Wasp Barcode Launches WLR8950 Long Range Barcode Scanner
Wasp Barcode Technologies announced the launch of the WLR8950 Bi-Color CCD Scanner. The WLR8950 is the newest barcode scanner providing improved accuracy with bi-color technology by using two LED light sources to decode barcodes printed in various colors. The WLR8950 also delivers flexible, long range scanning paired with lightweight, durable construction.
The bi-color technology enables the WLR8950 to automatically change its light source between red and green to decode barcodes printed in various colors. And the green LED light specifically works to increase the accuracy in reading poorly printed barcode labels. The WLR8950 can easily read barcodes up to 12” away due to its long range scan engine. And with the high-quality ABS plastic construction and pistol grip design, the scanner is comfortable to use in any environment.
Wasp Barcode Technologies Launches Inventory Counting Software
Wasp CountIt leverages barcode technology to quickly and accurately verify inventory counts.
Wasp Barcode Technologies, a leading provider of small business productivity solutions, announced the launch of Wasp CountIt, new inventory counting software for QuickBooks. Used in conjunction with any Wasp mobile computer, CountIt is a convenient and efficient tool for SMBs to eliminate the inefficiencies of a paper-based inventory system.
Wasp CountIt uses barcode technology to expedite the inventory counting process while also increasing accuracy. The software then automatically syncs with QuickBooks or Microsoft Excel and sends existing data to any Wasp mobile computer. The Wasp mobile computer is used to quickly scan barcodes to count inventory items. Once the inventory is counted, CountIt transfers the new inventory data back to a PC, updating the existing inventory file and creating a variation report if needed. The CountIt solution can be used with physical counts, cycle counts and monthly or year-end inventory counts.
Wasp Barcode Technologies Launches Barcode Management Software Package
WaspLabeler & Barcode Maker for Office — Designed to Improve Efficiency and Accuracy for SMBs
Wasp Barcode Technologies, announced the launch of an all-in-one software solution designed to help SMBs seamlessly design, print and integrate barcodes into their business — WaspLabeler & Barcode Maker for Office. WaspLabeler +2D and Wasp Barcode Maker are now available as one package, providing a complete barcode and label creation solution.
WaspLabeler +2D enables users to quickly design and print standard or customized barcodes for use as product barcode labels, inventory labels, product scan sheets or other printed barcode labels. WaspLabeler +2D can also generate barcode scan sheets or shadow books so that barcodes for small or difficult to tag items are easily accessible. Additionally, it can automatically serialize inventory or asset tags to simplify tracking.
Wasp Barcode Maker seamlessly integrates with Microsoft Office applications, allowing users to create barcodes for Microsoft Word documents or Microsoft Excel spreadsheets. Barcode Maker can help SMBs reduce data entry errors by adding barcodes to invoices and/or improve efficiency of retail checkout with barcode product lists for small or bulky items. In addition, the barcodes can be linked to data in Microsoft Office for easy updates.
Wasp Barcode Launches New WWS450H Healthcare Barcode Scanner
WWS450H Healthcare Barcode Scanner Designed to Increase Efficiency and Safety in Healthcare Industry
Wasp Barcode Technologies announced today the launch of the WWS450H healthcare barcode scanner with base. Designed specifically for the healthcare industry, the scanner features fast, efficient barcode scanning, antimicrobial protection and wireless connectivity. Common uses for the WWS450H include: checking patient and prescription records, scanning medicine packaging or hospital equipment, updating inventories or scanning 2D and postal barcodes in shipping & receiving.
Wasp’s WWS450H 2D barcode scanner is designed specifically for healthcare environments, allowing medical staff to treat patients efficiently and without errors. The WWS450H features built-in antimicrobial technology for protection against odor-and-stain causing bacteria and disinfectant-friendly housing to protect the scanner from alcohol cleaning, preventing discoloration, corrosion, and hardware malfunction. Both features further enable the scanner’s use in patient rooms, laboratories, and pharmacies.
