A recent study done at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston shows using bar codes can help reduce hospital drug errors. Under Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s new system, bar codes are placed on each patient’s wrist band as well as on each container of medicine. A patient’s prescriptions are entered into their electronic chart. Before nurses give a medication to a patient, they scan the bar code on the patient’s wrist band and then the bar code on the container of medicine. The system tells the nurse if it’s the wrong medicine or if they are giving the medicine too soon. Nurses also get alerts if a dose is overdue. Researchers looked at hospital units that used the new system. They were compared with units that still used a system without bar codes. Errors dropped dramatically in units with the new system.

Drug treatment errors, including incorrect medicine dosage, fell by 41%. The rate was 11.5% before the change and 6.8% afterward.

Transcription errors — mistakes in recording the doctor’s order — occurred with 6% of orders before bar-code use. They were completely eliminated after bar codes were adopted.

Medicine errors that could have caused serious harm fell from 3.1% to 1.6%. That’s a reduction of more than half.

Timing-related errors, when a drug is given at least an hour earlier or later than intended, fell by 27%

Read the full article here.

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These days, there’s not much a cell phone can’t do.  Now, new bar code scanning technology is turning cell phones into bar code scanners.  This opens up a whole new world of possibilities.  Currently this application is only available for Smartphones or Mobile PC phones that run software.  Your Smartphone must also have a camera attached but nowadays almost every cell phone has a camera.

In Japan, McDonalds started placing bar codes on the Hamburger foil, allowing customers to scan the foil and view nutritional information on the burger. These codes became mainstream in Japan when the largest cell phone companies started loading the code readers on all new phones a few years ago. Now, millions of people have the capability built into their phones, and businesses, in turn, are using them everywhere, on billboards, street signs, published materials and even food packaging.

With the endless possibilities associated with this new bar code industry for both consumers and businesses, bar codes may be popping up in more and more locations in the months to come.

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Image courtesy of REUTERS/Helveta/Handout

We may not think of comparing the tree lifters stealing timber supplies from tropical rainforests to shoplifters in Target or Walmart, but why not?  Local retailers protect themselves from theft by electronically tagging merchandise with bar codes so how about applying that same method to prevent theft in the rainforests?  The British tech company heading the effort feels that forests can benefit from the same theft prevention methods used by retailers across the globe.  So far, a million plastic bar codes have been hammered onto trees in Africa, southeast Asia and South America to help keep track of timber reserves.

The bar codes help firms comply with the stringent laws on importing sustainable timber into the United States and Europe, but they could also fight deforestation, which amounts to approximately one fifth of global emissions of carbon dioxide. The electronic system is less prone to fraud than paper records, and can also help governments collect more timber taxes.

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What has been known as a simple form of asset identification has now been transformed into a piece of bar code art by the folks at Design Barcode.

Design Barcode brings creativity into their bar code art by combining imagination with an eye for detail. Their artwork is divided into a wide range of categories including beverages, sports, fashion and crafts.  Their designs demonstrate the creative ways bar codes can go from basic to engaging with a few simple additions.  Check out their online gallery to see how Design Barcode is revolutionizing the bar code tag.

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Unique Item Identification (UID) is a mandate that was issued by the Department of Defense which requires all solicitations, contracts, or delivery orders for tangible items delivered to the government to be marked with a unique identification number if:

1. Unit acquisition cost is over $5,000.00
2. Serially managed
3. Mission essential
4. Controlled inventory
5. A consumable item or material where permanent identification is necessary

A UID is a 2-D data matrix symbol. This matrix is comprised of data which is scanned and interpreted into three parts: CAGE Code, Serial Number, and Part Number. Together these parts make a unique serialized identification number for items which the Department of Defense will use for lifecycle management.

Items, labels, and data plates can be directly marked with a 2-D data matrix code. This matrix can be encoded by laser mark, chemical etch, dot peen, or ink jet. This information is scanned, read, and translated for efficient data tracking.

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A slogan once used to promote Virginia Slim cigarettes; it can also be used to describe the history of the modern day bar code. This coming Saturday, June 26, marks the anniversary of the first bar code used in a checkout line in 1974. A pack of Wrigley’s gum was swiped across the first checkout scanner at a supermarket in Troy, OH.

What started as a mere idea in 1938 has now developed into a convenient way to track your assets. As we approach this day I’d like remind you that Seton offers many bar code labels such as DuraGuard, SetonGuard and QuickGuard to help you keep track your facility’s assets. They are ideal for equipment tracking, inventory control and help to deter theft of company items.

