FDBusiness.com

Dairy Crest integrates the Motion Computing F5 Tablet PC at its distribution centre and factories throughout the UK and Ireland. This ensures that the onsite management of contractors is as effective as possible in order to prevent any accidents and ensure full contractor compliance with its standards. The overall permit to work solution has been provided by Box Technologies and Prime Design Consultants.

An Overview

With a need to ensure practical contractor compliance at the place where permit to work activities are to be carried out, Dairy Crest sought out a new mobile solution.

The result was the introduction of the Motion Computing F5 Tablet PC to all the company’s production sites in the UK and Ireland as part of a highly effective turnkey mobile system.

The Parties Involved

Dairy Crest – Dairy Crest began life as the milk processing operation of the Milk Marketing Board before floating on the London Stock Exchange in 1996. It is the UK’s leading chilled dairy foods company and its brand range includes household names such as Cathedral City, Clover and the Country Life range. Dairy Crest is one of the UK’s largest purchasers of fresh milk, buying approximately 2.4 billion litres every year. The company’s online delivery service, milk&more, delivers to over 1.3 million households across England and Wales via more than 3,000 milk rounds.

Box Technologies – Founded in 1992, Box Technologies has become a leading provider in a diverse range of technologies and services aimed at multiple industry sectors. As a Motion Computing UK distributor, Box Technologies supplies a network of software developer and value-added reseller organizations, each with specialist expertise and services that cover the entire range of business IT applications across their chosen industry. These business partnerships, and Box’s ability to provide both product and supporting services, ensure that end users receive industry-leading advice and rapid delivery.

Prime Design Consultants – Founded in 1992, Prime Design is a provider of project management and project engineering resources. Recognising the importance of getting the detail right at both pre-project and project implementation stages, the company has extended its project engineering functions to include simulation modelling and software development.

The Challenge

With an aim to continually improve the way in which it manages third party contractors on its sites, Dairy Crest wanted to improve the paper-based systems it was using.

This would then enable the company to better monitor contractors’ activities including the issuing of permit to work documents, and conducting risk assessments to meet its statutory obligations.

More specifically, the challenge was to collate and manage a database of contractor-approved documentation; issue an authorisation to work and a permit to work, when appropriate onsite at the place of work, including appropriate signatures, which remained auditable across the Company.

The Solution

A unique turnkey solution was provided by the combined expertise of Box Technologies and Prime Design Consultants. Although Prime Design already had a pilot version of an Electronic Permit to Work application, the solution took a further two years of software development and found the perfect hardware ‘fit’ in the semi-rugged Motion F5 Tablet PC. The software/hardware combination utilises Prime Design’s core control of contractors’ application ‘Salutis – Tracker’.

Signatures are captured directly onto the Motion F5 Tablet PC using technology from IDSLGlobal and Topaz Systems called “SigPlus™”. The same technology is utilised on an IDSLGlobal signature pad when the software is installed on a conventional PC or laptop and ‘electronic ink’ functionality is not available. By using SigPlus™ the signatures can be encrypted and stored in the database. Signatures are not stored as digitised images and can only be displayed on the document they were originally signed against. This therefore gives a high level of security to the signer and maintains the document integrity.

The opportunity with Dairy Crest and Prime Design’s software led directly to the deployment of the Motion F5 Tablet PC to provide ‘on-site, real-time’ productivity in its warehouse and production facilities.

The additional features designed into the lightweight Motion F5 Tablet PC – including a powerful Intel Core 2 Duo processor and improved battery life – allowed Dairy Crest to:

• Obtain contractors’ signatures with ease;
• Take a picture with the built-in camera of any possible safety risks;
• And eliminate any communications or safety compliance delays.

The Technology

The semi-rugged Motion F5 Tablet PC has replaced paper-based documentation at Dairy Crest and provided a central technology point for the monitoring, control and issuing of documentation.

The main features of the Motion F5 Tablet PC include:

• Semi-Rugged Design
• Powered by a Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
• Lightweight Design (3.3lbs)
• View Anywhere Display
• Powerful Lithium-Ion battery
• Integrated Camera
• Desktop Docking Capability

The units were supplied by Box Technologies under the product line of Box Mobile through their ISV partner Prime Design Consultants

The Conclusion

‘The electronic permit to Work system has given us the ability to more effectively control our contractor activities, with the Tablet PC giving us the flexibility to manage work at the point where it is actually carried out’ says Head of Group Health and Safety, Andy Melachrino.

“The deployment of the Motion F5 Tablet PC at Dairy Crest’s warehouse and production sites has enabled us to address the real-time issues and auditable challenges associated with paper-based documentation,” says Hanworth factory Compliance and Projects Manager, Andy Cornick.

“We’ve seen a number of additional bonuses with on-site operational efficiencies since our deployment which has been met with a glowing report from our property insurer.”

Continuing this theme of versatility, the Managing Director of Prime Design, Keith Gibbons, can see much wider applications for the Motion Computing F5 Tablet PC:

“The system has transformed the way Dairy Crest handle their health and safety documentation,” said Keith. “In companies where there are multiple sites or several operational scenarios, the need for flexible electronic systems is all too clear.”

About Box Technologies

Founded in 1992, Box Technologies was the UK’s first Electronic Point of Sale (EPoS) equipment distributor, basing its core foundation and commercial success on key business relationships with leading Mobile manufacturers like Honeywell, Motion Computing and Getac Computers.

Today, Box Technologies is a leading provider in a diverse range of technologies and services aimed at multiple industry sectors including; Finance, Retail, Hospitality, Transport and Logistics, Public Sector and Utilities. Within these sectors Box offers five distinct product/service lines: EPoS, Digital Signage, Self Service, Mobile and Service.

Box Technologies supplies a network of Software developer and Value added Reseller organisations, each with specialist expertise and services that cover the entire range of business IT applications across their chosen industry. These business partnerships and Box’s ability to deliver both product and supporting services, ensure the end user receives industry leading advice and rapid delivery. To this end, Box holds stock of multiple product lines for immediate supply.