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Upcoming Events
continued .
. . Perspectives
2005 (TDCI), August 22-24, Columbus, OH
Lasco Fittings Implements
Auto ID from Nutech Systems
Lasco Fittings,
a Tomkins Company, is a manufacturer and distributor
of injection molding fittings for irrigation,
plumbing, industrial, pool/spa and retail
markets. Headquartered in Brownsville, Tennessee,
Lasco operates 8 regional centers throughout
the U.S.A for distribution worldwide.
Lasco’s Manual
ID card system for picking and put-away of
finished goods has been in operation for the
past 30 years. Although it was serving its
purpose, like all manual systems, it had its
frustrations. Cards were not where they were
expected to be because someone else was using
them. Cards went missing because they had
been misplaced or misfiled or the information
was incorrect or incomplete. Personnel had
to enter the data from the cards into MAC-PAC
manually. While the front office was busy
entering the data, shop floor personnel were
looking for the cards so they could complete
their tasks and visa versa. Information was
forever lagging behind the decisions that
needed to be made. Lasco did not want to live
with the wasted time and inefficiencies any
longer. Nutech Systems the official Auto ID
partner for TDCI provided the solution –
a serialized pallet ID barcode system. With
offices in both the U.S. and Canada, Nutech
has implemented Auto ID solution in over 600
facilities worldwide.
In Phase I of the
project the system automated the product receipt
procedure giving Lasco the beginnings of a
paperless system and the elimination of the
redundant dual card box system. Phase II involved
extending serialization to all other warehouse
procedures that included warehouse receipt
reconfirmation of part numbers and quantities.
Once received, the system either facilitates
the movement of the product to an in-house
location or reroutes it to one of their other
distribution centers. Lasco now can immediately
enter data via the RF terminals, thereby eliminating
data entry errors, has directed put-away and
picking, and is using their human resources
much more efficiently. Lasco is enjoying a
complete wireless facility as a by-product
of the data collection project. They anticipate
that by the end of August they will have rolled
out the data collection system to 6 of their
8 facilities.
According to Debbie
Worden, a Lasco Vice President, "what
we especially like is the time efficiency
– the availability of the data in real
time, the portability of the data via the
hand-held screens and the elimination of the
cost of having pre-printed forms."
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