Successfully Scanning Shipping Container Codes – Application Brief
Intermec has many software-based Imaging Solutions that enable automated data collection when only letters and numbers are present. These imaging solutions take advantage of the enhanced scan engine, camera and optical character recognition(OCR) capabilities present in many Intermec mobile computers. Imaging Solutions are designed to promote the paperless workflow process and improve yard operations.
Scanning Intermodal Container or shipping container codes is one of the imaging solutions offered by Intermec. The ultra-rugged Intermec CK71 mobile computer, with the extended range EX25 scan engine, can withstand the harsh port conditions and long distance scans. The underlying OCR engine was developed in a common language for ease of integration with other applications.
Problem: A large European shipping company manages 7000 containers each week which are often stacked five high. Tracking the location of each container is mandatory. Each evening after the port closes the company issues “walkers” throughout its yard to manually record each container’s code. Half of the containers have codes printed vertically which they believe are unreadable using any type of scanner. This assumption has prevented them from automating.
Solution: Intermec introduced the idea of using its software imaging to capture both the vertical and horizontal codes and digitally convert them without any issues. The EX25 scan engine in the mobile computer is capable of scanning the 20-ft. plus range that results when multiple containers are stacked on one another. With these combined capabilities, “walkers” have sped up the daily process by driving by the containers and scanning from inside a van.
Conclusion: The shipping company resolved issues associated with their manual recording process of container codes and estimates considerable man-hour savings and improved container code recording accuracy.
For more information on this and other software/hardware imaging solutions offered by Intermec, contact us at Barcodes Inc.