Tracking Time with Barcodes adds up to Thousands of Dollars, Happy Employees
Abandoning the obsolete punch clock
MadgeTech’s data loggers are used around the world to monitor and record an extensive range of variables, from temperature and humidity to water level, voltage and more. The company employs a total of 32.
For years, MadgeTech relied on a mechanical punch clock with cardboard time cards to track the time of its 10 hourly and part-time salaried employees. Unfortunately, this system created problems for the employees punching their time cards, as well as for the managers trying to add up staff hours.
“With the old time clock, the time cards needed to be lined up exactly for the punch,” said Jon Moriarty, director of manufacturing for MadgeTech. “It was far too easy to punch the wrong lines, and it wasn’t all that easy to use the clock properly.”
Since times on the cards were not calculated automatically, the employee in charge of payroll had to spend at least four to five hours a week manually adding up each employee’s time.
Adding at the beep of a barcode
MadgeTech installed WaspTime Standard Barcode Solution, which included time and attendance software, as well as a Wasp barcode-reading time clock. Each employee was issued a credit cardsized card with a barcode printed on the back. Employees clock in and out by simply swiping their cards through the barcode reader. WaspTime software automatically checks the time clock and collects ‘punches,’ accurately tabulating hours worked.
The manager who handles payroll now needs less than one-half hour to review the entire staff’s weekly time. She simply hands the time report to Moriarty on Monday morning for approval, and the process is complete.
Saving thousands and empowering employees
MadgeTech immediately began saving both time and money with WaspTime. First, the employee who handles payroll needs at least four fewer hours per week to perform her duties. This alone translates to more than $3,000 per year in savings, Moriarty said. What’s more, this employee now can spend her time on higher-value tasks in the accounting and human resources areas.
“A small business like ours requires employees to wear multiple hats. Automating the timekeeping process to save a key employee four hours a week translates into true dollar savings for us,” Moriarty said. “This is not imaginary cost savings. These are real hours that now can be applied to more profitable tasks. And in today’s environment, efficiency and productivity are all-important.”
The system also simplifies important time-tracking tasks for employees. For example, part-time salaried employees must work a minimum number of hours each week to maintain benefits. In the past, there was no reliable way to ensure they were fulfilling this requirement. With WaspTime, their hours are tracked automatically, and Moriarty can run a simple report to check their time.
In addition, MadgeTech offers its employees flextime, allowing them to work extra hours on certain days so they can leave early when needed. This policy is popular with employees, who constantly want to know how many hours they have worked in the week. With WaspTime’s included PC Punch module, employees can quickly and easily sign in on a local PC to view their current hours. This saves time for managers and employees alike, since neither must sift through time cards to determine their weekly time.
Because the timekeeping process has been automated, errors have been eliminated on both employees’ and managers’ sides.
“Our employees prefer WaspTime over the old clock,” Moriarty said. “It takes a simple swipe of the card, and it’s impossible to make an error. We definitely would not want to go back to the old time clock. Now, we’re adding two more employees to the system, which will only increase our savings.”
Accurately Tracking Employee Time Drives Big Cost Savings
A time-tracking nightmare, for employees and management
Afton Manufacturing creates a wide range of metal products for larger companies in the oil field, air hose, exercise and crane block industries. The company’s 14 employees work in overlapping shifts, with some occasionally putting in up to 12 hours a day.
For years, the company used a traditional, mechanical punch clock to track employees’ time. Each worker would punch a paper timecard at the beginning and end of his shift, as well as for his lunch break. Employees also received a company-scheduled 10-minute break each morning and afternoon; however, they were not required to punch their timecards when taking off this small amount of time.
“As time went on, breaks were getting longer and longer. Our employees had a tendency to stretch out breaks sometimes up to 25 or 30 minutes a day, instead of the 20 minutes allocated,” said Gene Schmeling, owner of Afton Manufacturing. “I found myself getting aggravated as I saw more minutes ticking by.”
