Raw materials and component-handling

Manufacturing and processing functions can generally be seen as operations requiring an appropriate balance between raw materials and/or components coming in and products going out. This is usually determined by customer, or consumer pull or estimates of demand. The procurement of these items is an essential and potentially critical part in the manufacturing or production process. Since the balance of input and output cannot be perfect some degree of storage or warehousing is invariably required. But this of course is a cost and pressures are invariably applied to reduce such costs.

More effective identification and inventory control through AIDC can in some cases dramatically help in this respect. It can also better support the management of items and preparations for entry into the manufacturing or production processes. Such preparations might include kitting for components or batching of materials.

While networked communications is now playing a significant role in the ordering and acknowledgement of the procurement process, the physical movement and receiving of items can benefit from the use of AIDC to improve the acquisition processes.

Through customer-supplier collaboration, consignments of materials/components can be accompanied by machine-readable data carriers. These are often in the form of bar code labels, and are used to speedily identify and handle them as they arrive, with the information directed immediately to the information management system.

Some operations exploit bar code materials handling labels and a number of industries now have application standards specifying both human-readable content and the use of bar code symbols. Examples include the ANSI materials handling label, MH10.8 and the equivalent European Multi-industry Transport Label and the Serial Shipping Container Label, incorporating the EAN.UCC Serial Shipping Container Code (SSCC-18).

General Motors specify a materials handling label, GM1724A, which is serving as a model for a Common Global Supply Chain Shipping Label template. It is being developed jointly by the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG), Odette (Europe) and JAMA/JAPIA (Japan) in which some of the linear bar code symbols appearing in earlier AIAG labels are replaced by multi-row bar code symbols.

Where shipment labels are being considered at the supplier end or outbound at the manufacturer end, it is important to establish if there are existing or developing industry-specific application standards that may have to be complied with to satisfy open-system usage.

While shipping labels can be effectively applied for identifying consignments and content there is a need for further details to be obtained from forwarded information held in the information management system. Similar details can be transferred with the consignments or individual items using portable data files in the form of machine-readable two-dimensional codes.

The multi-row bar code symbols now being considered for consignment labels are representative of such carriers. They are capable of carrying more data than linear bar codes - often in excess of 2,000 characters. A suitable reader can provide immediate information on what the consignment contains and deliver that information either in batch form or directly to an information management system via a wireless link.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) data carriers may also be used for consignment identification, particularly where returnable containers and pallets are involved. These can also provide added benefit in applications where read-write capability is required. This would particularly apply to returnable containers.

Once the consignment data is read or entered into the management system the opportunities are presented to achieve a range of item support activities. The individual items may be separately identified, sorted into batches and batches identified, by use of appropriate data carriers.

Where items and batches are not accompanied with data carriers at source, these may be applied to items when unpacked and populated with data from the information management system.

Where, for example bar codes are appropriate, the labels can be printed using information derived from the consignment list, possibly by means of hand-held printers. Components, or materials so identified, may then be transferred to store or directly to a production line. Inventory management can effectively become a real-time or near real-time function.

The facility can also provide for more effective KANBAN / MRP systems. This would be via AIDC supported inventory management, electronic communications and other system data carriers applied to containers and locations.

Within a flow-based, repetitive manufacturing system AIDC can assist the KANBAN linking between production stages. Here the customer is pulling stock from the warehouse using KANBAN while advisory schedules indicate the likely requirements in terms of materials and capacity. These are in turn pulled down by the KANBAN links within the supplier and manufacturer stages of the process.

With synchronization being a key requirement for effectively operating such systems it is important to apply appropriate technology to satisfy that requirement. AIDC can assist in this way.

While KANBAN is effectively confined to repetitive and balanced mixed model manufacturing systems, AIDC for item and container identification can be used to facilitate improvements in mass, batch and ‘jobbing shop’ production. Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have benefited from such technology, using linear bar codes, for example, to help manage processes, and identify and track jobs through the manufacturing process.

Where data carriers are being considered for use in manufacturing processes the data carrying requirements invariably determine the type of data carrier required. However, read-write requirements, durability and longevity also have a bearing upon the choice of data carrier required.