware" button multiple times creates multiple deletion records
  
• Second reminder for Due Date missing
  
• Error when trying to view kits
  
• Search by location (Campus) in Reservation - pull-down is empty
  
• Audit Trail export - sort by record ID, and include ID in the exported file
  
• Public kit duplicated and cannot remove any of them
• Kit items under certain conditions cannot be reserved within the kit
• Deleted location appears in kit reservation screen
  

You need to have the peace of mind knowing that your capital equipment are easily identifiable, which reduces the potential for lost or stolen assets. To do this, you need to affix barcode labels. EqMARS includes a module that prints labels with barcode, and those labels can then be scanned for easy identification of equipment to speed the reservation / checkout process. EqMARS enables you to print labels using a label printer (recommended) or to a labels sheet.

Label Printers: Some of our customers bought their own label printers and direct thermal paper rolls, but what we found is that even though the direct thermal printers and their printing rolls are low cost ($150-$300), those labels are suitable for light usage only.
If you are like City Parks Foundation where you equipment will move a lot or may be used outdoors, you will need industrial quality labels. Industrial grade label printers cost upward of $700.

Alternative: For customers needing durable labels and have a smaller size inventory (less than 500), we found it cost effective to outsource to a print shop that specializes in label printing on a variety of materials. This was the chosen solution for CPF, saving two-thirds of the cost and several hours of installation and printing.

=> we will advise you of the best option during the quoting process.

EqMARS™ is Equipment Management and Reservation System, a user-friendly web-based application that helps you manage assets, maintenance, and bookings / loans of office equipment, shop tools, or lab equipment. read more..
Customers include:

• School of Media Arts, School of Art, School of Visual Communication
• Office of Instructional Technology
• Office of Instructional Resource Development
• College / University IT Department
• TV Station, or News Production Company
• Information Technology Department - IT Asset Management
• Demo equipment pool for sales representatives
• Lab equipment asset management
• Musical Instruments Rentals

Mission - Help our clients become and stay leaders in their industry by improving their operations and lowering their costs