TNT Express has equipped its depot in Neuss with a fully automatic DWS (Dimensioning, Weighing and Scanning) system to increase productivity during the processing of packages. The calibrated VMS520 volume measurement system and the OPS490 omniportal reading system from SICK are operated as a “package solution”.

>> The improved performance capability, however, not only results in optimised processes, but also offers the possibility of charging each customer for the number and volume of packages actually transported. The system has also resulted in improved sorting, preparation and distribution processes in the depot, as well as better process reliability, because each package has a unique identity due to its bar code, its weight and its dimensions – so packages are both controllable and traceable.

Invoicing actual performance carried out

System components that can be calibrated are stipulated for so-called revenue recovery, i.e. the possibility of creating follow-up invoices for the logistic performance actually carried out. This applies to the volume detection system in addition to the scales. The VMS520 in the DWS system is a measurement system that has been certified by the Federal Institute of Physics and Technology (PTB) in Braunschweig on the basis of the testing parameters in the OIML R129 standard. The scale value and the calibration error limit are 0.5 cm – each related to a maximum transport speed of 2 m/s. Objects with an edge length from 50 mm upwards can be measured with “calibrated” accuracy. It can thus be used in combination with approved-for-trade scales and bar code scanners in a complete system capable of calibration.

Sorting control by omni-scanner

An OPS490 bar code reading portal has been integrated in the DWS system to identify the packages in the depot and to control their destinations for the sorting plant. In addition to an evaluation unit, the system consists of several standard scanners from the CLV490 series. The scanner, with its integrated real-time autofocus, generates a reading field of 800 x 800 mm² within which at least one scanner can always read the bar code label. The evaluation unit controls the individual scanner’s reading activities, processes the reading gate and path information, and assigns the bar code information to the particular object.

Up to 2,500 packages per hour demands real-time communication

The VMS520, OPS490 and weighing system transfer their data to the controller of the entire system, and to the depot’s IT host system, via Ethernet. So all the relevant information for the sorting and revenue recovery program is available in real time – even with high package numbers.

The DWS system is not quite as quickly amortised, but within a few months – through improved processes in the depot, and the possibility of invoicing the actual transport services provided and, if necessary, preparing follow-up invoices.