Keeping track: I.D. Systems Inc., a provider of asset management
solutions, has expanded its product portfolio with a new range of
industrial vehicle management systems (VMS) and a new family
of mobile asset tracking devices for over-the-road supply chain
applications. Vehicle management systems help improve safety,
operating efficiency, and productivity of industrial trucks by establishing vehicle accountability through access control, monitoring
the maintenance and safe operating condition of vehicles, and
providing metrics on vehicle utilization.
The PowerFleet VMS provides state-of-the-art core functions—
flexible vehicle access control, event-driven safety checklists, intelligent impact management, automated maintenance controls, and
advanced fleet utilization analysis. The system also offers a wide
range of modular options to address specific management challenges, including vehicle speed control, location tracking, route
analysis, text messaging, electronic task dispatching, battery management, job tracking, and total material handling resource management. With this set of management tools, PowerFleet is typically deployed for medium to large fleets, enterprise-scale operations,
or operations with multi-faceted fleet management problems.
Many organizations, however, have smaller fleets, more basic
functional needs, or less demanding technical environments. For
these, I.D. Systems has added PowerBox and didBOX to its family
of VMS products.
PowerBox is a hosted out-of-the-box solution designed for customers with small to medium fleets, or larger fleets with basic VMS
requirements. PowerBox comes with preconfigured vehicle access
control, electronic safety checklists, impact sensing, and usage
reporting features that are ready to go as soon as the hardware is
installed on the vehicle—with essentially no user training or software interaction needed.
I.D. Systems’ didBOX products are non-wireless devices designed
to provide smaller fleets of industrial trucks with simple, effective,
reliable control of vehicles and operators. didBOX Fob provides
iButton vehicle access control and impact sensing. didBOX Key provides robust keypad vehicle access control. Both devices deliver
useful truck and operator utilization data. Because didBOX products
are non-wireless, they require no IT support and are quick and easy
to deploy—typically by the dealer of the equipment on which the
products are installed. (I.D. Systems, www.id-systems.com)
Abracadabra: Presto Lifts offers the
new DXL Series Compact Scissor Lifts.
These high-performance industrial-duty lifts feature a smaller footprint
than standard lifts while offering a full
2,000 pounds of lifting capacity. They
are suitable for a wide variety of work
positioning, assembly, repair, and
inspection applications in warehouses
and factories.
A double scissor mechanism
allows for a low 6-inch collapsed
height while providing a 42-inch
raised height. A convenient foot switch operates a 1/3 hp motor
that runs on 115/1/60 power.
The unit comes equipped with an 18- by 30-inch platform as
standard. Other platforms, including oversized tops, are available.
(Presto Lifts Inc., www.prestolifts.com)
Rolling along: Conroll presents its new
24VDC conveyor rollers. While many
conventional conveyor rollers have
“dead” shafts that serve only to support
loads, Conroll has made its shafts “live”
so that they serve a dual function—
supporting conveyed loads and providing
motive power. Mounted on precision
bearings, conveyor stub-shafts are
teamed with a variety of carrying elements, including conveyor rollers of
almost any material, as well as any
desired configuration of conveying wheels. There are no exposed
belts, chains, or motors. Consequently, there are no pinch points that
require guarding and reduce usable conveyor width. Operation is
extremely quiet and there is no need for periodic maintenance.
All of the power transmission elements are concealed within the
conveyors side rails. Depending on the choice of materials, conveyors
can be employed in wash-down areas, in clean rooms, and in other
environmentally sensitive areas. (Conroll Corp., www.conroll.com)
Compliance appliance: RedPrairie has enhanced its Warehouse
Management solution by streamlining the receiving process for
GS1 compliant labeling. Customers who process these labels from
their vendors and suppliers will no longer have to distinguish
between ASN and GS1 varieties, and can now define their own
bar-code templates to support other forms of inbound labels that
contain multiple receiving identifiers.
In addition, the new Warehouse Management release allows
users to set up override conditions for each of their suppliers and
vendors, helping to streamline the inbound receiving process. The
2010.1 enhancement enables configuration of items, lot formats,
serial numbers types, and default asset types to lessen the amount
of time it takes for inbound personnel to determine what type of
attributes an item should be associated with during the receipt of
non-ASN inventory.
The enhancements will allow customers to receive and support
ASN- and/or GS1-compliant labeling from their suppliers, which in
turn will enable partner collaboration and reduced time spent
manually identifying product data during receiving. (RedPrairie,
www.redprairie.com)
Ship shape: Ocean World Lines (OWL) launches a total supply
chain visibility solution created to deliver a competitive edge for
small and medium-sized shippers and to assist with high-level supply chain decisions. Branded the OWL360°, the customized system provides shippers with a total view of their product, including
purchase-order and item-level information. The system automatically and proactively communicates to both customers and their
trade partners through alerts and reports.
OWL360° allows users to generate reports by cycle times, KPIs,
and more. The system also produces automated alerts such as late
or out-of-tolerance sailing, container available for delivery to DC,
and empty available for carrier return. This feature reduces per
diem and detention charges. The system’s order management
module allows customers to upload vendor purchase orders, providing early visibility of orders in production and enabling OWL to
proactively manage shipment schedules based on “product ready”
dates. (Ocean World Lines, www.owlusa.com)
