Product ID now [Special supplement]

THIS MONTH: MUSIC TO THEIRS EARS Alliance Entertainment increases CD throughput and order accuracy with the help of barcode scanner NOT A MOMENT TO LOSE Laser scanner ensures that Molson's high-speed production lines won't be left high and Dry 2-D -- TEN YEARS AFTER Charting the incredible explosion of Two-Dimensional barcodes A KINDER, SIMPLER SYSTEM Reliable placement of information is just one way barcoding system has made Borden's business a little easier for employees and customers GROWING PAINS DON'T GET THIS DAIRY'S GOAT Ink-jet printer provides a simple coding solution for family run business A DIFFERENT KIND OF RELIABILITY B.C. food firm opts for digital case printing system to solve carton coding problems THE LATEST IN PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION MUSIC TO THEIR EARS AS PERHAPS THE LARGEST distributor of pre-recorded music and music related products in North america, Alliance Entertainment Corp. has distribution centres in Florida and California, each shipping audio compact discs (CDs) and cassettes to traditional as well as emerging retail outlets across the continent. For a company of this size that competes with entertainment conglomerates in the music industry, getting orders to customers quickly and accurately is critical for staying competitive. Last year, Alliance determined there was a need to consolidate its four existing Florida warehouse operations into facilities in Coral Springs, Fla., and Santa Fa Springs, Calif. These new facilities allow Alliance to centralize operations and control warehouse costs while meeting the continually increasing customer demand. Existing distribution systems at the four centres were obsolete--orders were manually verified and labeled which was labor intensive, slow and prone to errors. Since greater order throughput was a primary concern, Alliance decided to streamline order processing and verification at the new Florida plant, using an automated material handling system from Dorner Manufacturing in Hartland, Wisc. By incorporating barcode technology from Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley in its verification and labeling process, Alliance was able to increase throughput and order accuracy while at the same time reducing manpower costs. The Challenge Alliance contacted Dorner Manufacturing with a specific challenge--automate the sortation of printed barcode labels, speed-up production and eliminate time-consuming manual sorting. Alliance needed a fairly sophisticated system that was information intensive because more than 200,000 various CD and cassette titles distributed by the company each have distinct file and record codes. Dorner designed an order verification and labeling system combining standard low-profile conveyors and programmable controllers with barcode technology to develop a sortation & labeling system. The order verification and labeling system designed by Dorner manually collects CD and cassette titles based on customer orders, identifies which order it is and loads the CD or cassette title onto a sequential pricing system dispenser. The CDs or cassettes are dispensed one at a time onto the conveyor and stood on edge for barcode scanning the front and back of the case. The barcode scanner identifies the UPC code on the case and assigns each product to a purchase order. The system is unique in that it not only verifies each piece in an order, it also prints and places a label onto each piece in the order. The newly applied label is then read by the scanner which directs the CD or cassette to a pre-assigned accumulation station for shipping. Extra products or wrong products read by the scanner are rejected and directed to a separate accumulation station. Labeling is a "value added service" provided by Alliance which assigns a retail price to the CD or cassette--saving the retail outlet from having to price the products. The barcode label which is unique to each CD or cassette has 17 different fields for product description using either UPC (Universal Product Code) or EAN (European Article Number) symbology, which is read by a barcode scanner. Warehouse operators can look up information such as order file, pricing, UPC and title names on a touchscreen operator interface which is connected with local distributors (Alliance's distributors) through a local area network. The operator interface's graphical design with various prompts and alarms, allows for easy interaction between the system and operator. The automated system is regulated by an Allen-Bradley SLC-5/04 programmable controller for control of the I/O, Allen-Bradley manual motor starters, push-buttons and various other hardware elements. Four Allen-Bradley AdaptaScan barcode readers from Rockwell Automation are positioned on each line, working in a coordinated mode (peer to peer) and communicating information to the programmable controller. Since the barcode symbol can appear on either side of a CD or cassette case four units are required--two for each face of the product (front and back). The Crucial Element Correctly reading the barcodes demands high speed, accuracy and reliability. Dorner control engineers also wanted a product that was proven and tested in the field, so the engineers reviewed a number