
Meridien Hardwoods of Pennsylvania uses TallyExpress, the app that tallies bundles with a smartphone. Brandon Ferman, General Manager for Meridien, explains why they made the change and the effect on Meridien’s business.
What kind of solution were you looking for?
Brandon: We wanted a photo tally system that worked on a smartphone, but I didn’t think we’d find anything. I was really surprised when we found TallyExpress.
What’s so important about smartphones?
Brandon: It gives us flexibility. We can tally the pack of lumber anywhere on the yard. Plus, most people already know how to use a smartphone. That makes this a pretty simple system to learn.
Have your counts changed?
Brandon: No, our footage is still what we expect month to month, but we were always confident in our accuracy. The bigger value is being able to back up our tallies with a picture. It just eliminates uncertainty. Our customers really like being able to see them.
Any surprise benefits?
Brandon: Yes. It’s freed up lumber tallier, Tim. Before, he might be tallying all day. Now, it takes a few seconds per pack. He’s spending quite a bit more time driving a lift truck and helping load or unload kilns. It’s certainly helped us use his time more efficiently.
Does your team like the app?
Brandon: [laughs] Not at first. At first, Tim was like, Brandon, this won’t work. I have to spend ten minutes on every pack and edit every bundle. But part of TallyExpress is it learns. It actually figures out what you want it to do. The more we used it, the more accurate it became. Now, we hardly ever need to edit any boards. And my yard managers love using it. They’d recommend it to anyone.
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About Meridien Hardwoods:
Meridien Hardwoods of Pennsylvania is a concentration yard located in northwestern PA handling approximately 15,000,000 BF of hardwoods yearly. It currently has a kiln capacity of 250,000-ft., Walnut steaming capacity of 60,000-ft., and 1,000,000-ft. of dry storage. Meridien also offers surfacing and straight line ripping facilities.
Meridien Hardwoods strives to be a worldwide supplier of Northern and Appalachian US Hardwoods while currently serving customers in North America, Europe and Asia.
Find out more about how TallyExpress can work for you at tallyexpress.com
How to start TallyExpress – The revolutionary Lumber Tally app
Fordaq presents its new, revolutionary technology for lumber measurement: TallyExpress. The user only has to take a photo with a smartphone – and TallyExpress does the rest! The app counts the boards, calculates their dimension and the volume of the entire bundle. In addition, the app creates a measurement report including the recorded image. This report can then be further processed in all standard warehouse and ERP systems.
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Introduction to TallyExpress
1. Order the reference frame
In order for TallyExpress to work accurately, the system must have the frame of reference attached to the front of the lumber bundle prior to measurement. It is simply hung in the bundle between the boards using the retaining screw on the top corner. The reference frame is available in two sizes:
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50 cm reference frame: 178 € | 20 cm reference frame: 82 € |
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50 cm & 20 cm Reference frame: 240 € | |
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2. Download the TallyExpress app and try it for FREE
The TallyExpress app can also be downloaded for 30 days free of charge. During this time, each user can take up to 30 measurements.
Technical requirements: A current Android smartphone or tablet, at least Android 5; the camera must have at least 8 megapixels and the RAM (RAM) at least 3.5 gigabytes. Fordaq recommends the following devices: Samsung Galaxy S8 / S8 Plus / S9 / S9 Plus / Note9, Huawei P20, Huawei Mate 10/10 Pro. If you want to take the measurement offline, using a tablet computer is more convenient because of the larger screen size. In this case, Fordaq recommends the Samsung Note 8.
Download TallyExpress from Google Play
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3. Attach the reference frame correctly
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– The reference frame has a color mark on each corner. – The reference frame must be completely inside the face of the bundle – The reference frame must hang in the shape of a rhombus. |
4. How to take a good photo?
For proper measurement, the device must be directed vertically onto the bundle with the reference frame, so that the front of the bundle is completely visible on the display. The subframe in the display is moved so that it frames the bundle. The app guides the user through the entire process.
Any unrecognized elements can be manually corrected after taking pictures. The more the app is used, the more accurate it becomes, as TallyExpress is equipped with artificial intelligence. For example, cracks in the boards are increasingly automatically recognized and corrected in the image.
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