Bi-Directional Communications with the Printer to Confirm Print Job Delivery

The Value of Bi-Directional Communications and Print Job Delivery Confirmation

The customer associated with this Case Study is a large, multi-national manufacturer of cars and trucks. They have implemented OM Plus, Output Management software.

Business Problem - Printers located on the production floor have been installed to print instructions for production line workers. These instructions ensure that the production line worker can correctly install their parts and components on a vehicle as it moves into their production station. These printouts must be correct (right part for the right vehicle) and "on-time" as the company never wants the production line to stop. Compounding the critical nature of the correct printout being available is the fact that this is a "build to order" production line. It is not the more traditional assembly operation where a production worker assembles the same component onto each vehicle as it goes by. This production line builds vehicles to order, which requires assembly workers to know which specific components go on each vehicle based on what the customer has ordered.

However, we all know that printers will fail from time to time. Whether the printer problem is a jam, a media shortage, or another problem, printer problems really do happen. When problems occur, it is imperative that the customer’s MRP Application Help Desk knows about it as soon as possible so that the problem can be resolved. The critical business problem was how to let the Help Desk know that a print problem occurred and how to give them enough information about the problem to be able to fix it quickly (within a few minutes) before the production line was impacted.

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