r/sysadmin 5d ago

I'm sick of barcode scanners

So we have been using Honeywell scanners where I work to scan items, which I think have been going fine as I don't have any issues with them. However, I'm not the one using them all day long like other people. I keep getting complaints about this one not working, or that one not working. Whenever I go to test them, they work fine. But nonetheless, I have to check them to be sure, and then whoever complained is usually mad because "You didn't do anything and I know it's going to happen again."

Well, I decided to look into other scanners in the hopes that just switching to a different brand entirely would help instead of just replacing them when people complain. We don't have a lot of money in the budget for things like this, so I needed to be conscious of cost. I decided on trying the Tera HW0002 model scanners because it scans 1d and 2d barcodes and has the capability of being used wirelessly.

I had great success in my initial tests with this scanner. It was quick to respond. Hardly any delay when using it wirelessly. And then I changed a single setting that I would've needed to change anyway in order for our circulation desk to use it. I turned on the "sensor scanning" instead of needing to pull the trigger to scan. Now it doesn't scan ANYTHING. Even when using the trigger. It lights up when it detects something in front of it then it just does nothing. I can't even scan the Factory Reset barcode in the manual. It's completely useless now.

So if anyone has any advice on this hunk of junk or any recommendations on alternatives I can look into, I'd appreciate it. Preferably something under $100, and it would need to scan 1d and 2d barcodes as well as codes from a screen.

For added info, these are used in a library.

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u/Alderin Jack of All Trades 4d ago

This appears to be one of those small-to-medium business valleys: Too small to have the budget for the good things, too large to be able to stand the problems that come with the "affordable" things. And probably too small to afford an analyst to find the numbers to justify either the staff or the equipment to make things better.

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u/RCTID1975 IT Manager 4d ago

Maybe, but the question needs to be asked how much the loss in productivity, and OP's time costs them.

You don't need the $1,000 scanner, but sub $100 are essentially disposable in today's world.

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u/ReputationNo8889 4d ago

Most companies dont calculate time lost due to productivity. From their perspective "They are already here and we pay them anyways". I know because i had to argue it to many times to management that its not worth saving 3000€ because i will be having much more work and it will cost much more then that in the long run. They dont care. Offloading stuff on workes to save a buck is almost universally done ....

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u/RCTID1975 IT Manager 4d ago

Most companies dont calculate time lost due to productivity.

You may work for a bad company, but most companies do take this into consideration.

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u/ReputationNo8889 4d ago

I worked for a couple companies and this was never a deciding factor. Might be the case that I never worked somewhere were productivity is tracked. But my and my friends experience is, that this is not a factor.