Focus on the electronic paper chase
| Pages | 16-16 |
| Published date | 01 January 1981 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb057165 |
| Date | 01 January 1981 |
| Subject Matter | Economics,Information & knowledge management,Management science & operations |
Focus on the electronic paper chase
THE LAMSON Intercar system is
example,
is
something of an electronic
marvel. It consists of individually
powered cars resembling attache
cases which carry documents in bulk.
Intercar is an extremely flexible sys-
tem. The cars run on aluminium
tracks along horizontal or vertical
paths.
They can also travel suspended
upside down from ceilings and
perform loop-the-loop manoeuvres.
The drive unit in each car picks up
electrical power from the contact rails
within the track. Destinations can be
selected by means of an address selec-
tor on the base of the unit. When the
car has reached the desired destina-
tion it sets off a visual or a sound
signal. Once the documents are
removed, the car can be retained for
use later to send documents from that
station to another, or returned for
storage to the central mail room by
selecting the appropriate address
card.
The cars can switch from track to
track through the use of transfer units.
They glide smoothly and silently
through ceilings, up walls or at floor
level, from floor to floor and from
room to room. They can be shunted
on to different routes or sent into sid-
ings.
The electronic central control
system logic controls their movement
to prevent collisions or jams. A cen-
tral mimic panel can show at a glance
where all the cars of a system are at
any given moment. If there is a delay
because somebody has forgotten to
close the lid somewhere along the
line,
then the panel pinpoints it and
the track can be cleared again.
The cars travel at a steady walking
pace
—
0.5 metres a second on a hori-
zontal path and 0.4 metres a second
vertically. The standard container
measures 120
×
300
×
360 millimetres
(approx. 4.72 × 11.8 × 14.17 inches).
The maximum payload is eight kilos
(17.6 pounds).
Touche Ross and Co., the leading
accountancy firm, installed a Lamson
intercar system into the fabric of their
space-age offices in the Fleet Street
area of London. The cars operate
from the basement where the
archives are kept and travel through
four different floors. Major banks
also favour the system. National
Westminster have installed a complex
Lamson intercar system at the tower
block in the City, the tallest building
in Britain. Not far away, Barclays
Bank International are installing
intercar as a miniature underground
railway system for their documents
with tunnels under the street connect-
ing three main buildings, as well as
serving the individual floors in each
building.
Quicker
By
Tube
The best known Lamson document
shifter is the airtube, used in
thousands of places. The tube works
much faster than
intercar,
sending the
material along at a brisk 14 miles an
hour, but
its
carrying capacity
is
not as
great since it usually handles docu-
ments that can be put into a canister
of 100 millimetres diameter (about
four inches).
Airtubes are simple in function but
in operation they can be just as com-
plex from the technological point of
view as
intercar.
At Heathrow Air-
Intercar
is
on
the
right lines
port, H.M. Customs and Excise oper-
ate a complex computer-controlled
airtube system which handles
thousands of airwaybills and other
customs documents every hour. This
mass of paperwork is moved along a
complex bureaucratic route and if it is
not processed in the due manner, all
the freight involved piles up in the
warehouse and somebody's valuable
export order becomes delayed. The
Heathrow system is an example of
how an engineering principle which
dates back many years can be adapted
to the highest technology of the day.
Cash Security
Airtubes also play a major role in
tightening security when it comes to
moving a very special type of paper -
money. In supermarkets, department
stores,
banks and other places where
large volumes of cash build up rapidly
in tills, there is always the risk that all
this
wealth will attract the attention of
criminals.
In some supermarkets, tills are still
being emptied by members of the staff
who go round stuffing fivers and ten-
ners into a linen bag. The money is
then taken to the cash office which
can be fifty yards away. This could
prove to be a very hazardous walk as
some raider might decide to make a
quick grab and God help anyone who
gets in the way.
For this reason, many of the leading
supermarket chains are installing
Lamson airtubes for the money to be
whisked away to a secure area. Till
contents are kept low and would-be
raiders are discouraged. A spectacu-
lar version of this system is designed
for large stores who can shoot off their
takings by airtube straight into the
vaults of a bank by underground
pipeline thus doing away with the
need for security guards to take the
takings to the bank.
Belts and Lifts
The conveyor belt principle is
another method employed by Lam-
son for document distribution. The
wallet system, as its name implies,
carries documents inserted into spe-
cially designed wallets which travel on
a moving track. A fully intercommu-
nicating system comprises 90 stations
each of which can send or receive.
Metal tabs on the side of the wallet
determine its destination. When it
reaches its destination the wallet
automatically drops out from the
track into a bin.
The V-trough conveyor is a simpler
version which carries loose papers or
pocket files between a series of desks
of offices where routine processing is
required. As with the wallet system,
traffic can travel horizontally, verti-
cally, up inclines or round corners.
The V-trough, which whizzes loose
documents along at a fair lick, is
perhaps not as well known as D. D.
Lamson's other products. It appeared
recently in a television commercial
extolling the speed with which the AA
handles its members' quieries. The
commercial had a useful spin-off for
Lamson because the split-second
appearance of the V-trough snaking
along resulted in a flurry of inquiries
from potential customers.
D.
D. Lamson's document lifts
carry the largest loads -
up
to 14 kilos.
These operate vertically between
floors of a building and are specially
designed for banks, warehouse and
shops.
The lift, which can carry tech-
nical drawings up to A0 size, can also
be equipped with automatic remote
loading facilities and operate up to ten
floors.
■
16 INDUSTRIAL MANAGEMENT + DATA SYSTEMS
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