DC Velocity - July 2011

NEW LOGISTICS PRODUCTS & SERVICES EDITED BY ERICA MAC DONALD AND SEAN MALONEY

rollouts

LifePlus TC3-W battery charger: Hawker has introduced a new high-frequency smart charger, the LifePlus TC3-W. The LifePlus TC3-W high-frequency technology offers high conversion efficiency and a high power factor, which significantly reduces electrical consumption and demand charges. It also maximizes battery performance and extends battery life, according to the company.

Hawker’s Ionic charge logic makes the TC3-W easy to operate, the company says. The TC3-W responds dynamically to charge batteries of a wide range of voltages and capacities without user intervention. The unit includes dedicated profiles for opportunity charging and for cold storage environments.

The charger is also equipped with wireless capabilities for real-time data collection and monitoring. (Hawker, www.hawker-powersource.com)

Speedometer tool for Jennifer VoicePlus. Lucas Systems Inc., a developer of voice-directed warehouse solutions, has added a real-time productivity feedback tool called Speedometer to its Jennifer VoicePlus system for voice picking and other warehouse operations. Speedometer gives voice picking users and DC managers real-time productivity updates and alerts. Warehouses using Speedometer have seen productivity gains of up to 10 percent above the gains achieved by moving to voice-directed operations, says Lucas Systems.

Speedometer allows managers to set individual alert levels to provide real-time feedback on their performance against predefined productivity standards, whether those standards are historical standards or engineered standards provided by a labor management system (LMS). Speedometer alerts, which may be delivered by e-mail or text message, let supervisors react to production issues faster than is possible with traditional reporting tools.

Speedometer supplements the productivity and labor reporting tools that are a standard part of the Engage Management Service Console, a Web-based reporting, management, and configuration app included as a key component of the Jennifer VoicePlus solution. Engage and Speedometer can be used to provide basic labor management capabilities for organizations that don’t have an LMS. (Lucas Systems Inc., www.lucasware.com)