If you're in manufacturing, you need to automate. Or die. Barcode scanners are one quick way to do that. But do you really want to dedicate a new PC just for a barcode scanner? (watch the video below)

Maybe not.

Consider using a Walmart Nextbook for Barcoding

Have you considered using a Walmart Nextbook as a barcode scanning station? They are cheap and practically disposable. If it breaks, you can replace it in about an hour for less than your monthly telephone bill.

A Nextbook connects to the network with Wi-Fi. That means employee scans go directly to the server the moment they occur. You get instant information. Real-time data.

 

Would you like to know how long your manufacturing jobs take?

Here's what you can learn (for about $200 bucks):

1. How long each product takes to build, pack, and ship
2. How long each kind of work consumes your day
3. How many hours employees are working on shop floor jobs
4. How many jobs you do per week, or month, or year
5. How long the average job takes you
6. What the average job costs you
7. If you are making money, or just bumping along the bottom

Watch this video, and let us know what you think in an email.

 

 

Video transcription:

If you're looking for an inexpensive way of tracking time with a barcode scanner for manufacturing, shop floor, employee jobs. Have you considered using Standard Time® on a Wal-Mart Nextbook®?

Let's take a look at what I've got here. I think you'll really like this. This is a very simple Nextbook tablet that you can buy from Walmart.com, we don't sell these. This is a nice little notebook; pop off the keyboard, slide this away. Now you've got a simple little tablet.

This tablet is connected over Wi-Fi, no wires. We're going to use a barcode scanner to track some time with this tablet. This becomes a very simple inexpensive barcoding station that you can use for manufacturing.

The entry level, I think, starts at $100. So you can get one of these for 100 bucks all the way up to $200 depending on the size of the screen. You will need a barcode scanner, you get these at Amazon.com. This is a wireless scanner you don't have to use wireless.

You can use a wired scanner that connects directly to this but the wireless is nice because it's a little sturdier. The wires break and so this is more sturdy. You will also need a USB convertor. This is a micro USB to normal USB. Buy these on Amazon for about $5. So this pops into the side and then this scanner is a wireless one so it has a wireless receiver that will pop into the side.

Now you've got for about $150-200 you've got a nice little station you can use. You can try to ruggedize this a little bit; maybe put a protective film over it. You can mount this ways in which it is not torn up. You won't need the keyboard; everything is touch on the screen.

So you can set the keyboard aside after you've configured it and run this thing entirely through touch. You can mount it on a desk or you could mount it on the wall. Basically you're going to then press the keyboard button; it's an onboard keyboard.

Press function, F4 and that brings up this barcode window. And you can start a timer just by scanning a person's name and then a task.

Now that I've done this you can see that the timer is running. This has already sent the information for this scan over to a server; because this is operating over Wi-Fi. It's connected through the network to a server.

We're going to look at another machine over here that's also connected on the server. You can see here the timer has already started. There's a record here that shows that this timer has started for Buzz. Employees can walk up to this, scan their name, scan a task that sends the information wirelessly, over Wi-Fi, to a server where you get it all in real time.

This is a nice little solution, very simple and inexpensive way to have a barcode station with the Wal-Mart Nextbook.