Barcoding News

For most companies, inventory-tracking errors are important, but rarely life-or-death situations. For the Lake County (Ill.) Sheriff’s Department however, “life-or-death” takes on new meaning. To manage all its criminal evidence, victims’ personal effects and lost items, this Sheriff’s Department turned to bar coding to ensure that nothing is misplaced or mislabeled.

Challenge:
Once evidence is received at the Lake County Sheriff’s Department’s evidence facility, it must be entered into the system to identify what is in inventory and how it got there. Traditionally, after sealing an item in an evidence bag, the officer would fill out a handwritten form to request that the items be submitted into property control. The property control form included all vital information about the item: the case number, the nature of the incident, the time and date that the item was collected, the location of the offense, the location at which the item was collected (if different), the name of the victim or suspect, the property owner’s information (in the case of stolen property) and an identifying number provided by the officer to sequentially record the many individual items recovered at each scene. Finally, the officer would include a brief description of the evidence itself. Besides being a time-consuming task—a new form had to be completed for each item—the information on this form was only as valid as the legibility of the officer’s handwriting. After submitting the form, the information would then be manually entered into the system, diminishing the likelihood for complete validity even further.

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Challenge
As military personnel continue to carry out the mission known as “Operation Iraqi Freedom,” innumerable amounts of material, from food to ammunition to spare parts, need to follow the troops wherever they go. This would be a tough situation for any supply chain, but add to it the austere conditions of the Iraqi desert.

The Department of Defense (DoD) needed a portable system that its movement control teams (MCT) within the transportation movement battalion could use at the point of activity to monitor and report material receipt and shipment, as well as correct any problems regarding shipment identification.

Solution
The DoD turned to Zebra Technologies to create a mobile material tracking system. What resulted was the deployable asset visibility system (DAVS), a self-contained mobile system that utilizes mobile computers plus bar code and radio frequency identification (RFID) to track assets throughout the transportation process. Using this system, soldiers have immediate access to the data necessary to create a new military shipping label or rewrite a tag. Should communication with the DoD host server be necessary, a satellite-based messaging and routing system works with the mobile unit to do the job. The DAVS system also enables the MCT to monitor receipt and shipping, plus correct problems that would otherwise delay the shipment.

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IntelliTrack has certified the latest Unitech PA600, PA968 and HT680 portable data collectors. IntelliTrack now supports Windows Mobile 6.1 and Windows CE 5.0 operating systems installed on these latest product releases.

The Unitech PA600 not only fits in your pocket, but is lightest in its class. Recommended for use with IntelliTrack is the 20-key keypad configuration.

The Unitech PA968 offers a 2-megapixel camera bonus feature along with the ability to work in the harshest conditions. Recommended for use with IntelliTrack is the 24-key keypad configuration.

The Unitech HT680’s compact, rugged design is ideal for manufacturing, retail, logistics and transportation. The feather light handheld boasts rust-proof connector pins and a six-foot drop spec. Recommended for use with IntelliTrack is the 22-key keypad configuration.

Sunoco, a manufacturer of packaging products, recently invested in RFID technology to make shipment tracking more convenient for its customers.

Many of the Hartsville, South Carolina-based company’s clients are in the paper industry themselves; thus, having paper cores arrive that were RFID-ready will offer Sunoco and its customers a more efficient and effective inventory management system to keep track of their materials.

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Offering the latest Projected Capacitive Touch (PCT) screen technology, simple hardware connectivity, an exchangeable hard drive, hidden cable compartment, and adjustable base, and customer display, the Logic Controls SB-9090 All-in-One Point of Sale Terminal delivers great accessibility and usability to the customers.

Furthermore, to assure a stable and continuing operation, Logic Controls SB-9090 is designed to resist both internal and external sources that might cause potential computer downtime. With its signature fanless operation the SB-9090 is a great fit for harsh environment where dust, dirt, or grease may be present or when fan noise is not desirable. Logic Controls SB-9090 carries the highly efficient Intel Atom 1.6GHz Processor that consumes less power while still achieving high performance.

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Canon is now shipping a special EOS 7D kit that includes support for barcode scanners and has the ability to embed barcode data directly into the picture’s metadata.

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Inventory management researchers recently unveiled a new RFID tagging system that will enable consumers and businesses to track valuable jewelry.

The new tags were created to attach to jewelry items such as necklaces and earrings, allowing individuals to monitor and follow their possessions in real time. Each RFID unit features a small hole, in which the piece of jewelry can easily slide into, therefore mitigating any damage to the accessory.

If a consumer or jewelry store owner accidentally misplaces an expensive pearl necklace or pair of diamond earrings, they can use the new tags – which can be identified within a range of three feet – to find them.

The tag’s slim and light-weight design allow it go unnoticed, while still maintaining a high level of protection.

RFID tags are used commonly in warehouses and retail sectors to increase oversight over supplies and to improve tracking capabilities. Other industries have recently adopted the technology, as the benefits can help a company save money by not having to invest in items because they have mistakenly been misplaced.

CHRU uses the Memorâ„¢ to assure hospital employees mobility while keeping connected to the main system

The Regional Hospital Center/University of Tours (CHRU) campus area benefits from a privileged position in the heart of the region. The establishment employs over 7,000 people, making it a formidable player in the regional economy. This public health establishment groups together 6 hospitals offering the most important medical services (medicine, surgery, injury department…). Since 1998, the CHRU of Tours has accommodated a number of construction and renovation projects, so as to ensure the availability of structures which are customized to meet the new requirements of the medical industry and to be able to respond to the patients and their families’ needs. Today, the CHRU of Tours includes over 2,000 beds, provides services to over 65,000 people a year and is looking for ways to accommodate another 375 people a day.

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A White Paper By Datalogic Mobile Inc.

Introduction

Mobile computers have become ubiquitous in the enterprise, from the warehouse floor to the boardroom. Thanks to advancements in processor speeds, reductions in cost, and the development of robust and reliable wireless local and wide-area networks, an increasing number of businesses have deployed mobile devices across a wide array of applications — warehouse management, sales force automation, field service, point of sale, and others.

Because mobile computers must, in many cases, communicate in real time with back-end business systems, the mobile operating systems (OS) on these devices play a key role in the successful integration of mobile applications with the wider corporate IT infrastructure. In the case of rugged or semi-rugged mobile devices targeted at vertical applications, the OS of choice has been Microsoft Windows CE.

However, over the past several years, new OS platform options have emerged from both Microsoft and other providers that have made the mobile operating system landscape more complicated. Since a mobile computing deployment can have significant security, productivity, and IT ramifications on the business, a careful approach to OS selection will help ensure a successful implementation and reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) of these devices.

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Advanced True Secure security laminates offer a multitude of secure features to deliver increased protection, durability and prolonged card life.

Zebra Technologies Corporation, today announces the addition of the laminator feature, capable of laminating both sides of a cards simultaneously, to the award-winning ZXP Series 8 retransfer card printer. The new laminator option, available globally, will provide an extra layer of protection and security which is essential security element for federal credentialing, state driver’s licensing, and for organizations with high security requirements.

The ZXP Series 8 laminator offers lowest total cost of ownership with its patented, waste-free laminates. This model also provides increased durability and prolonged card life by preventing image fading and dye migration that can occur with normal card use. Secure lamination is ideal for:

• Driver’s Licenses
• Government & Military ID Cards
• High Security Access Control ID Cards
• Law Enforcement and Correctional Facility ID Cards
• Airport Personnel ID Cards
• Applications requiring secure issuance of long-lasting, tamper-evident IDs

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