Bluetooth Beacons for WIP

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WIP Operations Traceability controls and tracks the flow of serialized WIP containers to ensure the correct sequencing of operations is followed. 

For some applications, such as when containers of WIP are temporarily warehoused, it may be most efficient to track the location of the container using the same Bluetooth technology that the SPEDE Locator System uses to track steel coils. 

A Bluetooth Beacon, which has a unique ID, is attached to the steel WIP container via magnet.  

At Receiving - When the WIP container is received into the warehouse, the operator can scan the Beacon ID to associate it to the WIP Container ID.  If necessary, the operator can scan/ enter additional data regarding the WIP unit, to complete the Receipt transaction. The SPEDE Locator App records the Receipt.  For easier tracking, the same WIP serial number can be used throughout each WIP operation when possible.

At Putaway -  crane-mounted distance lasers identify the XY or XYZ location where the container is putaway, and SPEDE records the location. Each time the container is moved, the Beacon will transmit its ID to SPEDE and the new location will be recorded. 

At Picking /Issuing, the operator enters the search criteria for the desired container and SPEDE displays its location. Distance lasers on the crane verify the crane is at the correct location. SPEDE checks the correctness of the WIP ID being picked / issued to prevent sequencing errors.

The SPEDE Locator database is then updated with the transaction.

Key Features of the Bluetooth Beacon 

1. Small Size (1.5 in diameter, .5 in height)
2. Long Battery Life (3 years)
3. Replaceable internal button battery (CR2032)
4. Extended Bluetooth (BT) transmit distance (up to 300+ feet)
5. Internal Accelerometer inside Beacon wakes up on coil movement, and automatically triggers BT data transmission
6. Beacon has a magnet for easy attachment to coil
7. Beacon has an optional 2D barcode that can be scanned to associate the Beacon ID to the coil’s data, e.g., part nbr, heat, supplier, etc.
8. Beacon transmits its unique Beacon ID to a SPEDE BT App on a handheld Windows 10 PC tablet, where the Coil Location database resides
9. Optional WiFi support for multiple tablets and/or interface to a host computer system.

Advantages of using Bluetooth Beacons:

• Simple to use
• Inexpensive
• Precise - Data transmission occurs only when the target item is moved (Beacon wakes up) 
• Earlier solutions used RFID tags on coils
• RFID reader often picked up signals from surrounding RFID tags resulting incorrect RFID reads and errors in picking, locating, shipping, inventory counts
• RFID tags are more expensive than Bluetooth Beacons