Month: September 2016

As technology continues to advance, it becomes apparent that smart manufacturing hinges on mobility. Rugged tablets have a pivotal role to play in the warehouses of the future, thanks to their durability, mobility, advanced technology, and convenience.

Rugged tablets are a lightweight, durable alternative to traditional portable computers; with a sensitive large touch screen and flexible Windows operating system, they provide full workable experiences instead of a scaled down performance that doesnt meet industrial needs. By providing the functionalities of a desktop or laptop in a handheld device, plus robust computing systems and plenty of applications that can replace half a dozen or more separate devices in one multifunctional tool, rugged tablets are here to stay.

Mobile computing devices such as high powered rugged tablets can arm your workforce with real-time access to data they require to work smarter and faster in an industry 4.0 environment. When manufacturing applications are standardized across mobile devices, worker productivity goes up and system development, maintenance, and deployment costs go down.

As more and more workers in the manufacturing workforce can be described as information workers, the need for handheld devices will continue to rise. Since the ultimate success of a manufacturer depends on the efficiency of a multifaceted workforce, rugged tablets make perfect sense; those on the warehouse and/or manufacturing floor can handle complex data entry and inventory tracking in real time while communicating with each other.

In addition, tablets can be used to fully automate certain processes, leading many manufacturers to delve deeper into completely worker safe lines where tablets direct the machinery and workers direct the tablets.

Rugged tablets also perform well in many conditions they are put through rigorous testing including drop testing, exposure to shock, pressure, high and low temperatures, humidity, solar radiation, and harsh environmental conditions including rain, ice, freezing rain, sand and dust. Fully rugged tablets have the best resistance to outside conditions, and can be used to run the manufacturing lines of the future, performing well in high or low temps or dusty conditions.

The durable design and portability of each rugged tablet is matched with superior computing power to profitably equip every member of the workforce. In addition, the devices can be used by managers to monitor and assist their workforce from any location, assessing productivity, monitoring work in progress and tracking time and attendance.

Rugged tablets make it possible to manage a cohesive manufacturing operating in the smartest way possible, regardless of how large a workforce is employed or where they are physically stationed.

Everyone is familiar with the barcode its been around since for years. The square or rectangular image consists of a series of black lines or squares and white spaces (of varying sizes). These combinations can be read by a scanner to quickly identify the object they are attached to.

Barcodes are used in numerous verticals, from retail stores selling every kind of product imaginable, to warehouses where inventory can be quickly tracked with a barcode scanner, to invoicing for rapid scanning of data that could take pages to delineate, to the transport and delivery service where codes can track items from manufacturing through packaging and on to delivery.

The Evolution of Barcodes

One dimensional, or 1D barcodes are the ones commonly seen used to store basic text information, including product type, size, and color. These are also regularly referred to as universal product codes (UPC) used on product packaging.Simplified, they represent a string of numbers (usually printed below the UPC code in numeric form on the sticker or packaging) that denote the manufacturer and item.

2D barcodes are much more complex, and can add additional levels of information such as price, quantity, and even an image, and can be printed in very small sizes and etched into products if desired. Linear barcode scanners cant read them, though smartphones and tablets with imaging capability will which is why rugged tablets are becoming so popular as barcode scanning devices.

Rugged Tablets Add Speed to the Scanning Process

An area in which barcode scanning has seen major advances is speed. Differences as low as a tenth of a second can make a huge difference in scan performance.This becomes important in situations where employees doing repetitive scanning at high speed need tools that will keep up and exceed expectations and rugged tablets can meet the challenge.

Higher productivity, efficiency and profit, can be expected when tools are as fast as possible and there is no wasted time between scans. The rugged tablet which is equipped with a barcode scanner can eliminate many issues common with older scanners, including a very narrow range of use in regard to distance from the code being scanned, difficulty in scanning if the device is not held perfectly still or at the precise angle, and inability to scan both 1D and 2D codes.

Top Two Benefits of Newer Barcode Scanners

The latest rugged tablets with barcode scanning capability have two major features that can benefit users especially in situations when a handheld device is the optimal choice. The first benefit is provided by the image scanning software built in to newer 2D scanners instead of having to drag the beam of light across the barcode to read it literally, the scanner simply takes and image and decodes it.

The second benefit relies on the fact that newer rugged tablets with barcode scanning tech have motion dampeners built in so even if the tablet is not held perfectly motionless, codes can still be read and the data captured. The lower motion sensitivity makes the tablet usable even in situations such on shipboard, where movement is a given, or while on the move in a warehouse.

Rugged tablets can be barcode scanners of the future, making tasks easier for all those who require the ability to quickly and effectively scan for information.

Medical cart computers provide multiple advantages for both patients and health care personnel. The features outshine those of computers on wheels (COWs) and the advanced technology streamlines patient care, no matter where the patient is located in the hospital or care center. Benefits apply not only to the patients themselves, but anyone handling and deriving treatment knowledge from the data.

Hot Swappable Batteries

Possibly the most attractive benefit of the medical cart computer is the advantageous hot swapped battery system, which allows batteries to be exchanged without the unit powering down. Each unit comes with 3 batteries, meaning that the computer can run continuously covering entire shifts, never going down and causing interruption of patient care or loss of data. The cart never has to be taken to another location for charging the batteries are simply removed and charged while a fresh battery is installed to continue operation. This provides for superior service at the point of care.

Data Access and Capability

With data capability at the patients side, any relevant records, test results, or doctor notes can be reviewed on the spot. Allergies can be cross referenced, and medication contraindications checked for. Doctors and nurses will have access to the information they need at all times, resulting in less mistakes and higher productivity for each shift. There is no running back and forth looking for patient records or folders all the data is stored by the patients bedside in a portable format that can be taken from room to room as needed.

Cost and Time Efficiency

The built in swappable batteries offer a more affordable option that traditional medical cart batteries, which are large, heavy, expensive and take longer to charge. The 3 batteries cover about 16 hours of operation , and every shift can start with fresh batteries. The time saved by always being able to depend on the medical cart computer being powered up and accessible is vast and patient care is made that much more accurate with all the data at each caretakers fingertips.

Using medical cart computers is good for patients, good for nursing staff, good for doctors, and good for administrators who need accurate records to manage patient transfers, billing, and more. With Electronic Health Records rapidly supplanting older, traditional forms of data storage, having portable, high tech medical cart computers for every hospital room is something for hospitals, urgent care centers, and more to aspire to.