of barcode vendors. Dorner determined that the Allen-Bradley AdaptaScan was the best source for price, service and support as well as a distributor network. Reading barcode labels off various CDs and cassettes also presented some minor challenges. First, packaging on the music tides provided a less than perfect design because of the artistic liberties taken when the cover is developed so many times there is no quiet zone on the labels. (A quite zone is a clear space which precedes the start character and follows the stop character of a barcode symbol.) There were some focus challenges due to the highly-reflective cellophane wrapping on the cases. Both these scanning challenges were addressed by Dorner when they tested the system at its facility before shipping the product to Alliance in Florida. Dorner was able to easily adjust the AdaptaScan settings to compensate for the quiet zone and reflective wrapping. The Results Alliance's Florida facility currently runs three shifts a day with well over 100,000 products shipped per day. Each of Alliance's three order verification and labeling systems is capable of processing over 100 CDs or cassettes a per minute. The system has increased the throughput of the Alliance facilities dramatically and labor saving and order accuracy are also major benefits. With the removal of human error, the barcode scanning has increased visual inspection capabilities and quality control dramatically as well--few, if any, mistakes occur. Before the system, Alliance would have several operators manually verifying and sorting the pieces. By using AdaptaScan to verify and sort the CDs and cassettes, Alliance has significantly lowered labor costs. Alliance is continually making minor adjustments to its entire order handling process to make maximum use of the systems. Currently, Alliance is exploring options of taking its system to the next level by exploring other material handling and distribution equipment including an advanced tracking software package that will incorporate the sortation of the CDs and cassettes into the process as well. NOT A MOMENT TO LOSE HOW'S THIS for running speeds. During the peak summer months, Molson's West-end Toronto plant packages approximately 3.3-million bottles and 800,000 cans of beer a day. With a bottling line that runs at a blistering pace of 2,000 bottles per minute and three packaging lines that operate continuously, there is no time to be wasted in getting the brands loaded onto trucks for delivery. One of the more time consuming chores that slowed down the workers in Molson's packaging division was the removal of pallet tags from shipments of empty bottles and cans before they could be depalletized, rinsed and filled. According to Michael Waddell, the Etobicoke brewery's packaging specialist, the gathering and storing of the pallet tags was becoming an organizational nightmare and produced unreliable results. What we had was a labor-intensive and cumbersome system which involved a lot of paper handling," he says. "We would inventory the pallet tag cards in case of a recall from our supplier so we could isolate what we used at what time and be able to track it down. It required saving bundles and bundles of paper." Pallet tags were collected and punched by an old time clock. At the end of each shift, the tags were supposed to be put in chronological order, wrapped in an elastic band and placed in a box. But, as Waddell points out, things did not always go according to plan. Sometimes people would forget to punch the tags with the time clock or a tag would be missing," he adds while sifting through a cardboard box jammed full of bundles of tags. "Plus we had to buy shelves and set aside space to store all the boxes of tags. It's a very inefficient system." The problems with this system crystallized every time a supplier issued a recall (prior to packaged product leaving the brewery) and work would grind to a halt in the plant until the pallet tag could be located for the suspect load. When we'd go back in the boxes, it could take hours to find the proper pallet tag to locate the shipment," Waddell says. "It was a real waste of time and energy that our guys didn't look forward to." Molson found a way to eliminate the need to collect and file tags last January by adopting two Intermec barcode scanning systems to take advantage of the barcoded lot numbers that were already printed on their packaging suppliers' pallet tags. The Model 9440 Trakker programmable reader and 1545 laser-based input device and the 9430 programmable reader and 1281 wand input device are hand-held units that store every transaction and automatically append it with a time/date stamp from the programmable reader. The machine's display screen flashes to let the operator know the scan went through properly. The data is then stored in the portable unit's memory up to 64 K as the operator continues to process transactions (the unit can be upgraded to 512 K). At the end of a shift, the operator deposits the programmable reader into its communications dock, which is connected to a personal computer running an Excel spreadsheet program. A 9720 keyboard wedge transmits the data directly onto the spreadsheet, taking just a few seconds to complete the update. Now when Molson needs to track down