Company Equipment & Asset Management

Purpose

Define how Blinto records, assigns, uses, transfers, repairs, recovers, and retires company-owned equipment and other accountable physical assets.

This SOP owns the physical asset lifecycle. Digital access and credentials are governed separately by Access Provisioning & Deprovisioning and Credential & Password Management Policy.

Scope

Applies to company-owned or company-controlled physical assets assigned to employees, interns, contractors, consultants, or teams, including where applicable:

• laptops/desktops;
• monitors;
• phones/tablets;
• peripherals and accessories;
• storage devices;
• networking equipment;
• keys/access cards;
• other accountable equipment purchased or controlled by Blinto.

Consumable office supplies do not need to be treated as individually assigned assets unless People Operations/Administration determines otherwise.

Core Principles

One authoritative asset record

Each accountable asset should be recorded in the authoritative asset register/system. The SOP Library must not become a duplicate inventory database.

Clear custody

An assigned asset must have a known custodian, location, status, and responsible owner/team.

Company ownership

Assignment gives the user custody/use of the asset; it does not transfer ownership unless there is a separately approved written disposal/transfer decision.

Reasonable care

Users are expected to take reasonable care of company property and report damage, loss, malfunction, theft, or security concerns promptly.

No automatic financial penalty

Accidental damage is not automatically treated as misconduct or a salary deduction. Any allegation of negligence, recovery of cost, disciplinary action, or payroll treatment requires appropriate review and must comply with applicable law, contract, and approved company policy.

Roles

People Operations / Administration

Owns or coordinates the asset register, assignment records, physical handover/return, maintenance status, and offboarding recovery.

Team Lead / Functional Owner

Confirms business need for equipment and supports allocation, transfer, and replacement decisions.

Asset Custodian / Employee

Uses the assigned asset responsibly, keeps it reasonably secure, reports issues promptly, and returns it when requested or when the assignment/employment ends.

Technical / Authorized Repair Owner

Performs or coordinates approved diagnosis, repair, reset, configuration, disposal, or secure data handling where applicable.

Asset Register Requirements

The authoritative asset register should record, where applicable:

• asset ID/tag;
• asset type;
• make/model;
• serial number/unique identifier;
• purchase/acquisition date;
• purchase value where needed;
• current status;
• current custodian;
• team/department;
• physical location;
• assigned date;
• expected return/review date for temporary assignments;
• condition at assignment/return;
• warranty/repair information;
• retirement/disposal status.

Do not store passwords, unlock codes, recovery keys, or other secrets in the ordinary asset register.

Asset Statuses

Use clear operational statuses such as:

• Available
• Assigned
• In Repair
• Temporary Loan
• Lost / Stolen
• Damaged
• Retired / Disposed

Additional statuses may be used by the authoritative system where operationally useful.

Procurement / Intake

When a new accountable asset enters company custody:

1. verify the item received;
2. record identifying information in the asset register;
3. assign an asset ID/tag where applicable;
4. record initial condition;
5. record warranty/purchase evidence where needed;
6. prepare/configure the asset through the appropriate technical/security process before assignment.

Assignment / Handover

Before assigning an asset:

1. confirm the business need and intended user;
2. confirm the asset is fit for use;
3. record the assignment in the asset register;
4. record included accessories where material;
5. record condition at handover;
6. have the recipient acknowledge custody where appropriate;
7. complete required technical/security configuration separately.

The acknowledgement should establish custody and responsibility for reasonable care, not create an automatic financial-liability clause beyond applicable law and approved employment terms.

Use & Care

Users should:

• use company equipment primarily for authorized company work unless another approved policy permits limited personal use;
• keep equipment reasonably clean and protected from avoidable damage;
• avoid food/liquid practices that create obvious equipment risk;
• avoid unauthorized physical modification or repair;
• not intentionally disable required security controls;
• not lend assigned equipment to unauthorized persons;
• report theft, loss, damage, or serious malfunction promptly;
• follow applicable information-security requirements when using the device.

Company desktops, monitors, and other office-designated equipment should remain on company premises unless removal is approved by the appropriate operational owner.

