Power equipment maker benefits from plant-floor wireless network

Acquiring a 170,000-square-foot distribution center in Omaha presented Aurora, Ill.-based power-equipment maker Coleman Powermate with an opportunity to make some changes in how it used IT. Case-in-point is Coleman's migration to a bar-code system for tracking inventory in the warehouse via wireless technology.

Balancing the cost of hardwiring the entire building versus a hybrid or wireless solution to support bar-code operations in the plant, Coleman looked to integrate everything under one umbrella, explains Mike Mantzke, director of IT at Coleman. After considering several vendors, one stood out from the rest for its track record of providing wireless network solutions for manufacturers.

"Since the warehouse is a mixed indoor/outdoor environment, we are using Colubris Networks' heavier-grade outdoor WLAN equipment, which is robust enough to handle the mobility of our manufacturing operations," says Mantzke.

Coleman positioned the Colubris wireless access points—i.e., the MAP-330Rs—in the warehouse's rafters, thereby creating a wireless grid in the ceiling to allow employees to roam freely throughout the facility with handheld scanners to track inventory and maintain connectivity.

For plant-floor wireless networks, reliability is a serious concern. Potential sources of data-transmission interference from the structure itself can cut down on the ability of the access points to send data. Although Coleman Powermate's Omaha warehouse holds inventory that is 90-percent metal in composition, the network is performing well since its installation while accommodating voice communications and data to align with the company's bar-code strategy.

"We wanted to ensure that if someone accidentally hit part of the network equipment, it would continue to function," says Mantzke. "We can't afford to have the bar-code system go off-line. Colubris gave us a fully integrated wireless solution that balances cost with performance, offers scalability for a more aggressive role in our manufacturing plants, and delivers equipment with excellent tolerance—and great tech support."