案例研究

Ringnes Brewery Automates Service Routes with Mobile Computers

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Ringnes Brewery in Norway has service technicians who visit the brewery’s restaurant customers for various service tasks. Their administrative work has been made easier with the help of Intermec’s ruggedized handheld computer, the 720 Pocket PC.

Previously, after finishing a job, technicians had to fill in a paper based order sheet with five copies. Now the information is simply entered into a Pocket PC, the customer gets a receipt and the data is transferred daily for supervision and invoicing. Ringnes’ 60 service technicians visit restaurants and pubs which serve beer and soft drinks from casks or tanks, and which have signed an agreement for preventive service with Ringnes, now owned by Carlsberg.

Simple to Get Going

“We attended a course on Friday and started using our Pocket PCs on Monday,” explains service technician Øysten Paus, as he enters the work he has just completed at East Point Bar in the Ski shopping centre just south of Oslo. He uses a stylus to write directly onto the touch sensitive screen.

The Day's Tasks are Transferred Automatically to the Handheld Computer

In the morning, service technicians can see the day’s tasks on their Pocket PC. The small handheld computer is updated during the night with new information, while yesterday’s reports are transferred to the Movex Ringnes central computer system. This happens when the handheld computer is placed in its docking station.

Each service technician has all of their customers listed in the handheld computer, which in the future will also contain information on customers’ equipment. It will also be possible to use the computer to see what was done during previous service visits.

“We do not have all data stored yet and just registering all of the equipment out at the customer’s sites will be a huge job, however having a simpler and more flexible order flow will more than make up for this,” comments Dagfinn Birkeli at Ringnes head office in Oslo. He has been responsible for the new system, which was constructed together with Cappit in Oslo.

Contains Everything

An Intermec Pocket PC can contain almost anything the customer wants it to. The menus are Windows-adapted in small format, and the black and white display measures 80 x 60 mm. The customer can decide which parts of the hardware he or she wishes to use and which accessories need to be connected. The Intermec 720 handheld computer has a built-in GSM telephone and modem for transferring data. In addition, there is a barcode reader and cordless Infra Red (IR) port which is used by Rignes to communicate with a separate portable receipt printer. A small voice recorder is also built in for short “must do” messages during work. One function that Ringnes has chosen not to use at this stage is the option to send and receive e-mail messages.

Barcodes Automate the Supply of Spare Parts

At a customer’s site, a service technician first scans the barcode relating to the beer tap or equipment which they are going to work with. The technician then checks that the equipment is functioning correctly, hygiene standards are being met, and changes any parts that need changing in accordance with the service agreement. Each spare part is also supplied with a barcode that is registered using the handheld computer. The spare parts used during the day are reported automatically to Ringnes central spare part warehouse during the night, when the handheld computer is placed in its docking station.

Always a Complete Order

It is now impossible to send an incomplete order. Previously, it would occasionally happen that a paper based order sheet was incomplete when it arrived for registration at the head office. This never happens now because the Pocket PC cannot send an order until all the fields are complete. When the order has been completed, it is transferred via IR to the receipt printer and the customer is given a receipt for the work carried out.