Asset Intelligence Library
Eleven explainers on the mechanics of asset location — why CMDB and ServiceNow records drift, what auditors and PMI programs actually expect, how RTLS architectures work and what they cost, and how RF fingerprinting confirms a room without installing anything. Pick a cluster below or start wherever the question is most familiar.
Understand the problem
Why does CMDB location data go stale?
Why asset location records drift out of date, how fast it happens, what "CMDB accuracy" really measures, and the approaches that keep location data trustworthy.
What do auditors actually expect from your asset inventory?
What accreditation bodies and governance frameworks actually expect from your asset inventory — Joint Commission, DNV, CMS, OIG, SOC 2, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, and CMMC — and how to prove where equipment is.
Why is finding the device the hardest part of PMI compliance?
Why preventive maintenance inspection programs fail at the mundane step of locating the device, and how "could not locate" becomes a compliance risk.
How do you physically locate a compromised device during incident response?
Why physically locating a named device is the slowest step in containment, and how to answer "where is it right now" in seconds.
Compare the technology
How does RTLS actually work, and what does each architecture require?
How real-time location systems actually work — infrared, ultrasound, BLE, Wi-Fi, and UWB architectures from CenTrak, Sonitor, Zebra, and AiRISTA — the infrastructure each requires, and where the costs live.
Do you actually need real-time tracking — or trustworthy locations?
When continuous RTLS wins, when attestation-based confirmation wins, and how to decide which one your facility actually needs.
What does RTLS actually cost per bed?
The real per-bed cost drivers — readers, cabling, installation in occupied clinical space, tags, batteries, and maintenance — and why quoted prices are a floor.
How does RF fingerprinting identify a room without any installed hardware?
How RF fingerprinting identifies which room a device is in using the Wi-Fi and BLE signals a building already emits — survey, matching, confidence, and its honest limits.
Run the practice
How do you run a wall-to-wall asset inventory that's still accurate next quarter?
How to plan and run a wall-to-wall equipment inventory — scoping, room-by-room process, working with outside contractors, and why floor plans beat room-name lists.
How do you keep ServiceNow CI location fields trustworthy?
Patterns for keeping ServiceNow CI location data current — data model choices, update discipline, and automated confirmation feeds.
Is asset tracking data covered by HIPAA?
What's actually sensitive in asset tracking data — device identifiers, location patterns, and vendor relationships — and what a defensible architecture looks like.
See how Forager confirms asset locations as a side effect of the work your techs already do →