Portfolio \\ Kanban Scanners

Kanban Scanners

The Kanban Scanner project is a PDA scanner solution with a SQL Server 2000 Compact backend, created to help with inventory control and reorder thresholds at Caterpillar in Decatur, IL. Before this, employees were taking daily inventory by hand and keying the values back into their legacy system. Now, users scan a bar code at an inventory station, key in the quantity, save the results, and move to the next container. Users could also hand-enter the Kanban number using a custom software keyboard on the entry screen. The process was streamlined to utilize the hardware keys on the Recon to minimize unnecessary stylus interaction.

Once the inventory process was complete, the users would run an export on the PDA and bring them back to their computers. Since the export needed to be dumped to a network location, a computer application was also developed that would facilitate the transfer of files off the PDA. The application minimized to the system tray until it detected an ActiveSync connection. When a PDA was connected, the application, through balloon notifications, would let the user know the PDA connected successfully and the file was transfered properly. No user interaction was required on the computer.

Technologies

.NET 2.0 Compact Framework (VB.NET), .NET 2.0 Framework (WinForms), DevComponents DotNetBar, SQL Server 2000 Compact Edition

In the flesh