Asda Integrated Distribution Centre
7/2003 - 11/2003
I have just finished my latest contract at Asda's Integrated Distribution Centre (IDC) in
Lutterworth,Leicestershire. This is Europe's most automated distribution centre covering 1 million
square foot of land, costing £80 million pounds to develop and taking 3 years to make.
The job initially involved setting up the IT infrastructure which was laid out by the
parent company of Asda; Wal-Mart in the United States before the company went live.
Wal-Mart sent the hardware specification and it was my job to ensure that it was completed
and signed off. This involved the configuration of all remote data terminals mounted on
the shop floor vechicles, the configuration of all thin-client computers called 'Visaras' that
ran the Linux operating system used to label packages located at the ends of chutes.
Configuration of all the hand-held scanners so they were able to read barcodes. The job
involved liaising with the manufactures of hand-held scanners and barcode label printers
to troubleshoot configuration problems that were encountered during the set-up procedure.
The job also involved a great deal of desktop support, installing computers around offices,
the shop floor, getting them configured on the network; patching correctly at the network
base. Hence there was a great deal of involvement of TCP/IP set-up and troubleshooting.
Once all the IT infrastructure was in place my job has rolled over from IT infrastructure
setup to IT support. If a fault arose with any of the computer equipment located
both in the offices or the shop floor it was my job to ensure that a suitable working
replacement was sought and the faulty component was either fixed or replaced promptly.
The job initially involved setting up the IT infrastructure which was laid out by the
parent company of Asda; Wal-Mart in the United States before the company went live.
Wal-Mart sent the hardware specification and it was my job to ensure that it was completed
and signed off. This involved the configuration of all remote data terminals mounted on
the shop floor vechicles, the configuration of all thin-client computers called 'Visaras' that
ran the Linux operating system used to label packages located at the ends of chutes.
Configuration of all the hand-held scanners so they were able to read barcodes. The job
involved liaising with the manufactures of hand-held scanners and barcode label printers
to troubleshoot configuration problems that were encountered during the set-up procedure.
The job also involved a great deal of desktop support, installing computers around offices,
the shop floor, getting them configured on the network; patching correctly at the network
base. Hence there was a great deal of involvement of TCP/IP set-up and troubleshooting.
Once all the IT infrastructure was in place my job has rolled over from IT infrastructure
setup to IT support. If a fault arose with any of the computer equipment located
both in the offices or the shop floor it was my job to ensure that a suitable working
replacement was sought and the faulty component was either fixed or replaced promptly.