Indestructible job sheet has bar codes

A product tracking system developed for an abrasion resistant wear parts manufacturer has virtually indestructible job route card which can be laser printed with bar code information.

IML Labels and Systems of Chapeltown, UK, has supplied a new product tracking system to an abrasion resistant wear parts manufacturer.

The job tracking system has a virtually indestructible job route card material, which can be laser printed with bar code information.

The client, Chapmans in Sheffield, UK, was using hand written prices of metal, placed in the top of trays, to track jobs through the many stages in their production process.

The only way for the Chapman's sales team to find out what stage an order was at was to walk through the factory and physically check work in progress (production inventory).

Background information was managed either manually or on stand alone spreadsheets.

The recent Sheffield floods caused considerable damage at Chapmans, but the company took the opportunity to turn a disaster into a success and get the new production tracking system in operation in record time, said IML.

Neale Cook of WBSolutions (production planning consultancy) has worked with Chapmans to develop an add-on to Chapman's Sage 500 system.

The system is an integrated planning tool linked to the Sales and Production system.

The system is a real time shop floor data collection process, working across six terminals which are running Neales' software.

Route cards are printed with product and bar code information representing each stage in the production process.

As a job is passed through the factory the route card goes with it.

Each operator scans the card into the computer, thus feeding the real time tracking system with up to the minute data.

Staff and customers now have real time information about where a job is in the factory, quantities produced and likely delivery expectation.

The material supplied by IML is their Laserplas sheeted product.

Chapmans had proved that a paper route card would not stand the heat (up to 200 deg C) or the wear and tear of being manhandled and then stored in adverse weather conditions outside.

IML's Laserplas maintains its integrity in temperatures heading up to 200 deg C; it is also chemical and water Resistant.

On this occasion it is being used in sheet form; it is also supplied in many other shapes and is commonly seen as a self-tie label around garden centre plants.

Chapmans are one of the world's leading suppliers of abrasion resistant wear parts for many engineering applications, primarily in agriculture, road laying and mining equipment.

WBSolutions is an independent software development business, specialising in the creation of production tracking solutions.

* About IML - IML Label and Systems Limited's reputation as a leading UK supplier of high performance labels, entry tickets and branding badges has been gained over more than half a century.

All labels in their portfolio of high quality labelling solutions have been developed and tailored to endure harsh and extreme conditions in natural and industrial environments.

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