CASE STUDY
Industries for the Blind
IB Milwaukee implements
ShopTalk™ Mobile
IB
Milwaukee was established in 1952 as Industries for the Blind, Inc. for
the purpose of providing employment for the blind and visually impaired.
But this organization is not about being blind or disabled . . . it's about
jobs, independence, empowerment, and performance for their 100 plus employees.
Over the years they have provided opportunities for independence, skill development, and improved quality of life for hundreds of blind individuals through the creation of meaningful jobs. They are a self-sustaining, not-for-profit organization. We do not receive state or federal funding. So it's not about being blind or disabled . . . it's about meeting customer needs.
The way they create the best employment opportunities is through excellence in products and services to their customers. IB's mission is to provide employment . . .our job is to meet customer needs
Guardian Business Solutions, Inc. has installed its
ShopTalk color touch screen and voice enabled terminals at Industries
for the Blind, Milwaukee, WI. The ShopTalk shop floor terminal records
personnel, job, machine quantity, part and quality data as well as provides
employees with a touchscreen kiosk for retrieving and viewing shop floor
resource information such as process sheets, CAD drawings, pictures and
set up information.
IB's products are produced in a modern, automated 100,000 sq. ft. plant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In addition, a new satellite pen assembly facility is located in Janesville, Wisconsin. They produce in high volume using cost-effective processes and state-of-the-art assembly equipment. . . which are uniquely adapted to the blind operator. Every facet of their manufacturing strategy is reviewed and updated following stringent ISO 9002 guidelines, which ensures their re-certification every two years.
The ShopTalk system supports a wireless or hardwired ethernet interface,
allowing it to be integrated into existing infrastructures. This Windows-based
PC application is provided on 10.4, 12 or 15-inch touchscreen computers
and wearable computers which lets production workers and management
interact with virtually any ERP and CAD solution
The ShopTalk voice enabled terminals are multi-lingual and accepts data
from multiple sources. For recording production and labor data, the terminal
can accept several different types of data entry; including speech recognition,
touch screen, swipe readers, bar code scanners, magnetic stripe cards or
from an on screen keyboard. Integrating machine data collection functions,
such as the recording of machine cycles and malfunctions will be added
in the future.