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A padlock crisis in Paris? Yes.

It appears that lovers who visit the Pont des Arts and Passerelle Léopold-Senghor Bridges have been leaving behind more than just memories, they are locking padlocks to the bridge’s fence as a sign of undying love. These padlocks have now been referred to as cadenas d’amour or love padlocks.

Paris, traditionally know for its cafes, artwork and monuments, now has another popular tourist attraction to add to the list. Beginning about two years ago, there are now almost 2,000 padlocks, in a variety of shapes, colors and sizes now locked to the bridges and scripted with messages of eternal love.

Think this is too wild to be true, click to see more!

This begs the question, in what non-traditional ways do you use padlocks?

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What are the differences between Brass, Aluminum and Stainless Steel Tags?

Without knowing the differences between the 3 metals it may be hard to decide which metal tag would be best for your asset identification application.  Here is a brief description for each metal that will help you make an educated decision.

Brass - Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. It is distinguishable by its gold color. Brass tags can be used indoors or outside, they have good scratch resistance and withstand a temperature maximum of 1,200°F.

Aluminum – Aluminum is a softer and more pliable metal. Aluminum tags can be bent by hand, making them excellent for use on slightly curved surfaces. Use indoors or outside. Aluminum tags scratch easily, but have good chemical resistance and can withstand a temperature maximum of 1,000°F.

Stainless Steel – Stainless Steel tags are tough enough for the harshest environments. They can be used indoors or outside and resist corrosion associated with moist air and water. Stainless Steel tags have a shinier finish than Aluminum and have excellent resistance to scratching and chemicals. They can withstand a temperature maximum of 1,200°F.

Seton carries a wide selection of Brass, Aluminum and Stainless Steel tags. Choose from stock or custom. Visit our Asset Tags section to find exactly what you need.

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Are your assets properly labeled and classified? Do you have an accurate inventory of all your physical assets?

If not, you may be in violation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

What is Sarbanes-Oxley?

The Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 has had a major impact on the level of disclosure required by public companies. It requires significant improvements to the overall monitoring and internal scrutiny of public companies’ corporate governance processes and financial reporting processes.

What is Required?

Publicly held companies have faced increased requirements for more accurate audit standards and internal controls on their fixed assets and their values. The act requires every transaction to be available for analysis and reporting. This includes the purchase and sale of assets. Though traditionally, many companies did not assign high priority to maintaining detailed, auditable records on fixed assets, this legislation changes the rules. Tracking fixed assets is now a critical part to every publicly traded company’s financial reporting.

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Bar Codes play an essential part in tracking many different types of assets.  There are different types of bar code symbologies for different types of bar code applications.  It may be difficult for the general customer to decide what the best option is for their company’s asset management system.  Here is a quick explanation of the most commonly used bar code symbologies.

Code 39:

Code 39 is the most popular bar code symbology used for ID, inventory, tracking and labeling. It is also specified in many military and government specifications. Code 39 (or Code 3 of 9) is the most common bar code in use for custom applications. It is popular because it can support both text and numbers (A‹Z, 0‹9, +,-, ., ). It can be read by most types of scanners/bar code readers. Characters available for encoding include uppercase letters and numbers. It can be printed in a wide variety of sizes and dimensions. Code 39 is self checking and not prone to substitution errors.

Code 128:

This type of bar code is used mostly in the shipping and electronics industry and on labels. This code is variable in length, alphanumeric, and continuous where all spaces are part of the characters. Each character consists of three bars and three spaces. For general-purpose use, Code 128 is usually the best choice. This is a very compact, high density symbol. Because of its high density – the number of data characters per inch of bar code or width of the bar code – it makes very efficient use of space. Encoded characters include numbers, letters and special characters.

Code Interleaved 2 of 5:

Interleaved 2 of 5 is the most popular bar code used by shipping and warehouse industries. It is also used in the medical field.  You’ll see these bar codes on ground shipping boxes from the major shipping companies. The code is variable in length and is numeric only. The data to be encoded must contain even number of digits as each two digit numbers is uniquely represented by a set of bars and spaces in the bar code. The character ‘0′ may be added to the beginning, if the data does not contain an even number of digits. The bars encode the odd digits, and the spaces encode the even digits. Prone to substitution errors, you should always use a checksum. Checksums are additional characters appended to bar codes to guarantee good reads.

Seton offers a wide variety of bar code labels and asset management products to meet your company’s specific needs.

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