a recalled lot number, they simply do a quick search of their Excel program to locate the information they require. Waddell points out that the new system eliminates problems with illegible tags that fall on the floor and get wet or others that simply get lost in a paper avalanche. The training to get our guys up to date on this system was minimal," he said. "We have eliminated problems with storage space and all the information is easily downloaded. Before, looking for a particular pallet tag was like looking for a needle in a haystack." Waddell says he likes the reliability of the laser scanner. "We needed something that could work in an industrial setting. When we're running pallets through every couple of minutes, the tag can be bent, printed unclearly or smudged. The scanner is effective in terms of reading imperfect tags." Pat Molloy, a quality control inspector on the bottle and can lines, adds that training on the Intermec equipment was minimal for the operators. "It's simple for the operator to use and you only have to push a few buttons to download the information," he says. "It probably took less time to learn the new system than it would to go looking through boxes for lost tags." The Intermec equipment is used to scan the pallet loads of cans or bottles after they are unloaded and sent to a Mathews depalletizer. Bottles are supplied by Consumer's Glass and cans are provided by Reynolds and Ball. After the laser scan is complete, the bottles are depalletized and rinsed. Bottles then pass through a Heuft USA Inc. inspection system to be checked for imperfections before being sent on a Gebo conveyor to be filled, capped, pasteurized and labeled. Caps are supplied by Crown Cork & Seal Canada Inc. Waddell sees this initial technological advance as the beginning of a much larger plan. When we get more applications, such as our bottle closures working with this system, we won't have to save the information and then download it to the computer in two different steps. When everything is done on the same system, the information will be retained on the network instantaneously. But, that's for the future." 2-D TEN YEARS AFTER HAPPY BIRTHDAY 2-D Barcode. October 1997 is the tenth anniversary of the patent filing for Code 49, arguably the first true two-dimensional barcode (2-D) symbology, developed by Intermec Corp. But what makes this an important time to stop and reassess the meaning and direction of the 2-D movement is the nearly two dozen different 2-D symbologies which have been released since then. Much has happened since those first rows of barcode were stacked on top of each other in one continuous, variable length symbology. And much more is promised. The talk of two-dimensional symbologies has been frenetic during the past decade. And for good reason. Wave upon wave of two-dimensional code has arrived, some with the capacity for 100 or more times the information of traditional linear codes, encoded within a printed symbol no larger than a child's fingernail. In reality, these codes are their own portable data files, without the need for access to a central database. They are instantly readable anywhere: on the loading dock, on the shop floor, or in the warehouse, and therefore well-suited for component identification, discrete tracking, production history, safety information, and even machine programming. It's no wonder there is a lot being written about this exceptional technology. But, in the interest of clarity, there are some things you should understand up front. The term 2-D is a misnomer. All bar codes are two-dimensional. But what differentiates 2-D codes from their linear cousins, is the way information is encoded using both the x-and y-axes. A more accurate description is now being used in the industry which identifies the two primary encryption styles which fall under "2-D." They are Stacked and Matrix. Stacked or multi-row codes are the original 2-D symbols. Printed with several rows of bars and spaces, these codes are read by multiple scans of a moving beam laser or linear Charged Couple Device (CCD) scanner. Code 49 is a multi-row code, as is Code 16K-developed by LaserLight Systems in 1989 to be printed and scanned with standard barcode technologies. The widely-used PDF417, a Symbol Technologies creation now in the public domain, is considered to be one of the most versatile stacked codes, with applications which include the packaging industry. All three are published standards from AIM USA, and PDF417 is also being developed as an international standard. Matrix codes consist of regular polygonal arrays of data cells, plus "finder" and orientation structures, that typically are read from 2-D images from a CCD array (camera reading technology). Two of these codes are already American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards. MaxiCode, developed by the United Parcel Service, can hold up to 100 ASCII characters in a 1-inch square symbol, and its design allows it to be accurately read even when as much as a quarter of the symbol has been destroyed. Data Matrix, the other ANSI standard 2-D code, is a product of Ci Matrix. This incredibly dense code has the theoretical capability to encode 500-million characters to the inch. However, practical printing and reading resolutions