Flexible, Pragmatic, Experience-Inspired Logistics Assist
Armed forces and security agencies are not exempt from regulations and protocols designed to ease potential problems caused by shipping and handling hazardous materials. As anybody who has dealt with the requirements for shipping lithium-based batteries by air knows, some of those regulations can be draconian. It is therefore an entirely laudable thing when a battery manufacturer takes steps towards facilitating and easing the situation.
Lincad, a company that consistently punches above its weight in the military batteries domain, has developed an innovative battery logistics and operational compliance system (BLOCS), that allows label printing of battery state of charge. It connects directly to compatible in-service Lincad battery conditioners and chargers, enabling batteries for military equipment to be transported safely around the world with ease, in line with IATA regulations.
The BLOCS label printer automatically prints a status label for each battery being charged or discharged, showing accurate state of charge data and other battery information. The system allows up to 16 conditioning devices to be connected at the same time for rapid processing and a streamlined logistics process. Using Lincad’s six-channel ARMADA conditioner, up to 192 batteries can be processed simultaneously.
IATA regulations require that lithium-ion batteries have a state of charge of 30% or less when transported by air. The BLOCS label printer system ensures that batteries being transported for mission-critical defence purposes comply with these stringent regulations. The system is available as a factory add-on option and works as an automated, stand-alone process that does not require any external inputs once set up. It further allows for different conditioner and charger types to be used simultaneously. This provides maximum flexibility to suit the logistical demands of defence sector end users. The printed status labels provide accuracy and full traceability back to each conditioned battery.
“Our versatile and highly efficient label printing system has been specifically designed to meet battery charging and management demands of our own lithium-ion LIPS battery suite, as well as batteries of other electro chemistries. This means that our customers can not only rely on Lincad for rapid, accurate, up-to-date state of charge status labelling for Lincad products, but also for batteries from other original equipment manufacturers. Such versatility is especially critical for defence equipment that needs transporting to front lines and other demanding military environments,” observed Peter Copplestone, Lincad’s Operations Director.
As well as the defence and military sectors, Lincad’s range of battery conditioners and chargers in conjunction with the BLOCS label printer can also be used for the safe transport of industrial and commercial lithium-ion batteries.
