The GreyHawk Bus Inventory system involves the use of a handheld computer with a bar code scanner to record the parking position on the parking grid of each bus on the lot or garage. The objective of this process is for an inventory taker to account for every parking position on the grid and enter either “Vacant” or the actual identification number of the bus that is parked at that time in that parking position.
The Walking Path
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Each parking lot or garage has a specific starting point and ending point as well as
an exact walking path for the inventory taker to follow. The user must follow the
designated walking path and read bar codes in the “left / right” manner because the
handheld is set up to accept data in that exact sequence. To deviate from the exact walking path will place the bus data into the wrong |
| parking slot. The handheld assumes that the user is following the exact path and prompts him/her by showing
the next parking space where it expects to place the bar code data. It automatically
moves to the next “parking space” each time a bar code is read and assumes that the user is at that slot. |
After the inventory is completed the handheld is taken to a PC where it is placed into a communications cradle attached to the PC. The GreyHawk Bus Inventory Host program on the PC extracts the data from the handheld and places it into a database. This PC database is later reformatted and imported into the Trapeze system’s Oracle Database. Dispatchers use this database to schedule the next pullout of buses since the sequence of departure is based on whether or not the bus is blocked by one parked in front of it. |