keep the encoded message well below this limit. This code has been adopted by the Semiconductor Equipment and Material International association (SEMI) for use in electronic components labeling. Other examples include the AIM USA standardized Code One symbology which requires no "quiet zone" and ArrayTag--the licensed-for-free symbology from ArrayTech Systems designed for variable distance and lighting conditions in industry, Aztec Code, and others being developed and tested in both the public and private domains. But with all of these codes in the public domain and/or published as standards, there is still a need for more in a worldwide marketplace. Some of the latest barcode developments enable the encodation of foreign character sets. UltraCode is one such solution that is now in the public domain. This linear matrix symbology, originally designed by Zebra Technologies, has been developed as a 4th generation linear symbology where a moderate amount of data can be encoded in any natural language, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean and other non-Latin-based languages. While the extensive information offered by other 2-D codes cannot be encoded here, the global trade implications of this new code are dramatic. AIM USA has accepted UltraCode for the standardization process, and is sponsoring it for the development of an AIMI International Technical Standard. A KINDER, SIMPLER SYSTEM THE FAMILIAR SMELL of semolina gives this particular Borden Pasta plant the illusion of a kitchen setting, despite its size and its industrial decor. Most consumers of the pasta from this kitchen will never know the changes the company is making, since its products will continue to taste and appear as they have for more than 80 years. But Borden, North America's largest pasta company, has recently completed a major equipment update and with it an entire paradigm shift to a simpler and more integrated packaging system. Borden used to store more than 1.8-million preprinted corrugated boxes in 75,000 square feet of warehouse space at its St. Louis, Mo., plant. The print looked neat and legible, but the production schedule dictated which machine packaged each product. Every changeover consumed 30 minutes of plant production time. The time was spent locating the preprinted cases--if they were in stock--and loading them into the magazine. This often resulted in over-runs or short-runs that cost the company warehouse space, customer service, or both. If any product information actually needed changing, a new printing plate cost upwards of $500. This method of packaging worked for decades, but when compared with the time and cost-savings of on-line barcoding, there was no question how to move forward. Notes Kurt McClellan, Borden's engineering manager: "The paradigm was to run the production lines with whatever [corrugated] was in stock. We weren't customer-driven, we were supply-driven." At the time, Borden's goal was to reduce cost and complexity in its operation, which would require a paradigm shift. But McClellan didn't predict the magnitude of the shift that barcoding would bring. By 1995, barcoding equipment was rugged and industrialized enough for Borden to install, and it now has been reduced in cost and complexity, as well as improved improved customer service and efficient use of inventory space. The barcoding system that enabled Borden to make this shift came out of its dose partnership with Marsh Co., whose ink-jet coding equipment is sold by Signode Canada across Canada. Borden packaging supervisors contacted Marsh in part because of their familiarity with the manufacturer: Borden has been employing Marsh equipment since 1982. Aiding Borden packaging managers in the decision-making process was the fact that more than 5,000 Marsh Hi-Res printheads were already being used at packaged-goods companies, and that Marsh manufactures its own system components and can make repairs in-house. Now, with the help of Marsh printers, operators can be sure the correct information is being placed on shipping cartons at all times. There are three ways they can accurately input the information. A booklet of barcodes and a handheld scanner sit at each operator's station. Operators can scan the products' barcodes from the booklet, scan them from a primary package, or type in the information at a computer terminal on-site. The flexibility of this setup allows the operators to choose their preferences, which might be determined by what language they speak. Each method of sending the correct product information to the computer system is virtually fool-proof, eliminating error and complexity. Onc e a shipping case is full, it passes the Marsh Hi-Res print station, which includes a dual printhead, a single printhead, and a BC-192 printhead on both sides of the Alvey conveyor. This trio prints a consistent layout of information on every shipping carton: counts and size in the upper left corner, date and time codes in the lower left. Brand logo and product description also are always in the same location on the shipping cartons, as well as the barcode and other identification. Just inches after each shipping carton is printed, a stationary Accu-Sort barcode scanner reads the information and sends it back to the on-line computer system, which