Move from your manual method of Work in Progress reporting to an automated process. RACO Industries recently proposed a solution to a manufacturing facility was looking to improve their slow, manual method to an efficient, automated process. Ten manufacturing lines produce around 10,000 items a day that need to checked for quality, quantity, and accuracy. Right now, that’s being done by hand. This company, already a RACO customer, came to us to help them eliminate the repetitive data entry and create a streamlined procedure.

Our solution is an application that begins by scanning a barcoded work order at a kiosk unit (such as Motorola’s MK500 Micro Kiosk) and entering a part number. The device then prompts the user to answer a series of questions through a customized menu on the display. The worker inputs the answers and moves on. The company is expecting an increase in accuracy of over 50%. The system can be improved even moreso by voice enabling the menu on a mobile computer.

If you have a Work-In-Process in which products or parts of a product must go through some type of special testing or customization and you’d like to improve your WIP reporting, contact a product specialist at 1-800-446-1991.

Here at RACO, we always like to keep our customers up-to-date about the services available to them, and the TEKLYNX Software Maintenance Agreement is no exception. A free 3-month SMA comes with every new purchase of the latest versions of the CODESOFT, LABEL MATRIX, and LABELVIEW software, but this service is available for all TEKLYNX identification and tracking products as well. The SMA includes such services as updates, service packs, software version upgrades, and unlimited priority tech support. The benefits don’t end there, however, as a TEKLYNX SMA will also grant you access to hundreds of downloadable compliance label samples, online tools, a free online training session, and electronic training guides.

One of the worst nightmare scenarios for any software user is to purchase the software, only to find that it has upgraded to a superior version some time later. Just like that, the investment is obsolete. The TEKLYNX SMA puts that nightmare to rest, as the biggest advantage that this service offers is the automatic free software upgrades that come with it. TEKLYNX continuously upgrades and enhances its software solutions, and the TEKLYNX SMA gives you automatic access to major version changes rather than making you pay the full price a second time. Under the SMA, CODESOFT 8 Pro, for example, would automatically be upgraded to CODESOFT 9 Pro at no extra cost. Best of all, you never have to worry about experiencing a lapse in upgrades and benefits, since the SMA is renewed automatically. These benefits are so valuable, in fact, that their combined cost exceeds that of the original investment in a TEKLYNX SMA. In other words, this service literally pays for itself in upgrade and support benefits.

For more technical assistance, contact our Service & Repair Department at 1-800-446-1991.

July is National Cell Phone Courtesy Month.  Sorry for the late notice but hopefully you've already been taking simple steps to avoid offending with your mobile phone.  And that even includes your mobile computing device.  Use the following advice when on your mobile computer, too: 

Alert silently. When using your phone’s walkie-talkie feature, send the person you’re trying to reach a Call Alert before starting to speak. If you’re around other people, turn off your phone’s external speaker and use the vibration setting to minimize any disturbance and to respect your contact’s privacy.

Mobile Tornado supports operating systems such as Windows for PC clients, Windows Mobile, and Symbian for mobile devices and can turn practicaly any phone into a Puh To Talk device.

To find out if Push To Talk can work for you, contact a product specialist at 1-800-446-1991.

Are you in need of fast, economical custom labels? Colorful labels of quality without an intimidating cost? Or maybe you need only a few high-quality custom labels for a special short-run promotion or project? If any of these scenarios apply to you, then take a look at RACO’s brand new custom digital label service. Our digital press features near-photographic quality, a wide spectrum of colors, and the procedure is totally painless and completely customizable. Whether you need one color or a thousand, the price doesn’t change, and we even offer a variety of specialty materials for label printing, including polyester, paper, synthetics, or tag stock. Your label can take the shape of a traditional square or rectangle, or a circle, oval, or specialty shape if you choose. We also do variable printing, perforations, different wind positions, protective coatings and more. The possibilities are endless, giving you the chance to make a label that matches exactly what you want.

The process of creating and ordering your label is made easy by our very own Custom Label Tool, which gives you a listing of all the options and variables you’ll need to create your label. Colors, label size, shape, material, coating, perforation, proof type, and other features are all available with the click of your mouse, and the price is updated for you as you go along. Once your order is received by us at RACO, we will contact you about your order and even send you a proof of your label for review before we receive your billing information.

Check out the product page for RACO’s custom labels, where you can learn more about this service and begin your own order with the Custom Label Tool. If you’re still not convinced of the quality of these labels, please feel free to check out our custom label samples.

RACO Industries has entered into an agreement with FASCOR, Inc. to provide an all-inclusive warehouse management and transportation solution that includes the wireless infrastructure, ruggedized hardware and professional services along with FASCOR’s industry leading applications to its client base.  For 28 years, FASCOR Inc. has been a leading developer of Trusted Distribution Solutions that includes advanced warehouse, shipping and distribution management software built upon Microsoft technology.
 
“We elected to enter into this partnership with FASCOR based on their years of experience in WMS and TMS applications and their established ability to easily integrate the FASCOR solutions into existing ERP systems” said Don Mech, RACO's VP of Business Development. “This new partnership complements RACO’s strength in wireless mobility integration services and provides an immediate return to our warehouse and distribution customers’ investment. We look forward to this partnership for the years to come.”
 
