Crown uses RFID to manage indirect materials

News Story
- 12 Apr 2007 ( #305 ) - NEW BREMEN, OH, United States
1 min read
The CribMaster Accu-Port inventory management system.
The CribMaster Accu-Port inventory management system.
Crown Equipment Corp, of New Bremen, Ohio, has used RFID technology to make its tool crib inventory system available to workers 24/7.

Before Crown implemented the CribMaster Accu-Port inventory management system, employees sacrificed precious time picking up tools from the crib.

The system allows employees to access a secured area using their RFID employee identification badge. Workers selected the required tool by retrieving a tagged bag from a coordinate system. The bag contains the labelled tool and an RFID tag.

Workers remove tools from the bags and place the bags in a "mailbox" for restocking.

The tagged bags are reused to minimise tag costs and saved time in restocking.

Crown Equipment buyer and supervisor Brenda Hughes said:
"We really needed to get product to the operators on the machines. We felt our replenishment was effective but unavailability for all three shifts was hurting production."

Crown's tool crib inventory
Crown's tool crib inventory
Crown wondered if it were possible, using RFID technology, for employees to walk into a crib, pick up supplies and return to work.

Their research uncovered the CribMaster Accu-Port, an off-the-shelf inventory management system specifically for managing indirect materials.

CribMaster partnered with Symbol Technologies to provide the antennae and readers to power Accu-Port and designed a plug-n-play portal specifically for managing indirect materials. The system uses passive RFID technology and Gen2 passive tags.

Hughes said Crown's daily inventory usage had reduced more than 20 per cent since implementing the Accu-Port crib and it took less than four months for a return on investment.

Other cost reductions came from eliminating staff needed to man a 24-hour tool crib. Having a central crib reduced employees' travel time, increased tool accessibility and enabled employees to grab what they needed and go straight back to work.

Hughes said there could be nine to 10 Accu-Ports across Crown facilities by 2010.
Raymond launches new detection system for forklifts
Raymond launches new detection system for forklifts 13 Feb 2025 - Greene, NY, United States - 1 min read
Remote crack company raises seed funding
Remote crack company raises seed funding 10 Aug 2023 - Delft, Netherlands - 2 min read
AGG automates new warehouse
AGG automates new warehouse 30 Mar 2023 - London, United Kingdom - 1 min read
Previously about:
Crown launches pedestrian pallet truck series News Story - 3 Jul 2025 - Munich, Germany - 1 min read
Crown launches new C-B Series counterbalance forklift News Story - 3 Oct 2024 - New Bremen, OH, United States - 1 min read
Winners of 2024 Archies Awards named News Story - 19 Sep 2024 - Birmingham, United Kingdom - 1 min read
Do you have materials handling news? Submit your news here

PREMIUM business

MAXAM Tire, Inc.
Simplify your productivity with MAXAM's range of performance material handling tires, designed with the latest EcoPoint3 technology.

Even the heaviest lifts must be easy to handle. That’s why N.C. Nielsen raises the bar in lifting capacity, maneuverability, operator comfort, flexibility and technical capabilities.
Heavy duty reach stackers – lifting capacity from 85 to 180 tons.
VIEW ALL OUR CUSTOM-BUILT HEAVY DUTY REACH STACKERS

Contact us now: +45 99 83 83 83 - www.nc-nielsen.com

Words of support …

After advertising with Forkliftaction.com, we got many enquiries regarding interest to be our distributor. Mostly from Europe and USA but including a few in ASEAN. We feel that the advertisement was useful and good for market expansion.

Lawrence Xu, Assistant Sales Manager

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

We’re excited to launch a major upgrade to the Forkliftaction forums, packed with new features and improvements. Here’s what’s new:

  • You can now add up to two photos to your posts
  • New search & navigation - find what you need easier
  • Smart brand/model tagging across all forums
  • Top contributors recognised for their efforts!

 Head over to the forums to check it out!

Are you recruiting? Find your ideal candidate among a diverse range of materials handling professionals:

Forkliftaction's JOB MARKET

We’re excited to launch a major upgrade to the Forkliftaction forums, packed with new features and improvements. Here’s what’s new:

  • You can now add up to two photos to your posts
  • New search & navigation - find what you need easier
  • Smart brand/model tagging across all forums
  • Top contributors recognised for their efforts!

 Head over to the forums to check it out!