Borden staff refer to as the System Administrator's Station. This scanner checks the barcode print quality and triggers an alarm if it is not readable. This part of the station also assembles information about downtime, counts, and read rate. The barcode represents the product number and Borden's manufacturer's number, which is used with its trading partners. Borden's internal use of the barcode represents a quantum leap in Borden's packaging system sophistication. The barcoding--now a requirement by Borden's customers-works more efficiently than the company had ever expected. "Before, we'd get an order with 24-hours' notice or less," remarks Barb Dunville, the plant's system administrator. "If we didn't have the right packaging available, we'd call the corrugated supplier to send it in. This took about three days, and we'd miss service opportunities to our customers. Now, we just scan the barcode and it's done." Once a logo as a graphics file arrives, it takes just 10 minutes to set-up a new product: a 144-fold improvement in changeover time. In summary, the new barcoding arrangement has enabled Borden's efficiency and customer service to increase exponentially, adds Kurt McClellan. "We can run any product at any time, because we don't have the limitation of being tied to a specific piece of packaging material. The plant produces what the demand dictates." Last year, preprinted, knockdown cases occupied more than 40 per cent of the St. Louis warehouse's 176,000 square feet. Now, over half of that space has been reclaimed for plant expansion. Since the barcoding system has been up and running, knockdown case inventory has dropped from 1.8-million to 600,000. GROWING PAINS DON'T GET THIS DAIRY'S GOAT WOOLWICH DAIRY is not a household name--yet. But its products just happen to be found in many Canadian homes, which helps explain why the family run business also happens to be this country's largest goat cheese producer. Located in Orangeville, a farming community that's about a 45 minute drive northwest of Toronto, Woolwich Dairy has been producing a wide variety of goat cheese products, ranging in flavors and styles, for the past 10 years. The cheese products are packaged in 12 different containers: from round to square, using different materials, such as a harder plastic for plastic tubs, and a polyfilm for different odd shapes and sizes. After the cheese is packaged and labeled, a batch code and expiration date are applied to the product using a Linx small-character continuous ink-jet printer from Diagraph Corp. Recently, Woolwich experienced growing pains. As its private labeling business soared, the dairy was moved into a 30,000 square foot plant, and the increased sales volume caused management to reconsider the equipment employed on its production lines. Previously, the batch code and expiration date were pre-printed daily on labels. The pre-printed labels were then loaded into a label gun, and manually applied to the product. With the increase in production, the label gun method of marking on its products became too labor intensive, as well as very costly in materials and time. Woolwich searched for a new solution that would accommodate its new needs: faster speed, lower costs and easy line changeover to adjust to different product containers. Woolwich found the answers to all of its needs in its current marking system--the Linx. Tony Dutra, Director of Woolwich Dairy, says that using the Linx printer has not only cut its coding time in half, but the cost of creating the mark is less than a quarter of the cost of the old system. In addition, the ink-jet printer is simple to use, and requires little maintenance. It automatically starts up and shuts down with the push of a button. Since Woolwich has various styles of product containers in different shapes and sizes, frequent line changes are necessary. In spite of this, one printer is all that is required to get the job done. The messages are programmed in the printer with menu-driven software, and the printhead is very flexible so that the changes of each new line are easily and quickly met. Woolwich examined other continuous ink-jet printers but chose the Linx printer from Diagraph. Observes Dutra: "It's a very versatile machine, and that's something we need because we have so many different varieties of products". He adds: "It's quick to change from one item to another, and that eliminates a lot of shut down time". Another important benefit to using continuous ink jet for Woolwich is the ability to create a clear code without interrupting the design of the primary label. According to Dutra, using the label gun method, "takes up space on your label (primary), so if you have a nice beautiful graphic label, and you put a sticker on it, it doesn't look nice. But the ink-jet printer can put the information almost anywhere on your package". Woolwich was also very pleased by the quality of the mark as well as the adherence of ink to the different products. Ink-jet printing not only solved the current coding needs for Woolwich Dairy, but also is a marking solution that will easily grow as the company grows. With limited manual labor increases, the Linx printer can move from one line to another, as lines are added, or additional printers can easily be installed.