Mr. Säkkinen, Mr. Mokkila,
when you introduce something fundamentally new, it is often to solve a grievance or at least a problem.
Was that also the case with you in the run-up? What was the initial situation and when was that?

We have the sets for about 100 productions and 27,000 costumes in stock. Plus a large amount of small parts. The previous storage system was not able to manage this quantity of material in the desired quality. What is available and where it is located should be mapped as accurately as possible. In addition, the operation of the storage system should be simplified. To achieve this, we introduced a Trail Asset Management System, which also functions as a logistics system.

Trail is a system developed in Finland, originally for theatres. It is now used by many other organisations. We introduced it in a pilot project and have been developing it further together with Trail Systems since 2011.

We already know that our modular aluminium components are part of your barcode system. What other components are integrated into the barcode system?

We have integrated pretty much all the materials we use in the theatre into the barcode system. For example, all the sets, costumes and props, even the ballet shoes, and also the furniture of the opera house, the machines, etc. are integrated.

Can you briefly describe the systematics of your barcode system? I mean, how exactly can you determine the locations of the components? Who has access to the location data and where is it stored?

For sets, each working drawing of the set is provided with a barcode sticker, which is stuck on the set after it is completed. Completed sets are scanned onto a warehouse trolley by a mobile device, then the trolley is scanned onto its ‘parking space’ or onto a truck travelling to the warehouse. At the warehouse, the wagon is read in at its storage location.

The data can be accessed by means of all technicians via mobile phone. The transport orders run via the Trail programme. The transport order specifies a time window in which the goods must be at the opera house.  This allows for complete, timely and efficient loading. Situations in which only airfreight would help are thus avoided.

What hardware and software did you have to purchase?

We use the software “Trail Asset Management”.

If you want to know more about it, you can find more information under the following link:  https://trail.fi/

We have had good experiences with the software and have continuously developed and optimised the software together with the provider, so that our experiences have been incorporated into the product.

On the hardware side, we use standard PCs, Macs, mobile phones or handheld devices as well as various barcode printers.

How long did it take from the first thoughts to the implementation and what difficulties did you encounter?

It took some time from the first thoughts to the implementation. In addition, we made the first attempt with a software for the retail trade. However, this proved to be too complex and thus too cumbersome.  As a result, we switched to the Trail software, which we work with today. The whole process took a few years.

Where there any reservations among the staff when the new system was introduced?

Everything that is newly introduced takes time. The staff have to accept the new system and learn to appreciate it.  But now everything works smoothly. The staff see the advantages of the system and enjoy working with it.

Have the hopes you placed in the barcode system at the beginning been confirmed?

On the whole, everything works very well and we have achieved our goals in this area. The management of materials is much faster than before and the overview is much better than it would ever have been possible with traditional systems. Of course, there is always room for improvement and we are constantly working on that.