Case Study: How Handhelds Make the Mobile Difference
2nd March 2018
As one of the largest industrial groups in the Baltic States, UPB is active in precast steel and curtain wall business areas. UPB offers full cycle services including planning and production as well as delivery and construction. UPB’s precast manufacturing plant is located in Liepaja in Latvia. More than 100 precast elements are manufactured there daily, including walls, stairs, and balconies. UPB’s warehouse measures about 10,000 square metres and is located outside the plant. Every day, about 1,000 building elements are stored inside. It is easy to get lost in a large warehouse, but all procedures from planning and production to delivery and construction have to be managed trouble-free. Thus, UPB implemented the handheld terminal BHT-1600 with Android from DENSO, part of the Toyota group and inventor of the QR Code, in its precast manufacturing plant. Sina Haupt, Marketing Assistant at the DENSO Auto-ID Business Unit, explains: „The employees use our robust BHT-1600 handheld terminals with Android in the manufacturing plant and the warehouse, starting from the manufacturing process to the finished products. The latter are later loaded onto trucks and delivered to the client.” Further information on UPB and their precast steel and curtain walls are available at: http://iodd.upb.lv/
The robust BHT-1600 from DENSO – the perfect mobile data collection device in the warehouse
The working environment in UPB’s precast manufacturing plant is tough. Manufacturing processes are dusty, and working in the warehouse means that any weather condition can influence the mobile data collection devices. Thus, a robust solution was to be found for the processes in the warehouse and the manufacturing plant. The robust BHT-1600 handheld terminal in the ruggedized version is now used by UPB and the employees work with the Android handheld terminals for mobile data collection in the warehouse and in order to scan the manufacturing steps. The benefits of the BHT-1600 handheld are that it is not only robust, but also splash-proof and crash-proof. UPB can use both Wi-Fi and Cellular data, and the built-in camera of the robust BHT-1600 handheld terminal, which combines the advantages of a smartphone with mobile data collection, can save time when images are required for inspection tasks. Furthermore, DENSO, part of the Toyota group and inventor of the QR Code, provided device management software that allowed the industrial group to push updates to all the devices when applications had been updated. Those who are interested can find more information on the secure handheld terminals, hand scanners, solutions for mobile data collection in warehouses and logistics, the QR Code, innovative devices with RFID or NFC, and the DENSO Auto-ID Business Unit at https://www.denso-autoid-eu.com/en.html.
Handheld terminals make quality assurance easier at the industrial group UPB
During the manufacturing process in the manufacturing plant of UPB, every element goes through multiple steps. It is important to have quality checks at different manufacturing steps. Moreover, it is crucial for managers in charge to have correct information on the manufacturing process in order to plan the next steps in advance. “Our robust BHT-1600 handheld terminals with Android are used in UPB’s manufacturing plant to mark when a specific manufacturing step has been finished and when the element is ready for shipment,” says Haupt. As the robust BHT-1600 Android handheld terminal for mobile data collection has an integrated camera, progress pictures are taken and sent immediately to the ERP system. That way, the work load of the quality assurance specialists at UPB is reduced. Further information on the secure handheld terminals, hand scanners, solutions for mobile data collection, the QR Code, innovations with RFID or NFC, and the DENSO Auto-ID Business Unit are available at https://www.denso-autoid-eu.com/en.html.
DENSO’s handheld terminals keep UPB’s warehouse organized
When manufacturing has finished producing different elements, the latter are transferred to UPB’s warehouse. Each element has a unique barcode, which is scanned respectively. Subsequently, the element’s location in the warehouse is saved. This information is also sent to the ERP system so that every element can be easily located in the warehouse. “During the planning process, it was essential to keep in mind that every element weighs a couple of tons. That means, it takes time to load them onto trucks,” says Haupt. “DENSO’s BHT-1600 Android handheld terminals ensure that loading errors are eliminated, because the loading lists are downloaded directly from the ERP system,” she adds. In order to verify that the loading has been done properly, every element is scanned individually. When the loading is finished, images are taken with the BHT-1600 from DENSO, part of the Toyota group and inventor of the QR Code, and uploaded to the ERP system. Hence, they can be used in case something happened to the shipment during the transport to the customer.
Saving time and reducing errors – advantages of DENSO’s robust BHT-1600
After the implementation of the robust BHT-1600 Android handheld from DENSO, part of the Toyota group and inventor of the QR Code, UPB sees less paperwork for the warehouse managers and less mistakes made when elements are loaded from the warehouse onto the trucks. In addition, the easy image upload to the ERP system saves more time. And last but not least, another decisive advantage of DENSO’s robust BHT-1600 handheld terminal is the fact that the respective element manufacturing information is updated immediately. “We are very happy that UPB can work so well with our robust data collection devices in its warehouse and manufacturing plant. Positive feedback from our clients, some of whom we have worked with for more than 20 years already, is what drives us,” says Haupt.
Developing the application software of DENSO’s robust BHT-1600 handheld
All the Android software used on the robust BHT-1600 handheld terminal from the experts for mobile data collection was developed by an internal IT branch of UPB that implemented this system into the manufacturing plant of the industrial group. In total, UPB developed three Android apps – one for quality assurance and two for warehouse management. That way, the employees can work perfectly with the robust BHT-1600 handheld terminal and profit from the advantages of the data collection device on a daily basis.