It has been a busy few weeks over at the Sinclair and Rush UK factories.. The Production & Despatch Teams in Rochester and Maidstone, has just moved over to an exciting new Honeywell Barcode and Scanner System. Something that has become more and more popular in warehouses all over the world since technology advancements. Our USA office has been trialing the new technology in the States which has been configurated by Joe Thomas - Director of Information Technology at Sinclair & Rush. The new scanners link to our Oracle system which is what we use to run the company so you can login to your Oracle account from your scanner and work anywhere in the warehouse. During the recent visit from our USA Board of Directors, Joe trained the UK Manufacturing floor staff in how to use these new scanners. Each member of the Despatch team has their own for ease. You can do everything on these scanners from start to finish, our production teams will be able to stock count easier and more effectively and accurately. If they need to update a location of a new part they can do it remotely at the location of the part instead of travelling back to their static computer stations. This will save time and ensure distractions do not interrupt the process.
We have installed our black angle trim (Plastic Angle Trim, PVC Angle, Equal Angle Sections | Sinclair & Rush UK (sinclair-rush.co.uk) ,on all the shelving units in the warehouse and are in the process of attaching barcode labels for every item on all of the racking (see photos) It has given a fresh, new look in the warehouse! These labels will compliment the new mobile computer scanners so everything can be scanned and all information related brought up instantly. These scanners ensure minimal mistakes due to their consistent checking process, they are designed to make the user think about what they are doing before taking action and during busy periods of the day this will help and gives less margin for error.
How will our new scanner system help us and our customers?
- Speed up transactions and saves time - if the warehouse is running smoother with mobile barcode scanners, this in turn will speed the process of orders and picking and mean less hand written notes of item numbers for example, so customers can potential get goods faster.
- Removes human error - these scanner systems ensure we are less likely to make mistakes, fewer mistakes means happier customers that do not need to query their orders.
- Updates in real time - Due to the Wi-Fi capabilities and the instant nature of these devices, everything is updated as soon as it happens so updates are more accurate about your orders and our parts.
- More economical - using this system means things are more digitalised so there will be less paper being used for picking slips for example. We are helping to protect our environment with these new scanners.
- Flexible - This system allows for anyone in the business to sign in using their Oracle logins, so each department can use them if they need to. They scanners are not tied to a particular person or department.
- Accuracy - using a machine at each step of the way like this Honeywell Scanner means higher precision and accuracy with each step of the manufacturing process so everything will run more smoothly.
Our Logistics Manager Paul has been very excited as the prospect of having these scanners and feels they will really help the business progress, he says, "I have always been interested in my team having these Barcode Scanners as I knew they would benefit our business, we sell a great number of parts when busy mistakes can be made, this will speed everything up and ensure less margin for error. I cannot wait for them to be properly implemented and neither can my team!"
Technicalities behind the Honeywell Barcode Scanner
According to Effective Barcode Solutions: "Barcode scanners are an essential element for businesses of all sizes that require to accurately scan essential data from 1D, 2D & QR barcodes. Barcode scanner solutions provide a quick and efficient way to track and identify inventory, product shipments, and customer purchases. Barcode readers can also be used to gather data about consumer buying habits and preferences. Barcode readers come in a variety of form factors, allowing scanning of barcodes as easy as possible for every situation"
The Honeywell handheld computers are small, lightweight and durable enough for business use, and offer features and functionality tailored to industries such as retail, healthcare and logistics. From data scanning to using more intensive software applications, Honeywell PDA devices help accelerate tasks and reduce errors on location or in the field.
Over a week’s labour is saved per month by the new technology. This helps us keep our over-heads low and prices competitive and be leaner on our staff count, giving time for projects and things like stock-taking without having to bring in extra labour (extra cost)
As with all new technologies and systems it is a working progress and there will inevitably be teething problems, but eventually everything, everywhere in the factory will have a label for easy and simple identification and when locating parts this will ensure a smoother transaction all-round.
