how old is your handheld?
The clunky single-function bar-code scanners of yesteryear have
given way to sleek multifunctional devices, but they haven’t disappeared from the scene entirely. Some of those dinosaurs are still
in service after more than a decade of use. If you still have one of
those old scanners around, you might want to enter it in a contest
sponsored by Ryzex, a mobile technology company that sells,
repairs, and maintains automated data collection devices.
The “Big Upgrade” competition aims to identify the world’s
oldest working bar-code data collection device. “Although a data
management device may appear ancient, with ongoing support
many [users] have been able to keep their equipment on ‘life support’ way past their warranty, and we’re excited to uncover these
with the ‘Big Upgrade’ contest,” said Chris Glennon, Ryzex’s vice
president of sales and marketing, in an announcement.
The winner will receive a new handheld computer from Psion
Teklogix, a manufacturer of rugged mobile computing devices, to
replace the old legacy unit. Contest entrants must provide contact and device information, including a photo of the legacy
equipment in action. Additional details are available at
www.bigupgrade.com.
The deadline for contest submissions is Sept. 22, 2009. ;
Ocean containers, as we’ve
reported in the past, make dandy
building blocks. They’ve been
used as the framework for retail
stores, vacation homes, and
apartments, among other structures. Now you can add medical
clinic to the list.
A 40-foot container donated
by ocean carrier APL has been
outfitted as a self-contained
medical and dental clinic, with a
generator, air conditioning, a bathroom, and examination rooms.
The new clinic is now open for business in the jungle near San
Salvador, the capital of El Salvador. At the clinic, volunteers treat
people who have been relocated from a village that was damaged
by earthquakes and mudslides.
APL worked with Hope Charitable Services of Portsmouth,
Va., and its partners, Lend-A-Hand Mission Teams and the
Catholic Church’s Diocese of Richmond, Va., to convert the container into a sparsely furnished medical and dental office. APL
then shipped the clinic to Guatemala and arranged for transportation to El Salvador. Once the container arrived at its destination, it was repositioned on a foundation and hooked up to
water and power lines. ;
the doctor is in … the container
inbound
Logistics City USA
While some Rust Belt cities have been devastated by the recession, Columbus, Ohio,
is holding its own—and the city has logistics to thank for it.
Greater Columbus features a high concentration of logistics and transportation
businesses, and those companies are helping to keep the region’s economy afloat.
Collectively, they employ some 45,000
people— 52 percent more than would be
expected for a U.S. city of its size, said Bill
Lafayette, vice president, economic analysis for the area’s chamber of commerce, in
a meeting with reporters touring the city.
Attracting those businesses has been a
centerpiece of the region’s growth strategy
ever since local boosters floated the
“Inland Port Columbus” concept about
two decades ago. Bernard “Bud” LaLonde,
emeritus professor of logistics at Ohio
State and an early proponent of the program, believes the initiative is now paying
off. “Even in this down period, I’m optimistic about Columbus because we have
the necessary infrastructure in place,” he
said. The city’s location at the nexus of
highways, intermodal rail lines, and air
service (including the all-cargo
Rickenbacker International Airport) has
helped to attract transportation and logistics companies as well as warehouse and
distribution operations, he noted.
Despite that success, efforts to enhance
the city’s logistics capabilities continue.
The recently formed Columbus Region
Logistics Council has set four main goals
for itself: fostering a logistics-friendly
business environment; developing and
enhancing logistics infrastructure; bringing better technology to the region’s logistics operations; and developing a highly
skilled, logistics-savvy work force. The
group has the firepower to accomplish its
objectives: Its board of directors includes
logistics executives from locally headquartered big name companies like Battelle, Big
Lots, Cardinal Health, Exel, Honda of
America Manufacturing, Limited Brands,
and ODW Logistics.
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