“We are very excited about our partnership with RACO,” said Don Ruberg, President & CEO of FASCOR, Inc.  “FASCOR and RACO’s product offerings complement each other extremely well allowing both organizations to provide more time-tested solutions to our clients and prospects.  Our company philosophy has always been to develop long-term relationships with trusted organizations and we look forward to this partnership with RACO continuing down that same path.” 

There’s still a level of excitement around the RACO Card offices following the 2010 General Assembly of YMCAs in Salt Lake City.  It was great to put faces to names and meet so many of our customers that we talk to on a regular basis.  A lot of the people we talked to are very energized by the new name change.  What was once a shorthand way of referring to the 160 year-old institution is now going to be official.

The YMCA unveiled a new, more forward-looking logo that reflects the vibrancy and diversity of the organization, and a framework that focuses resources on three core areas: youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.  In another major change, the nonprofit will be called “the Y” to align with how people most commonly refer to the organization.

RACO Card has long had a great relationship with many chapters of The Y and look forward to continuing this connection as the organization makes the change over to the new look.  We’ll continue to supply key tags and cards, as well as the card printing hardware, software, and accessories and The Y will continue to strengthen communities through youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.

We are pleased to announce that RACO Industries has been named to the inaugural Cincinnati Enquirer’s Top Workplaces List for 2010.  This award is tied to an employee survey that we did a few months back and the results of the survey were compared with other companies in the Greater Cincinnati Area.

Some of the statements made by employees that allowed us to achieve a high ranking are:

“I have the flexibility I need to balance my work and personal life”
“I have confidence in the leaders of this organization”
“I feel genuinely appreciated at this organization”
“Senior managers understand what is really happening in this organization”
“My manager frequently praises good work”

This is not the first time RACO was honored as an employer.  We have been named to the best employer in Ohio list in 2007 and 2008 by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, ranking 5^th and 6^th respectively in the small business category.  At RACO we recognize that happy employees are the key to maintaining strong relationships with our valued partners.  We will continue to strive to be one of the top workplaces in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the United States. 

The Intermec CN50 mobile computer is a reliable device.  But occassionally an application might lock up.  If you face a situation where the Intermec CN50 stops responding, you may need to perform more than a standard warm boot, or device restart.  First, try a "cold boot" which could restart the CN50 with minimal data loss.  Here's how: 

Cached disk data may be lost during the reset but all other data is preserved.  If the cold boot does not work, you may need to perform a "clean boot" which will reset the device to factory settings.

This should be a last resort as this process erases the CN50's memory, applications, and data files in the object store.  The device is then restored to its "out of the box" state and you will have to reinstall your applications.

For more technical assistance, contact our Service & Repair Department at 1-800-446-1991.

Another one of our partners is announcing a significant milestone.  Zebra Technologies, leading providers of specialty printing and identification technology, recently said that they have now sold over 125 million wristbands designed specifically for patient identification and service.

Zebra’s Z-Band wristbands feature an anti-microbial coating, which eliminates the growth of harmful microorganisms, and are made from materials that are resistant to water, alcohol, soap, blood, and other substances that are potentially destructive to more widely-used traditional hospital wristbands. The most helpful feature of these wristbands, however, is that they allow for patient information and bar codes to be printed directly onto the wristband via thermal printers such as the Zebra HC100 Patient I.D. Printer.  This eliminates the need for labels and wristband assembly, and produces a crisp, easily-readable bar code. These bar codes can then be scanned to instantly bring up important patient information, including name, condition, allergies, and blood type, among other pieces of patient-specific data.  What all of this means in practical terms is less mix-ups and mistakes when it comes to fast and accurate patient care, which means more human lives saved each year. 

“Of the 125 million wristbands Zebra has sold, more than 50 percent were in the last 18 months," According to Anders Gustafsson, CEO of Zebra. "This increase can be directly tied to the dramatic rise in the adoption rate of bedside bar code medication administration, which requires scanning a patient's wristband and then scanning the medication before administering it to the patient."  Enabling healthcare professionals to more accurately match patients with appropriate treatment helps to lower the yearly death toll, so it makes sense why Zebra’s barcode wristbands have begun to gain popularity.

To learn more about barcode wristbands, contact a product specialist at 1-800-446-1991.

Apple’s new tablet PC, the iPad, is beginning to make waves not only in the portable computer market, but in the realm of barcode scanning, as well.  Two products, in particular, are taking advantage of the popularity and usefulness of what some consider to be a revolutionary device.

The first of these products is the OPN 2002 iPad Companion Scanner from Opticon Mobility Solutions, which is a compact and affordable barcode laser scanner with iPad compatibility.  The Bluetooth-enabeld memory scanner combines convenient barcode data collection with flexible communication options.

Then Socket Mobile Inc. announced their Socket Bluetooth Cordless Hand Scanner 7X and its counterpart, the CHS 7XRx are also iPad compatible. “We see a lot of potential for the need to add barcode scanning to the iPad, particularly in the healthcare sector where barcode scanning is used in applications such as medication administration, patient ID verification, material management and pharmacy logistics,” said Samantha Chu, data collection product manager at Socket Mobile.

As the tablet computer grows in popularity, we should be seeing more and more devices help iPad users gather information with barcode scanners.  To learn more about what scanners can work with your iPad, contact a product specialist at 1-800-446-1991.