The information in this document is subject to change without notice and does not represent any warranty on the part of Latitude Business Systems, Inc. The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement that accompanies this manual, and may be used or copied only in accordance with this agreement.
Copyright © 2001
Latitude Business Systems, Inc.,
All Rights Reserved August, 2001
Introduction to Bundle-Track 3.6
Bundle-Track is a shop-floor management application for apparel manufacturing industries. The system assists production planning, produces Bundle Tickets that represent assembly steps, accepts activity and productivity data (scanned or manually entered), calculates pay and efficiency data, and generates reports.
Here’s a little background about how the system is set-up and how it operates.
You will define a library of Operations – tasks performed by workers in your factory. Using these Operations to represent the Steps involved in the assembly of a Product, you define a bill of labor or Routing for each Product.
Important: Bundle-Track is designed to be easy-to-use for anyone with a basic knowledge of Windows 95/NT - based software. However, even though the data entry is a snap, it is crucial to have someone with some production experience advising the person setting up the system. Bundle-Track will operate in a way consistent with your shop floor and production processes only if you properly tell it how things are done.
When there is an order for a particular Product, you define a production Lot that represents the entire production run. Into this Lot, Bundle-Track imports information about the Product, including the standard Routing Steps involved in producing the Product. You specify the planned production quantities of each Size and Color. You may also customize the Product Routing for a given Lot, changing Steps and overriding Rates.
From a Lot, you define Cuts to represent the actual production going out onto the floor. Each Cut again copies the Product information and the Routing Steps from the Lot, but here you specify the actual production quantities. With this information, Bundle-Track is ready to print a Traveler of detachable Bundle Tickets for each Cut. Each Ticket represents a Step in the production process and includes a code that uniquely identifies the ticket.
The Traveler of detachable Bundle Tickets will accompany the product components through the assembly process. As each Operation is completed, Employees pull the corresponding Ticket from the Traveler and attach it to a timecard. On this sheet, they also keep track of time and any activity changes in their day – on-standard or off-standard work, lunch, machine down, etc.
At the end of the day, or at various intervals during the day, worker timecards are collected, and Bundle Tickets are entered into Bundle-Track. (The Ticket Code is both bar-coded and printed legibly to support both scanning and manual entry.)
Users assign individual Tickets to Events that occurred during each Employee’s day. An Event represents an activity logged on an Employee’s time card. Each Event specifies a Pay Condition code that tells Bundle-Track the type of work that was done and how it should be paid (piecework, hourly, etc.). Each Event also carries a Department code to enable proper accounting of the factory’s money and time.
Schedules logged in Bundle-Track beforehand help streamline processing by pre-defining expected Events, so that the only activities that must be entered are exceptions to the standard Events defined in the Schedule.
Once Events and production details have been logged into Bundle-Track, this information is available to be processed and presented in reports.
These components work together to provide a powerful, leading edge tool for your factory.
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Bundle-Track Application Set |
This is the workspace, the interface between you and Bundle-Track data. |
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Interbase |
This Relational Database Management Server (RDBMS) processes, validates, and stores Bundle-Track data. |
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Borland Database Engine (BDE) |
This component serves as the interpreter between then Bundle-Track application and Interbase. |
The application set involves these modules:
· Bundle-Track (the main user interface)
· Bundle-Track Links (for configuring connections to the databases)
· Bundle-Track Roles (for maintaining security – Network Version only)
Bundle-Track does not require exotic equipment. The basic elements are these:
· a computer to run the software and maintain information,
· a printer to print the tickets,
· paper on which to print tickets,
· and, if you intend to scan the barcodes back into the system, a barcode scanner.
Hardware requirements will vary from factory to factory, depending on the complexity of the products made there, the production volume and typical bundle size, and the number of employees.
Below are the basic hardware specifications for a single workstation servicing up to 150 workers.
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Minimum |
Recommended |
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CPU |
Pentium 400 MHz |
Pentium 800 MHz |
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RAM |
128 MB |
256 MB |
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Hard Drive |
200 MB free |
400 MB free |
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CD ROM |
Yes |
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Operating System |
Any of the following: Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0 SP6A, Windows 2000 SP1 |
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Network |
Windows NT Server using TCP/IP |
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Power Backup |
Un-interruptable power supply / Battery back up |
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Data Backup |
Magnetic Tape |
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The Desktop Version is limited to one workstation. The Network Version can support multiple workstations. Contact Latitude Business Systems to discuss server requirements for your facility.
With the high performance and low prices available in the PC hardware market, it is usually worth the investment to stay current, so if you are considering investing in new equipment, we generally recommend choosing the latest available technology.
