Factories across the U.S. sit with hundreds of thousands of open positions. Workers hunt for tools. Production slows. Costs climb. One small Wisconsin company thinks the answer sits inside the tool chest.
The scale of the problem hits hard.
U.S. manufacturing averaged 420,000 job openings throughout 2025, according to The Next Web. Deloitte projects 1.9 million positions could remain unfilled over the next decade. Newer employees lack experience. Veterans retire. The result? Teams waste minutes, sometimes hours, searching for the right wrench or gauge. A missing tool stops a line cold.
But what if the fix required no new hires, no complex software rollout, and no six-figure investment? Cody Spears believes the solution starts with foam. Custom, laser-cut foam that gives every tool its own exact home.
Spears founded TraceMySpace after buying an existing foam-insert business in 2021. Customers arrange tools in a drawer, add four quarters for scale, snap a photo with their phone, and send measurements. The company cuts a high-density XLPE foam insert that fits the layout precisely. No shipping tools away. No downtime. The Next Web detailed the process in its September 7, 2026 article.
“Having an insert with a spot for each tool means you know where it is every time, and you know when it is missing every time,” Spears told the publication.
Simple. Visual. Immediate.
Operators open a drawer. One glance shows everything present or something absent. No more “I thought Steve had it.” No more duplicate purchases because the original tool vanished. In aerospace shops, this visual accountability directly supports FOD prevention programs required under FAA Part 145 and AS9100 standards. A missing tool becomes obvious before it becomes a foreign object inside an aircraft engine.
The approach echoes longstanding lean manufacturing principles. Shadow boards and 5S programs have existed for decades. Yet many factories still rely on cluttered drawers or magnetic boards that collect dust. TraceMySpace updates the concept with modern laser precision and remote ordering. Its inserts fit everything from Milwaukee Packout cases to full-size tool chests to Pelican cases used by racing teams and field technicians.
Recent industry reports show similar thinking gaining traction. A March 2026 article from Advanced Manufacturing examined smart tool cribs that combine vending machines, sensors, and software. Systems from Zoller, Iscar, and others track who removes what tool and when. Some cut tooling spend by up to 30 percent and reduce excess inventory by 40 percent.
Yet not every plant needs RFID tags or cloud dashboards. Smaller operations or those focused on maintenance rather than high-volume production often find simpler visual systems deliver faster returns. A June 2026 review of tool crib management software by Fabrico highlighted how basic check-in/check-out accountability prevents asset shrinkage. The article noted repeated complaints from floor supervisors: “I thought Steve had it.” The same frustration Spears aims to eliminate with foam.
CRIBWISE took the conversation further in a December 2025 analysis. The company argued that tool management must evolve from reactive inventory control to production intelligence. Data from tool usage, presetting stations, and MES systems now inform when tools will wear out and how to align stock with production schedules. CRIBWISE calls this shift essential as labor shortages persist.
Spears takes a different entry point. His product doesn’t generate data. It creates visibility that trained eyes can read in seconds. Newer workers, the very people manufacturers struggle to retain, benefit most. They spend less time hunting and more time building. Accountability improves without surveillance. A missing tool stands out. Responsibility becomes obvious rather than debatable.
TraceMySpace has served Fortune 500 manufacturers, aerospace maintenance facilities, and racing teams. Its recent August 2026 announcement on EZ Newswire noted steady growth and plans for a customer portal to simplify reorders. The company approaches five years under Spears’ leadership with measured expansion rather than hype. EZ Newswire quoted Spears reflecting on the organic shift from racing customers to manufacturing and aerospace. “There’s a whole different world out there that we didn’t even know about.”
Labor shortages show no sign of easing. A June 2025 New York Times report described roughly 400,000 unfilled factory jobs and a shrinking pool of blue-collar workers willing to take them. Baby boomers continue retiring. Younger generations show limited interest in shop floor roles. Manufacturers face pressure to extract more output from fewer people.
Tool control offers one lever. Every minute saved searching is a minute gained producing. Every lost tool avoided prevents expensive replacements and potential quality incidents. In regulated industries, visible accountability supports compliance without adding administrative burden.
Of course foam inserts alone won’t solve the talent gap. They form one piece of a broader strategy that includes better training, competitive wages, and smarter use of technology. But they represent low-friction progress. Implementation takes days rather than months. Cost stays modest compared with vending machines or full inventory management platforms.
Other providers push hardware-heavy solutions. GAO RFID offers smart cabinets that track tools via radio frequency without manual scanning. Asset Panda and QT9 ERP integrate tool tracking with maintenance schedules and production data. These systems generate reports, trigger purchase orders, and link usage to specific jobs.
TraceMySpace stays deliberately simple. Its strength lies in that simplicity. No batteries. No software subscriptions. Just a drawer that tells its own story at a glance. For plants drowning in complexity and short on experienced staff, that clarity carries real value.
Industry conversations increasingly focus on production intelligence and digital threads. Yet the physical workspace still matters. Drawers get opened hundreds of times per shift. What sits inside them shapes behavior more than distant dashboards. A well-organized tool chest trains good habits. It reduces friction for new hires. It makes problems visible immediately rather than after an audit.
Spears and his team continue refining their process. They recently added two large laser systems for greater precision and capacity. A forthcoming customer portal will store layout photos and speed repeat orders. The company experiments with manufacturing inserts for other innovators, expanding beyond its core product.
Meanwhile, larger players integrate tool data with ERP and MES platforms. Guhring’s TM Minibox and CRIBWISE storage solutions combine physical cabinets with logistics software. The goal remains the same: make sure the right tool sits in the right place at the right time, and know exactly who has it.
Manufacturing leaders face difficult choices. They can chase the latest AI-driven inventory system. They can invest in robotics and automation to reduce headcount needs. Or they can start smaller. Look inside the drawers already on the shop floor. Ask whether those drawers help or hinder the workforce they struggle to build and keep.
The answer may lie in foam cut by laser, photographed by phone, and delivered in days. Not flashy. Not revolutionary. Just effective. In an era of labor shortages and mounting pressure to produce more with less, effectiveness counts for a great deal.
Factories will always need skilled people. But those people deserve workspaces designed for success, not frustration. A clearly marked place for every tool represents one small step toward that goal. Many plants have yet to take it.
The Forgotten Drawer: How Simple Foam Inserts Address Manufacturing’s Labor Crisis first appeared on Web and IT News.