The classic E-Kanban process for recording Kanban movements in production and logistics is usually carried out using barcode readers. In the context of Industry 4.0, however, more and more sensor-based hardware solutions have been developed in recent years. This also creates more and more opportunities for the Integrated Kanban System to automatically generate and send Kanban signals.
The “backend”, i.e. our E-Kanban system IKS, is available to the customer with all available functionalities just as before. However, in addition to the classic barcode reader, there are now many other possible “frontends” with which you can now generate the Kanban signals in IKS.
Here are the options that our E-Kanban system IKS offers for recording Kanban movements:
Barcode reader:
All existing types of commercially available barcode readers with a USB interface (wired, Bluetooth) can be used here.
Mobile handhelds and barcode capture terminals (mostly with Android operating system) can also be used. For this purpose, IKS offers a specially optimized touchscreen user interface for scanning the Kanbans and displaying important Kanban information.
NIMMSTA – Industrial Smart Watch for Intralogistik:
NIMMSTA (https://nimmsta.com) enables high-performance picking with the world’s first industrial smart watch for intralogistics. The optimized picking workflows are displayed on the innovative smart watch (previously often called a “glove scanner”). Thanks to the simple and bidirectional interaction between the employee and our IKS system, the scanning processes with the NIMMSTA Smart Watch are much faster and more efficient. In addition, the error rate when scanning is reduced to almost zero. The IKS user menu displayed on the Smart Watch is intuitive to use.
The high level of comfort thanks to the ergonomically individual placement delights users and rounds off the picture.
Sensor Kanban shelves (E-Rack) for automatic Kanban signals:
Sensor-based Kanban shelves, equipped with so-called “tilt sensors”, enable the contactless recording of Kanban movements. As soon as an empty container is removed from the roller conveyor of the push-through rack, the sensor automatically generates a replenishment signal that is visualized via the IKS system. Likewise, a Kanban container newly placed on the shelf is registered as FULL when it is delivered again.
This means that automatic Kanban signals can be generated directly from the “point of use”, for example using hardware from our partner Galatech Engineering (https://www.galatech-engineering.cz).
Weight sensors – Smart IoT for weight measurement:
Thanks to the weight sensors (smart weighing system) and fill level sensors from our partner TeDaLos (https://tedalos.net), IKS customers can now also integrate non-Kanban-capable material groups into a Kanban system. This is done automatically, contactless, autonomously and smartly.
This makes sense in particular
- for SLOW MOVERS with a long range in a Kanban container, when multi-container Kanban is not sensible or desired for economic reasons
- when there is a LACK OF SPACE, when there is too little storage space for several containers in the Kanban supermarket, because usually a small space requirement for assembly is necessary and important
- with certain MATERIAL PROPERTIES, when certain materials cannot be provided in Kanban containers for physical or logistical reasons, e.g. for oversized parts, large supplier containers, for goods sold by the meter or liquids, etc.
In such cases, weight sensors that pass on the automatically measured values to IKS at regular intervals via the TeDaLos Cloud are the perfect solution.
Distance sensors – Smart IoT for distance measurement:
Smart distance sensors are a cost-effective alternative to so-called “tilt sensors”, which often have to be laboriously installed in the push-through shelves in the Kanban supermarket. The distance sensors measure at regular intervals whether a Kanban container has been removed from a flow rack or whether a new one has been added. Using the data transmitted by the cloud of our partner TeDaLos, the E-Kanban system IKS automatically scans Kanbans for EMPTY and FULL, thus enabling “contactless” recording of Kanban movements.
RFID:
Using the TeDaLos Cloud, Kanban signals from the RFID specialist tagItron (https://www.tagitron.de) can also be transmitted to the IKS system. This means that a wide variety of RFID components such as readers, RFID mailboxes, RFID shelf mats and other auto-ID devices can be easily and simply connected to our E-Kanban solution.
eLabels and pick-by-light:
IKS also enables the connection of certain pick-by-light systems, such as those from Speedypick (https://www.speedypick.en) or Solum (https://www.solumesl.com/en). Using so-called “push buttons” that are attached directly to the Kanban shelf, Kanbans in our E-Kanban system IKS can be reported as EMPTY or FULL at the simple push of a button. This means that replenishment signals are triggered directly by the worker on site.