The manual punch card system also offered little flexibility for employees. For example, a worker putting in a 12-hour shift received the same two 10-minute breaks as his co-worker who was on the clock for just eight hours.
“With the punch clock, we had an accounting nightmare on our hands,” Schmeling said. “We were using a calculator to add up times on the cards. It was time-consuming and easy to make mistakes.”
Embracing the simplicity of RFID
Afton Manufacturing installed WaspTime time and attendance software, as well as a Wasp RFID time clock. Each employee was issued a credit card-sized card with an embedded RFID chip. Now, employees clock in and out by simply waving the card in front of the time clock.
“Since we are a small company, I didn’t think we could afford an automated time-tracking solution,” Schmeling said. “When someone recommended that I check out Wasp, I was surprised at how affordable and functional it was for a company our size.”
WaspTime software automatically checks the time clocks and collects ‘punches,’ accurately tabulating hours worked. This time summary can then be reviewed and edited by Afton Manufacturing’s owner.
MobileAsset: The Right Prescription for Truxtun Radiology Medical
Truxtun Radiology Medical Group (TRMG) offers the very latest in diagnostic radiology services. Founded in 1988 in Bakersfield, California, Truxtun opened its doors with only one radiologist and a total of five employees, yet today it stands as the largest radiology center in the area. Presently, with over 150 employees, four buildings on the main campus, and two remote sites, TRMG serves over 600 patients each day. Key to their success is the state of the art equipment, which allows for speedy and accurate diagnoses, as well as rapid reporting of diagnostic information, making it possible to initiate treatments sooner. In fact, adding to the long list of high quality diagnostic equipment, TRMG recently installed a new 64 slice multi-detector CT system that is unsurpassed in image quality and speed. TRMG is committed to providing not only the best diagnostic radiology services, but also the best in patient care.
The Technical Problem
While the expansion and growth at TRMG enables the company to provide the very latest in diagnostic services, the increase in valuable diagnostic tools and equipment creates added asset tracking demands. Chris Freels, the IT manager, found the traditional spreadsheet method to be not only time consuming but inaccurate. “When dealing with equipment of this nature it is important to have precise data when it comes to location, but even more importantly accurate data on maintenance and repair,” states Freels. The present manual tracking system allows for a huge margin of error resulting in misplaced equipment as well as the possibility of deliberate theft. Moreover, each modality, from the ultrasound units to the x-ray machines, is on a strict schedule for maintenance and repair, and keeping a clipboard history on each unit is time consuming.
Freels’ objective is two fold: to find an automatic asset management system to track basic computer equipment, but more importantly, a method to inventory and monitor the multitude of high-value diagnostic equipment. With time being a critical element in the health care industry, the asset tracking system must offer speed, without sacrificing accuracy, when it comes to providing complete reports on location as well as current maintenance history for each state-of –the art diagnostic unit. Freels began his search for a solution only to find many products were just too difficult to install and customize to the special needs of TRMG. “Implementation was not easy and the data collection process did not allow portability nor compatibility with bar coding that already was on the equipment, states Freels. It was not until he discovered MobileAsset Network that Freels realized there is an easy, cost-effective solution to asset management.
More than just a checkout, POS solution drives bottom-line efficiency
Mastering the POS basics – quickly
As Rod Works was growing its business, the company struggled to find the right point of sale (POS) solution. In trying out various options, Rod Works fell into the same conundrum faced by many smaller retail businesses. Affordable POS systems marketed to small business lacked the high-level inventory functionality of the enterprise-sized systems used by large chain retailers. Yet these costlier solutions were too time-consuming for the small retailer to learn and use.
“POS software should change your business to be more effective, not change your business just to use the software,” said Aaron Brackett, retail director for Rod Works. “We built our business in a what-if environment, where we continually evaluated best-case and worst-case scenarios for the future. That way, we could weather various financial circumstances and challenging economic times. As a result, we wanted a POS solution that provided great management insight and could grow with us over time – without costing a fortune.”