Taking Equipment Off-Site

For equipment not normally designated as mobile, off-site removal requires approval from the appropriate Team Lead/People Operations/Administration owner.

The asset register or temporary-loan record should identify:

• person taking the asset;
• asset(s);
• reason;
• date removed;
• expected return date where applicable.

Routine assigned laptops/mobile devices do not require a new approval every day if off-site use is part of the person's approved working arrangement.

Malfunction / Repair

When equipment malfunctions:

1. stop using it if continued use could worsen damage, create a safety risk, or compromise data;
2. report the issue to the responsible operational/technical owner;
3. describe the symptoms and any incident leading to the problem;
4. do not open or repair hardware personally unless authorized to do so;
5. update the asset status to In Repair where applicable;
6. provide a replacement/loaner where approved and available;
7. record repair outcome/cost where operationally useful.

Repairs should be performed by an authorized person/vendor appropriate to the asset and warranty conditions.

Damage

Accidents and normal wear are different from reckless or repeated negligent behavior.

When damage occurs:

1. record the incident and condition;
2. establish what happened based on available evidence;
3. assess repair/replacement need;
4. determine whether the issue reflects normal wear, accident, misuse, or possible negligence;
5. address repeated care problems through the appropriate People/disciplinary process rather than inventing automatic penalties inside the asset SOP.

No automatic salary deduction should be made solely because equipment is damaged. Any financial recovery must be separately authorized and legally/contractually permissible.

Loss or Theft

The custodian must report loss/theft as soon as reasonably possible to the Team Lead and People Operations/Administration.

Where the asset may contain company/client data, immediately trigger the relevant security/access response, including where applicable:

• account/session revocation;
• credential/token rotation;
• remote lock/wipe if available;
• client/security notification;
• police/general diary/report where appropriate.

Do not delay digital security containment while waiting for the physical asset investigation to finish.

Transfer Between Employees / Teams

Do not informally hand over accountable assets without updating the record.

For transfer:

1. confirm the new business owner/custodian;
2. inspect/record condition where appropriate;
3. update the asset register;
4. perform any required reset/reconfiguration/security review;
5. confirm accessories and custody with the new recipient.

Temporary Loan

Temporary loans should record the custodian, purpose, issue date, expected return date, and condition where material.

Overdue temporary assets should be followed up by People Operations/Administration rather than left indefinitely unassigned in the register.

Offboarding / Return

Asset return is a mandatory part of Employee Offboarding.

Before or by the agreed exit/return date:

1. identify all assets assigned to the person;
2. confirm return logistics;
3. collect the asset and accessories;
4. inspect/record condition;
5. update the asset register;
6. trigger authorized backup/data-transfer/reset procedures where required;
7. mark the asset available, in repair, retired, or otherwise appropriately.

Do not mark offboarding complete while accountable assets remain unresolved unless an explicit exception owner/date is recorded.

Periodic Inventory Review

People Operations/Administration should review accountable assets at least every 6 months and on material lifecycle events.

Review should reconcile:

• physical/known asset existence;
• assigned custodian;
• location;
• status;
• missing/overdue temporary assets;
• assets requiring repair/replacement/retirement;
• assignments belonging to former employees or inactive projects.

High-value or sensitive assets may be reviewed more frequently.

Retirement / Disposal

Before disposal, sale, donation, or retirement:

1. confirm the asset is no longer required or economical to retain;
2. obtain the appropriate operational/financial approval;
3. securely remove company/client data where applicable;
4. remove associated asset/access records as appropriate;
5. record the final disposition in the asset register.

Storage media and devices containing sensitive data require secure erasure/destruction appropriate to the risk before leaving company control.

Exceptions & Escalation

Escalate to People Operations/Administration and the appropriate lead when:

• an asset is lost/stolen;
• damage may involve misconduct or repeated negligence;
• an employee disputes the condition/custody record;
• a high-value asset is unaccounted for;
• offboarding cannot recover assigned property;
• proposed financial recovery or disciplinary action is being considered;
• sensitive company/client data may have been exposed.

Related Resources

• Employee Onboarding
• Employee Offboarding
• Access Provisioning & Deprovisioning
• Credential & Password Management Policy