Executive Summary
American Metal Recycling Services Inc (AMRS) is a leading innovator in the material recycling market. As part of their business process, there are assets and tools used to refine, process, and reuse the materials they salvage. AMRS was in search of a solution that would improve management of these tools and assets. BarcodesInc successfully developed a software and hardware solution to address inefficiencies, lost product, wasted time inherent in their previous asset management tracking system.
The Business Challenge
AMRS was looking for a solution to track the whereabouts of all of their tools and machinery throughout a fifty-acre campus with multiple buildings and outside storage locations. The solution would allow AMRS to locate items in a more efficient manner saving man hours, time, and money.
The success of the project was contingent on attaining AMRS’s 7 main objectives:
- Track an unlimited number of assets
- Accurately manage the checkout and return process for tools, equipment and consumables
- Monitor and schedule maintenance as required
- Improve operating efficiencies
- Maximize the use of the current assets and avoid overstock or duplication of tools, equipment and consumables
- Recapture tooling costs by billing for usage
Solution
In response to AMRS’s needs, BarcodesInc developed a custom software solution which enabled AMRS to successfully complete all objectives. The Motorola MC9090 mobile computer was chosen as the device to deploy and implement the software application, chosen because of its ultra-rugged form factor and data capture and communication features.
For the project implementation process, AMRS applied barcode labels to all of their tools, work locations, and storage areas. Next, they created and implemented the following process for anyone using a piece of equipment. An engineer must have an MC9090 to use a piece of equipment. To use it, they must sign into the unit with their unique username and password, scan the code of the equipment that they need into their register book or online, go to the location of the unit, scan the equipment in receive mode, and finally scan their location in drop mode once they have arrived at their manufacturing location.
This allowed them to manage and track all of their items in an effective manner and added a new layer of accountability to their process.
Benefits
After a successful training, AMRS saw an ROI on the project within the first eight months of implementation due to the cost savings and efficiency improvements. They also enjoyed peace of mind through effective, easy-to-use monitoring, tracking and locating of their valuable assets.
The Future
The Barcodes EDGE solution has provided AMRS with an efficient working system. AMRS has referred Barcodes EDGE to their parent company that is evaluating the process and is looking at implementing this nationwide.