rollouts
Labor management mobile app: TZA has a new mobile app that
allows users of its ProTrack Labor Management System (LMS) to
monitor and manage workforce productivity from any iOS device.
With ProTrack Mobile, managers and supervisors can receive
and review alerts on workforce or operational issues that need to
be addressed. From the mobile app, users can view, acknowledge, or escalate the alerts. The app provides secure access to
ProTrack LMS on the warehouse floor or when traveling.
Managers can be actively managing employees and monitoring
labor performance wherever they are.
TZA plans to develop the Pro Track mobile application further
so that users will be able to view dashboards and reports, update
labor schedules, and submit absence requests from their iPhone
or iPad as well as other mobile devices and operating systems.
(TZA, www.tza.com)
RFID reader: Sick has launched a new radio-frequency identification (RFID) reader, the RFU630 RFID Interrogator. The
read/write unit is an integrated proximity interrogator for use
with passive transponders in applications with scanning distances of up to 5 meters ( 16. 4 feet).
The ultra-high-frequency (UHF) read/write head includes a
sophisticated controller, antenna, and communications protocols
in an industrial IP67 housing. The RFU630 provides a common
connectivity and programming platform for all three of Sick’s
automatic identification technologies: RFID, one-dimensional bar
codes, and two-dimensional image-based code readers. (Sick,
www.sickusa.com)
AS/RS: The new UltraStore automated
storage and retrieval system (AS/RS) provides up to 85-percent space savings for
distribution items, cases, pallets, and custom materials with unique sizes and
dimensions, according to the manufacturer, Integrated Systems Design (ISD).
The system consists of a crane that
moves down the lane while positioning the
shuttle to the proper height. The crane
stops at the correct position, and the shuttle inserts or extracts the stored material and brings it back down
to the operator area. Here, the item can be moved onto an
awaiting forklift, conveyor system, or workstation.
The UltraStore AS/RS is suitable for buffer storage, order picking, work-in-process storage, tooling storage, machine component storage, frozen-goods storage, and more.
The UltraStore system is available in a wide range of standard
and special sizes and capacities. Standard models can have load
positions ranging from 10 to 60 inches in width, 18 to 96 inches in depth, and up to 2,000 pounds in weight. The machine can
also work with a wide variety of load handlers to meet most distribution requirements.
The UltraStore AS/RS uses a surface-mounted track and guide
system. This design not only reduces installation time but also
allows the system to be easily relocated if needed. Easy-to-use
controls and human machine interface allow users to get the system up and running quickly and easily with minimum training
and virtually no operator interaction.
The system’s Perfect-Uptime option allows the UltraStore system to be used manually during system downtimes, including
scheduled maintenance periods. This manual system helps assure
that the stored items are accessible at all times.
The UltraStore automated storage and retrieval system is
designed and manufactured utilizing as much nonproprietary,
“off the shelf” componentry and technology as feasible to make
the system not only cost-effective but also easier and less expensive to maintain. (ISD, www.ISDDD.com)
High-density storage: Frazier
Industrial has introduced its semiauto-mated, high-density Pallet Mole System
to the North American market. This pallet shuttle device runs underneath the
pallet loads on rails, delivering and
extracting pallets within a deep-lane storage racking system. Using
an RF controller, the operator instructs the electromechanical platform to lift, lower, or shuttle pallets to the desired position.
The system can go up to six levels high and 50 pallet positions
deep. The Pallet Mole works for either first-pallet-in/first-pallet-out or last-pallet-in/last-pallet-out applications.
The Pallet Mole is the only pallet shuttle device to earn the
Underwriters Laboratory (UL) Certification for conforming to all
North American standards for electric, safety, and design requirements, according to Frazier.
The Pallet Mole is suitable for use in a variety of storage, distribution, and manufacturing applications, including high-vol-ume/low-SKU operations, freezer/cooler facilities, food processing and beverage distribution, and production staging areas.
(Frazier Industrial, www.frazier.com)
