In manufacturing, shared work phones need a system — not a sign-out sheet.
At ForwardPass, we build smart lockers that turn everyday device exchanges into fast, policy-aligned handoffs — with a clean audit trail for IT.
ForwardPass is a LocknCharge brand, built on the same heritage of secure charging, storage, and device management innovation — now focused on the workflows that keep devices moving through real environments like manufacturing.
Below is a real-world example of what that looks like on the plant floor.
ThermTech at a glance
ThermTech runs a 24/7 commercial heat-treating operation where company-issued phones are part of daily production flow — supporting communication, work orders, and logging on the floor.
Over the last 4.5 years, they’ve managed 132 work phones across six buildings using 11 ForwardPass smart locker systems.
The challenge: Shift-based device sharing
ThermTech’s teams use phones daily, with a mix of individually assigned devices and shared phones between shifts based on operational needs.
That’s a familiar manufacturing reality — and it creates predictable failure points if you don’t design for them:
- Phones “walk” into personal lockers
- Devices leave the building
- Accountability becomes anecdotal (“I thought they had it…”)
- Charging becomes inconsistent across shifts
For ThermTech, the stakes were higher because they also needed a solution aligned with security-minded requirements, including CMMC and ITAR-related controls in their environment.
Why basic storage didn’t solve it
Power strips and traditional lockers can store devices — but they don’t manage a workflow.
ThermTech needed more than a place to put phones. They needed a way to ensure phones were:
- Secured when not in use
- Charged and ready
- Trackable for accountability, budgeting, and compliance
After evaluating the landscape, ThermTech needed a solution that combined secure access, reliable tracking, and a deployment model they could trust. As was discovered on a customer call, some competitors didn’t check every box — some were beyond budget, others weren’t a fit for compliance-minded environments, and some introduced concerns around where they were based and supported.
ForwardPass checked every box because it was built for real operational conditions: controlled, role-aligned access, a clear chain-of-custody audit trail, and a self-serve workflow that keeps phones secured and charging between shifts.
The solution: Self-serve access with an audit trail
ThermTech implemented a self-service device management approach by deploying 11 smart locker systems across six buildings — creating a consistent way for employees to retrieve and return phones without relying on manual checkouts or IT babysitting the process.
The workflow is straightforward (and built for shift work):
- Start of shift: retrieve the assigned or shared phone from a secure bay
- During shift: use it for operational tasks
- End of shift: return it so it’s accounted for — and charging for the next user
What changes on day one isn’t just security — it’s flow: employees know where to go, and IT doesn’t have to constantly monitor day-to-day checkouts.
The results: Fewer losses and smoother onboarding
Over time, the lockers became part of how ThermTech runs daily operations — and the impact showed up in the places that matter most on a 24/7 floor: phones stopped “disappearing,” so teams could actually count on having a working device when they needed one.
Onboarding and offboarding became cleaner, too — assignment and reclaiming moved from an ad-hoc scramble to a repeatable process.
And for IT, the day-to-day burden eased: less manual tracking, fewer investigations, and more time spent on real work instead of chasing devices.
“ForwardPass smart lockers gave us a reliable way to manage shared work phones across shifts and buildings. Phones stay secured and charging, and we have clear accountability without chasing people down. It’s become part of how we operate.”
— IT / Operations Leader, ThermTech
If you’re managing shared work phones across multiple shifts, buildings, or teams, ForwardPass smart lockers can help you reduce loss, improve readiness, and standardize access — without adding work for IT.
ForwardPass smart lockers help manufacturing plants create a consistent, policy-aligned handoff workflow that keeps devices secure, charged, available across shifts, and accountable through a clean audit trail.
Book a discovery call to see our manufacturing workflows in action.
