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):
- How long each product takes to build, pack, and ship
- How long each kind of work consumes your day
- How many hours employees are working on shop floor jobs
- How many jobs you do per week, or month, or year
- How long the average job takes you
- What the average job costs you
- 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.