The Challenge

When a large manufacturer of decorative home building products began looking to upgrade its present forklift scanning operation, they not only wanted to replace the soon to be obsolete equipment, they wanted to install a system that was tailored to the needs of the actual functions that were required of their operators. 

With manufacturing facilities in the United States and Mexico, along with distribution centers in four states and the UK, their current forklift terminal and scanning system is used in conjunction with an Oracle host for warehouse applications including inventory control, shipping, receiving, put-a-way and sub-inventory transfers.  With experience under their belt, the assessment of these present critical applications pointed to the need for more flexibility and mobility in the scanning operation. 

The Solution

After assessing the application requirements, Compsee’s Sales and Technical Team proposed a “Scan and Go” system.  The system consists of:

• MAT 203 with an integrated laser scanner, RF card, and Oracle emulation software

• MAT Dock System

• PSC Long Range Scanner (USB Interface)

• Industrial Keyboard (USB Interface)

• Industrial Mounting Brackets

When used in a normal environment, the MAT is parked in the dock and the operator scans the bar codes using the long range scanner and utilizes the attached industrial keyboard for data that needs to be manually entered. A number of times during a shift it’s required that an operator leave the forklift to record an item.  In this event he simply pops the MAT out of the cradle and uses the scanner keyboard on the MAT to collect the item information.

To accomplish this, a number of features inclusive with the MAT terminal come into play. 

• Power for the external scanner and keyboard is derived from the MAT terminal that utilizes removable Li-Ion 3.7V, 4400mAh batteries.  If desired, power to maintain the batteries can be provided from the forklift.

• Multiple USB connections on the dock allow for external input devices.  While the unit is in the dock, the MAT simultaneously recognizes the integrated and external keyboards and scanners.  
• The entire system must be durable enough to endure the warehouse/forklift environment.  MAT construction utilizes a number of features making it ideal for this rugged application.

• Co-Molding of the rubber to the unit.  The rubberized grip becomes an integral part of the plastic and cannot be removed.
• The Pogo Pin connection to the “hot shoe” of the battery or terminal allows for extensive vibration and movement of the unit without loss of power. 
• The Dock is designed to latch the MAT into position and securely hold the unit in place.

 The system and all its components sell for considerably less than most forklift systems, while providing increased flexibility.

The Benefits

The customer now has an upgraded system that allows for various actions and function performed by a typical operator during a shift.  All data can be captured with the system regardless of its location.

Learn how you can reap the benefits of everything that business process automation and mobile computing have to offer.