There are two very different printing duties within Bundle-Track: printing bar-coded tickets and printing reports. Report printing presents no special challenge, but daily ticket printing is very demanding on a printer. We urge you to consider the following when selecting a printer to support ticket printing:
· Must be Windows–compatible.
· Must support continuous-form paper feeds.
· Due to the weight of the ticket stock, it is better to have a printer that pulls the paper than one that pushes it.
· The pathway the paper follows should be as straight as possible; “Bottom feed” systems seem to work best.
·
A printer that is old or less than “heavy duty” may not
be able to withstand the stress of daily ticket printing. We urge you to favor newer or more
industrial models. If you are thinking
of using an older printer, it is a good idea to have it serviced and to closely
monitor its performance.
The choice of paper can vary too. Some people choose cardstock for use with gum-sheets, and others use self-adhesive labels.
Bundle-Track prints tickets on “single-width” ticket stock that meets the following specifications:
These are the requirements for Bundle-Track’s standard ticket format. Custom Tickets may support other dimensions.
· Continuous feed.
· 7 ½ inch total width excepting the pull tractor edges.
· Vertical perforations every 2 ½ inches.
· Horizontal perforations every ¾ of an inch.
The standard printed ticket sheet includes a “header row ” containing information about the Lot, the Product, and the Bundle. The header row measures ¾ of an inch in height by 7 ½ inches in width. Below the header, individual Operations are detailed on tickets measuring ¾ inch by 2 ½ inch. Corresponding Operation information is printed on the remaining 2-½ inch center portion (spine) that remains with the Bundle as the tickets are removed.
Our preferred Ticket Paper supplier is R.T. Barbee, Inc. For more information, contact Lou Schrum at 1-800-934-1838.
While you cannot scan bar codes without a bar-code scanner, you can enter ticket codes into the system with the keyboard. You do not need a bar-code scanner for Bundle-Track to perform in your factory.
If you are selecting a bar-code scanner for use with Bundle-Track, consider the following requirements:
· It must be a “wedge” type scanner attaching to the computer in-line with the keyboard.
· It must be able to read bar-code symbology 39 or 3 of 9.
· It must automatically insert a carriage return after each scan.
While have not performed comparative testing on available scanning technologies, we have had experience with the LS-1000 Handheld Laser Scanner produced by Symbol Technologies (www.symbol.com/barcode), and found it to be a suitable choice for use with Bundle-Track.
If you have a question about Bundle-Track, the Bundle-Track User’s Guide should be the first place you look. Chances are, with a little digging, you can come up with the answer within a few minutes and keep right on moving.
For those cases where you feel you need additional support, Latitude Business Systems offers the following:
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Fax & Email |
Unlimited communications. |
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Phone: |
60 days free phone support, beginning when we deliver the software to you. Beyond this, phone support is charged at $2.00 / minute. |
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Modem: |
We can connect with your machine and work as though we were there in person. This type of support is charged at $2.00 per minute with a $60.00 minimum per connection. This service requires that you have a working copy of Symantec's pcAnywhere (www.symantec.com/pcanywhere) – a computer-to-computer communications software package – version 4.00 or later installed on the machine at issue. |
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Off-line: |
$2.00 / minute for time devoted to support problems off the phone or modem. |
We are dedicated to providing software that requires no additional support. However, should you desire more in-depth training, telephone training sessions can be scheduled over the phone with 48 hours notice. Phone sessions are scheduled in blocks of 2 hours at $150 per block ($75/hour). Toll charges apply. Off-line analysis and preparation may be billed at the same rate.
Latitude Business Systems reserves the right to distinguish between support and training issues.
You may fax us at (617) 556-4005 at any time, or telephone at (617) 556-4003 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
You can also contact us via the Internet at www.bundle-track.com and email at support@bundle-track.com.
When you contact us for support, we will require the following information to resolve your problem as quickly as possible:
· Company information and registration number.
· The version number of the Bundle-Track product you are using.
· The type of hardware that you are using (CPU and printer).
· The exact wording of any messages that appeared on your screen.
· A description of the problem and what you were doing when it occurred.
· A description of how you tried to solve the problem.
To un-install Bundle-Track 3.6, use the Windows Add/Remove programs application to remove Interbase 6 Open Edition.
1. Select StartÞSettingsÞControl Panel.
2. Run Add/Remove Programs.
3. Select Interbase 6 Open Edition – 6.0.1.6.
4. Click the Add/Remove button.
This will remove Bundle-Track as well. However, your database will be left intact, in case you later change your mind.