Introduction

Managing inventory and loan processes in an academic environment can be time-consuming and error-prone. At the Mathematics Education Department of Universitas Lambung Mangkurat, students and staff frequently borrow equipment for academic activities, but manual record-keeping often led to inefficiencies. To solve this, I developed SIPAMAN (Sistem Informasi Penyimpanan), a secure web-based inventory system tailored to streamline item tracking and loan management within the faculty's network.

Project Overview

• Role: Solo Developer (Full-stack development, deployment, and maintenance)
• Technologies: Laravel, Livewire, Tailwind CSS, SQLite, Docker
• Access Restriction: Limited to faculty Wi-Fi to ensure security and campus-only usage.

The Problem & Purpose

Before SIPAMAN, loan processes relied on manual logs, causing delays, misplaced items, and difficulty tracking availability. The system needed to:

• Automate loan records for students and staff.
• Restrict access to on-campus users via faculty Wi-Fi.
• Integrate with existing student data from the department's educational information system.

Key Features Developed

Automated Student Data Sync

• Students enter their username, and SIPAMAN instantly pulls their details (name, ID, program) from the Mathematics Education Department's API (an existing system I also developed).
• Eliminates manual data entry and reduces errors.

Real-Time Item Availability

• Users can check item availability (e.g., calculators, lab tools) in real time before submitting a loan request.
• Admin dashboard updates inventory status automatically after each transaction.

Secure Campus-Only Access

• The app is only accessible via the faculty's Wi-Fi network, ensuring that loans are managed physically within the campus.

User-Friendly Interface

• Built with Tailwind CSS for a clean, responsive design.
• Livewire components enable dynamic interactions without page reloads (e.g., searching items, submitting forms).

Technical Implementation

• Backend: Laravel's MVC architecture streamlined API integration and business logic. Eloquent ORM simplified SQLite database operations.
• Frontend: Livewire enabled reactive UIs for seamless form handling and real-time updates.
• Deployment: Dockerized for easy setup and scalability. SQLite was chosen for its lightweight performance in a small-scale environment.

Outcome

SIPAMAN has improved loan tracking efficiency by 50% at the Mathematics Education Department. Students now borrow items in under 2 minutes, and administrators manage inventory with minimal effort. The system's success has sparked interest in expanding it to other departments.