Bosma empowers visually impaired workers with BarTender label automation
With the help of EMP Technical Group, Bosma provides disposable surgical medical devices for all VA hospitals across the US
“With this system we’re actually able to have someone that is visually impaired be successful and give them the independence to do their full-time job.”
- Jason Bailey, Chief Technology Officer
challenges:
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Manual labeling process
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Label designing
- Label printing required someone who was not visually impaired
solutions:
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Integrated excel database with BarTender for dynamic data
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Label templates required less label designing
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Automated label printing increased label accuracy and did not require a fully sighted person
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Bosma Enterprises has over 100 years of history as one of the Midwest’s largest nonprofit organizations providing training and employment for people who are blind or visually impaired. By partnering with businesses to provide products, supply chain management, and logistics, Bosma helps create jobs for people with vision loss who would otherwise face a 70% unemployment rate. Bosma not only supports the community by employing visually impaired workers, but also delivers high quality products to VA hospitals and customers across the country.
Challenges: Manual labeling processes required visual checks creating difficulties for visually impaired workers
Bosma uses labeling for lot tracking, lot traceability, expiration dates, and anything else that would go out on a surgical device that requires traceability and trackability. Some of their processes required repackaging products into different boxes and this was a manual process that resulted in inaccuracies because it required someone that was sighted to design and print the labels. If products were mislabeled the wrong products could be shipped to the customer, losing customer confidence and increasing product turnaround time. “As a visually impaired person, trying to read the small print numbers and going over everything two or three times to make sure you have everything correct makes things difficult,” says Ken Massey, Kit Room Supervisor. With many of the processes and label quality assurance requiring a fully sighted person, it was difficult for anyone who was visually impaired to be autonomous with their work.
Labeling operator at a printing workstation uses BarTender to print labels
Solution: Bosma Streamlines Labeling Workflow with Automated Excel Database Integration
Bosma relies on an Excel database to manage all their product information, and it was crucial to transfer this data accurately to their product labels to avoid costly recalls. EMP Technical Group stepped in to assist Bosma with their technical operational expertise and helped Bosma integrate their database with BarTender. This integration automatically transferred database information into BarTender so the proper information could be placed onto labels. This automation replaced all of the manual data entry and label checking that the team previously had to do. With dynamic data, operators can now print their required labels on-demand using BarTender, ensuring precise accounting of all printed labels without the need for double-checking. This new labeling process saves labeling operators time in identifying and printing the correct labels, streamlining the entire workflow.
“BarTender has really made the production process easier, and it streamlined what we do in our production areas at Bosma because we don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time we get a new product or when we start a new job”
– Bernie Wilmer, Floating Supervisor