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 ConveyorWorks is custom software created by LaFayette Engineering, Inc. for advanced sortation control.
Designed by LaFayette Engineering, Inc. (LEI), the ConveyorWorks software provides the ability to receive, process, sort, and dispatch the contents of several trucks per day. In addition to sorting bulk cartons into discrete order quantities every hour, ConveyorWorks can sort cartons to exact in-store locations such as a particular floor for multi-level stores.
The ConveyorWorks software’s primary job is to receive data from the mainframe, store the data in memory, and look up the related data when a carton’s barcode is scanned at the sortation conveyor. This information can be used to route inbound cartons to the appropriate inbound processing area or to route outbound cartons to the appropriate sort lane for loading into a trailer.
ConveyorWorks does not control the conveyor; rather it communicates with the conveyor controller. The conveyor controller (sorter) transmits ConveyorWorks a lane request message containing the sequence number and barcode for the scanned carton. This message is transmitted using standard RS-232 or RS-422 protocol. Once the request message is received, ConveyorWorks will search for the bar-code, determine the target divert lane and pass the lane assignment back to the controller. Approximate time required for lookup is 250ms from the receipt from the request message from the controller.
The sorter controller will also transmit divert confirmations and error codes using the same format. Based on these scan and divert confirmations, ConveyorWorks communicates and builds records with a host server such as a mainframe computer.
With ConveyorWorks from LaFayette Engineering, Inc. you can:
- Decrease handling and reduce carton time in house:
- Sorts cartons dock to dock with no manual processing
- Sorts cartons to your work areas for value added processing
- Recognizes vendor's UCC-128 labels and/or your printed labels
- Retains up to 500,000 carton labels in memory for fast lookup
- Reports carton divert status to your mainframe
- Communicates with your mainframe via reliable TCP/IP protocol
- Minimize system down time:
- Redundant, "hot" computers back each other up
- Down loaded labels are saved to disk and restored at program initialization
- View and edit lane assignments on the fly
- Load alternate configuration parameters to meet seasonal shipping needs
- Measure and track production levels:
- Display the current rate of cartons scanned, diverted, and recirculated
- View today's throughput of cartons sorted by lane or by store
- Print daily, week-to-date, or month-to-date production reports
- Monitor and fine tune the system:
- Display carton status
- View cartons scanned and assigned
- View carton divert status
- Monitor and log communication ports
Features of ConveyorWorks:
- Routes cartons dock to dock without additional labeling or manual processing
- Sorts cartons to workcenters for value added processing
- Retains up to 2,000,000 carton labels and lane assignments, which can be downloaded and saved in memory for fast lookups
- Reports carton divert status to mainframe for tracking and manifesting
- Communicates to mainframe via reliable TCP/IP protocol
- Minimize down time with redundant, “hot” backup computer, that switches over automatically
- Measure and track production levels to display the current rate of cartons sorted by lane or store
- Measure and track production levels to view or print today’s throughput of cartons sorted by lane or store
- Print daily, week-to-date, or month-to-date production reports
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