2/23/00

Theresa Swope, 334/844-4659

AUBURN INDUSTRIAL EXTENSION SERVICE HOSTS BAR CODING SEMINAR

AUBURN --The Auburn Industrial Extension Service and the Alabama Technology Network will host on March 1 a half-day seminar in Montgomery on the benefits of using bar coding technology.

Registration begins at 8:15 a.m., at the Eastern Bypass Holiday Inn.

Kenneth Ermer, a 16-year veteran of material management, will present the seminar on bar coding, which costs $60 per person.

The computer scanning system, devised in 1972, uses patterned bars, spaces and numerals. The codes can be seen on everything from United Parcel Service packages to boxes of cereal.

The goal of the seminar is to show small- and medium-sized manufacturers how understanding bar coding can increase productivity, provide timely and accurate information, enhance electronic communication and provide data and information to managers.

"The larger ones (manufacturers) have been using bar coding for years, but the smaller ones haven't," says David Mixson, AlES marketing manager. "This is by no means a new technology, but in the past the technology wasn't affordable or available to these smaller manufacturers. Now it is, and it is a good thing for them to utilize."

The seminar will provide participants with an overview of all aspects of the system including: automatic identification; getting started; concepts; labels; read technology; symbology; and printer/scanner requirements and software needed.

Ermer has been an active American Production and Inventory Control Society member since 1980. In 1987, he was certified as a production inventory manager and also gained his certification in integrated resource management.

AIES is an Alabama Technology Network Center, an affiliate of the Department of Commerce's Manufacturing Extension Partnership program. Its goal is to provide Alabama's small- and-medium-sized manufacturers with convenient and cost-effective access to high-quality technical and business assistance, work force training, and advanced technology through AU's land grant role.

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CONTACT: Mixson, 1-800-446-0386.