Back in the summer of 2015, Milwaukee announced ONE-KEY, an inventory tracking platform for their tools. But from the very beginning, ONE-KEY was so much more. It’s made of up 3 very distinct and powerful components. Milwaukee refers to these 3 separate components as “Customize, Track and Manage”. Let’s talk about the Customize part first.
Customize
These are nearly identical Milwaukee M18 Fuel ¼” Hex Impacts. This is the 2853, and this is the 2857. The only real difference is, the 2857 has ONE-KEY Built in. On the front of both of these tools you’ll see 4 mode buttons. On the 2853, these are fixed speeds. But on the 2857, you can connect to the tool using the ONE-KEY app and customize these buttons with modes that best fit our current application.
On this impact specifically, I can control the max speed, max torque, and even adjust trigger ramp up. The second task mode is Self tapping screw mode, where you can select your screw diameter and length, choose the gauge of the steel, and fine tune it to make sure you don’t strip out a single screw.
Other ONE-KEY tools have their own options. A good example is this M18 Radius Site Light. From the ONE-KEY app I can control the two different light modes, adjust the brightness, or even check the status of both batteries inside. If it’s plugged into an outlet, I also get the option to set a shut-off timer, or set a weekly schedule for turning on and off. No more leaving lights on after everyone left the jobsite.
This is the Milwaukee M18 Fuel Sawzall. The additional features made available on this saw through ONE-KEY, are staggering. I can tell the app what kind of cut I’ll be making, what blade type I’ll be using, what material I’ll be cutting, and it will help me not only set my cut speed, but it can even automatically start slow (for a plunge cut as example) and then speed up for the end of the cut. There’s even a cut break feature, that makes it automatically stop sawing at the end of the cut, even if I’m still holding down the trigger! I can adjust trigger ramp up, even change how bright the work light is, and how long it should stay on. All of these features are INSIDE your Milwaukee tools, and ONE-KEY unlocks them.
Well… actually it can LOCK them too, and that brings us to the second component, Track.
Track
When you’re connected through the app, your tool is talking to your phone through bluetooth. When you’re not using the app, they still occasionally ping each other, even without a battery attached, simply to say “Hey, it’s me”. And that ping doesn’t just happen between my tool and my phone, but anyone’s phone with the ONE-KEY app installed.
That’s important, because by allowing the ONE-KEY tools to talk to any ONE-KEY app, the many Milwaukee users create a sort of mesh network, that continually tracks the locations of the tools. Why is that important? Well, if you’re in charge of the tools and equipment on the jobsite, you can see where they are at anytime.
You can even set a Geo-fence to set off an alert whenever a tool leaves the jobsite.
Now if you work in your shop at home like we do, you likely have neighbors or brothers who like to borrow your Milwaukee tools. Not a problem. Now I can assign that saw to my brother, and even set a geo-fence around his home. That way, if one of HIS neighbors decides they’re gonna borrow the tool, I’ll get notified.
OF course this works for stolen tools as well. If something goes missing, I simply open the app, and mark it “missing”. Then the next time that tool gets near anyone else with the app on their phone, I’ll get a notice, along with GPS location.
But I can go a step further. I can tell the app to Lock the tool. If I open my app, choose my stolen tool, and mark it “locked”, the next time that thief brings the tool within 30 feet or so of ANYONE using the ONE-KEY app, it will be completely locked down. And there’s nothing you can do to reset it unless you’re logged into ONE-KEY with MY account.
When a tool gets locked, they’re often brought in for service. When that happens, Milwaukee automatically returns the stolen tool to you!
Eventually, thieves will learn that stealing a Milwaukee Tool with ONE-KEY on the side, just isn’t worth it. Think of it like a yard sign for your alarm system. Maybe you should go steal elsewhere. Or don’t steal at all! I’m not your mom, but come on.
Manage
That brings us to the third and final component, Manage. This is the ONE-KEY dashboard. I can access it from my phone, tablet or PC. Here I can manage not only all of my tools and equipment, but I can manage my locations, my vehicles, and even my crew! The system creates a history of every tool, helping you manage availability, and even performance and repair. And it’s not just limited to your Milwaukee tools. If you want to track the location of other tools or equipment, you can use one of these.
This is a Tick. You can screw it onto a piece of equipment, or even hide it in the bottom of your laptop bag. And just like that, you can now track its location just like any other ONE-KEY tool.
Of course it’s not always possible to attach a tick. Smaller items can be valuable too, and need to be managed. To address this, Milwaukee just revealed a new solution in the form of these tags. This is a permanent label with a unique QR style code that you attach to just about anything you want to manage in your inventory.
This allows you to use ONE-KEY to manage ALL of your tools, even if you’re unfortunate enough to have a few Non-Milwaukee tools. Hey, nobody is perfect.
There are two types of asset tags, one specifically for adhering to plastic, and the other for metal. And each of those come in small and large sizes. They’re not actively communicating like the ticks, but they do produce a location record every time they’re scanned, by anyone!
These tiny tags are really a big deal, because they make it possible to track just about every asset important to your business. The ONE-KEY dashboard is so easy to use, it just makes sense to keep everything in one place.
So ONE-KEY is way more than I thought. Sure it’s a Tool tracker and inventory management, but it also gives you access to the very best version of their very best tools. But none of these features are free. The ONE-KEY version of this Impact is around $50 more than this one.
Is it worth the $50 bucks? If it helps you track it down after it walks off a job, of course. If you’re going to give a tool to a new apprentice, the extra features may make their job easier, and pay for itself in labor alone. Either way it’s an investment in your company, and isn’t that the reason you chose Milwaukee in the first place?
Ok it’s time to head back to the comments below, and let us know if you learned anything new. Oh! I almost forgot… this is a Showcase. Which means those of you who stuck around to the end get a chance to win something cool from Milwaukee. This week, simply by leaving a comment, you’ll be entered to win a new Milwaukee M18 Sawzall with one key!
Thanks again for joining us. If you’ve got a cool ONE-KEY story, I want to hear it. Until then, don’t forget to join us this Friday for the Power Tool Week In Review. I’ll see you then.