Barcode CASE STUDIES

Asset tracking

Problem

A public vocational school system had multiple locations with assets that needed to be tracked for insurance, accounting, and funding purposes. Each year a state inspection team would descend upon the school’s administrative offices, comb through the asset inventory lists, then randomly pick assets that they needed to see and verify. Stated asset values were also checked against current depreciated values. Portable assets would sometimes travel from class to class, or student to student, which made the verification process very tough. The state inspection team usually spent three weeks working within this one vocational school system.

benefits

• Eliminate the labor required to hand write receiving information.
• Eliminate data problems and errors from illegible, misinterpreted, or transposition errors.
• Eliminate not knowing where each item is located.
• Reduce labor required to validate accurate inventories.
• Accurate asset inventories and updated values.

Label Media

Problem

Inventory was marked and recorded by hand on manufactured and purchased components used in the assembly of complex equipment utilizing information created in-house on a MS Excel spreadsheet. The spreadsheet included part, drawing, and finished assembly numbers. Mis-marked components would often be used in the fabrication area, creating the need for rework all the way back to the earliest stages of production. On-time deliveries suffered due to rework delays and cost margins were becoming uncompetitive.

solution

Hunkar surveyed the facility and installed a powerful  label design and bar coding software package, along with strategically located printers and portable handheld computers with scanning capabilities. The label system used the client’s existing MS Excel database to provide data for both the human-readable and bar code content of the label. All raw inventory was coded and checked against the specific purchase information. Cut parts are now labeled as they are produced with the job number, drawing number and task ID to make certain they are properly fabricated into correct assemblies.

Benefits

• Order and inventory data are up to date.
• Significantly improved production time due to low need for rework.
• Consistent production quality now requires less Quality Assurance staff and rework monitoring.
• Productivity improved due a reduction of short runs to replace missing or misused material.
• Profit margins increased due to lower costs associated with re-work and scrapped material.

Inventory Tracking

Problem

High volumes of various products, many of which are physically similar and time sensitive, must be moved from manufacturing to finished goods and then retrieved for loading and shipment. Currently personnel have problems finding all of the products for the orders, causing revenue loss and production time loss. Additionally, the plant experiences short manufacturing runs to replace material that cannot be located. This often results in inflated inventory levels to cover inaccurate inventory quantities. One incorrectly shipped pallet may generate $1,100 in unnecessary costs.

Benefits

• Order and inventory data are up to date.
• Invoice time is significantly reduced resulting in improved cash flow.
• Correct product was palletized and the pallets shipped to the correct location.
• Productivity improved due to lack of emergency short manufacturing runs to replace missing material.
• Profits increased due to lower costs associated with incorrectly shipped pallets and fire fighting.