“Who did what, when, where and why and how long did it take them?” – Questions we hear all too often and more often than not the answer will be vague at best and totally wrong at worst.
For many years STRUMIS has provided software capable of tracking and recording man-hours labour of both machines and humans in a steel fabrication environment. Conventional methods used could involve bar coding which was all the rage 15 years back but bar coding steel naturally required a bar code scanner, either Batch Collection scanners which are reasonably cheap or RF scanners which can be very expensive especially when you consider the additional logistics and cost of planting a receiver in the right place where buzz bars and welding units won’t interfere with the radio signal.
Either scanner option provided practical problems in addition to the considerable cost. Many STRUMIS customers found workarounds which just about managed to overcome the practical problems of avoiding radio frequency interference, however, managing to stop a welder putting a bar code scanner through a washing machine in his overall pocket was another challenge entirely, one that can be amusing but at the same time costly if done on a regular basis. It’s one way of keeping the scanner clean but they tend to play-up after a 40 degree wash cycle followed by a 1600 spin dry!
Nowadays we thankfully have an alternative which mixes the cheaper batch collection scanner option with the real-time benefits of Radio Frequency bar code scanners – Tablets!
Tablets can now be found in many STRUMIS customers workshops providing real-time updates of part and assembly progress, hours recorded by process and employee, traceability & accountability and the added bonus of portability to work anywhere anytime.
The Tablets available today can be sourced for as little as £60 each, windows based with a 10” screen is perfect for most uses within a fabrication workshop. Compared to bar code scanners and especially RF scanners this is a serious cash saving and guaranteed real-time progress compared to batch collection scanners which require their rich data be uploaded at the end of the shift.
Due to the extensive connectivity offerings a Tablet provides either through GPRS or Wi-Fi means they are not restricted to factory locations, they are great for job site recording of hours spent erecting and progress tracking and reporting of what assemblies have been erected during any particular shift or day or week. Total portability and real-time updates on your contract progress for £60 – how good is that.
Possibly the biggest advantage of all is that the 10” tablets are too large to fit in overall pockets! = Happy Boss = Happy Worker.
To see how STRUMIS’ tracking capabilities along with a tablet can benefit your company visit www.strumis.com