Five years ago, Rod Works purchased QuickStore POS from Wasp Barcode Technologies. Because the enterprise version of the software offers multi-location functionality, as the company grew it was able to install QuickStore at each of its four retail locations and two clearance centers, as well as its corporate headquarters and warehouse.
Designed for specialty stores, Wasp QuickStore strives to offer smaller retailers the same kinds of efficiencies that larger chains already enjoy from their expensive
enterprise-version POS products. These include high-end capabilities such as automated inventory tracking, e-mail invoices, report generation and more.
From shuffling items to managing inventory
Once Wasp QuickStore was in place as a checkout tool, customer satisfaction quickly increased. Rod Works then was ready to tackle its greatest challenge: bridging the gap between the warehouse and retail stores.
“We had struggled with this for years,” Brackett said. “We didn’t have an efficient way to identify store needs from the warehouse. This affected the entire process, from transferring product to the stores all the way up to product purchases. Too often, we had products sitting on warehouse shelves instead of store shelves.”
Bank eliminates costly write-offs by Automating Inventory Control
Mired in spreadsheets
To serve its thousands of customers, Amarillo National Bank ordered large quantities of supplies, including deposit slips, banking forms, pens, paper and more. It relied on between 50 and 60 outside vendors to supply about 160 different items.
The purchasing department at the bank’s headquarters would order and store supplies for all 13 of its branch offices. When an individual office needed to replenish items, it would send a requisition to headquarters. The purchasing department would package and ship out the needed supplies.
Unfortunately, the bank’s inventory was being managed manually on two complex Excel spreadsheets. The first spreadsheet, which tracked vendors, featured between 50 and 60 tabs (one for each vendor) and 160 rows (one for each item). As items were received in stock, they were noted in the appropriate cell. Managing this spreadsheet took about one and a half to two hours per week. Plus, the process was prone to errors. If an error was inadvertently entered, back-tracking to find and correct the data was both time-consuming and frustrating.
The second spreadsheet included about 40 tabs (13 for branch offices and others for the various departments at headquarters), plus about 160 rows (one for each item). When a branch office or department faxed a requisition form, the purchasing agent would note in the spreadsheet which items were ordered. Each week, the agent spent from one and a half to two hours tabulating the orders for various departments and branches. The resulting sheet was sent to the accounting department, which would generate invoices for each branch office and department.
Because of the complexity of this process, numerous delays and errors would occur as the bank worked each month to reconcile inventory on hand and determine which items should be billed back to branch offices and departments.
The accounting department struggled to keep up with this time-consuming process. As a result, billing was constantly behind. This led to significant inventory write-offs of tens of thousands of dollars per year, since the bank could not account for the location of inventory items and bill for them in a timely manner.
Assigning costs – automatically
The bank knew it needed to eliminate the cost of inventory write-offs. Plus, accounting and purchasing personnel wanted an easier, faster way to order and account for items.
The bank purchased Wasp Inventory Control Pro, software that helps small businesses and departments within larger organizations know exactly how much inventory they have, where it is located, and what’s moving and what’s not.
Lone Star College System automates asset management for big savings
Lost in the crowd
With over 70,000 students and employees, Lone Star College System (LSCS) owns and operates over 30,000 IT assets. Each of the community college’s five campuses and seven satellite centers was responsible for tracking its own equipment, including laptops, projectors, servers and switches. Many of the locations utilized Access databases or Excel spreadsheets for managing assets.
Relying on a manual asset tracking solution created multiple problems for technology managers and administration. Without a centralized database, it was difficult to locate specific IT assets.
The LSCS Vice Chancellor and CIO, Shah Ardalan, made having complete and accurate data a priority, and increased technology management accountability system-wide. An asset management solution was necessary to effectively track equipment lifecycles.
