description
- **Opportunity** Industrial Vending Machines (IVMs) can significantly increase workplace efficiency by dispensing high value assets, components and personal protective equipment (PPE) directly to workers. However, the currently dominant technologies (cheap locker and helix-coil IVMs) have significant limitations. The use of weight-sensor technology in IVMs, which would address these limitations, has been limited primarily due to the high cost of component technology. Additionally, with existing weight-based IVMs, once a system is ordered in a set configuration of shelves, drawers and/or bins, due to the internal wiring and mechatronics, the system cannot be changed easily, resulting in poor flexibility for meeting changing customer needs. **Objectives** This 18-month experimental development project supports Inventor-e, a UK SME with expertise in stores and asset management to develop an innovative, low-cost IVM to disrupt the status quo. "Mod-iVend" will develop a new IVM to include novel, cheap weight sensor-based item bins. Utilising wireless technology, a range of sizes and shapes of bins, along with the ability to reconfigure shelves in-the-field will also ensure the solution is modular and reconfigurable - firsts for the industry. Furthermore, we will leverage Inventor-e's novel IoT technology (SMARTIE asset tags) to track/control asset usage and deployment to specific job codes and SOURCERER, our inventory software. This will provide automated check in and check out of assets from the vending machine using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) SMARTIE tags and BLE gateway technology. **Benefits** Mod-iVend will help to reduce costs for end-users by preventing theft of goods, ameliorating inappropriate issuance of high-value items, accurately tracking assets, and logging employee asset responsibility as well as ensuring workers are kept safe through monitoring PPE compliance to specific job roles.