RE: 3M Self-Check 6210--hints, tips or tricks to making it more reliable?

["William Gray" <wgray at greenwichlibrary dot org>]

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the suggestions!  I have some replies below (point by point
seems easiest): 


>>1]Has 3M asked you to copy and send them the error log file? From my
experience that should help them pinpoint the reason it is freezing. 

 We did try that at one point, early on. I sent them the log file, and
nothing ever came of it. When I pursued the question, it was suggested I
try shutting the SelfChecks off at night then on in the morning.  Made
no difference.

>>2] Proper shutdown: From the keypad most are set up to use **316# or
else **31#. Don't let staff use the power button on the back.  As with
any PC, it can cause file errors.

We don't use the power button in back. Whenever possible, we close out
of the program (usually when it's frozen) and restart Windows from the
desktop. Only rarely have I ever had to do a hard reboot.

>>3] I periodically defragment the hard drive. Every little bit helps.

>>4] Paper jams: Most result when guests pull on the receipt before it
is cut by the printer. Part of clearing a paper jam is taking an approx.
6 inch length of receipt paper and sliding it through the outlet as if
you were flossing it to remove shards of paper.  I also order large
800ft paper rolls so staff doesn't have to refill it as often. Also,
clean the rollers with a little alcohol on a rag to remove any glazing
that can cause paper to dispense off-center. Alignment of the rack that
the printer slides in/out
on: It can get out of whack, there are two screws on the rear slide that
can be tightened to maintain alignment but your service tech should know
this. 

We found this also, as far as patrons tearing the receipt too early. We
had 3M send us the plastic receipt covers so that patrons couldn't reach
the receipts right away. It's helped a little, but I think it has more
to do with the printer alignment you mentioned; our service tech
adjusted this for us, but it still gets jammed.  I'll try cleaning the
rollers again, though one machine seems to have this happen about 20
times more often than the other (guess which one).

>>5] Problems with item barcodes:  I keep a rag and bottle of cleaner
nearby and find most failures of this nature are resolved by cleaning
the barcode.
I am unsure if there is a sensitivity adjustment on the scanner - ask
your tech. 

I've seen this before too, but we usually get a "remove card" message
display on the screen when there's a problem reading the barcode. It
hasn't happened to us in a while.

>>6] General cleaning: I have staff gently clean the scanner daily with
a soft damp rag and cleaner. The machine in the children's room
especially because kids... I also have them clean the default barcode on
the cradle and have a toothbrush so they can clean the sensors recessed
into the cradle. Lint on a sensor will give the "books left on cradle by
previous patron" error msg.In our high-use situation this is done every
morning before opening.

Our major problem is the program freezing and becoming unresponsive to
the keypad. Good cleaning tips though--I'll definitely hold onto them.

7] Staff training:  I keep the aforementioned cleaning supplies and
spare paper rolls in a plastic toolkit nearby.  I trained circ staff on
the procedures mentioned, especially changing paper and cleaning. 

>>8] Encourage use of machines:  We grouped ours together, added a staff
assistance terminal nearby that always has Milcirc up [but I use a
flipover sign indicating staff use that covers the screen  when it's not
being used.] I also have one checkout assistant with a key to access the
printer around his/er neck on the guest side of the counter and the
staff assistance station also faces outward. [no, privacy is not an
issue] I enabled the display feature that indicates, checkouts, holds,
number of overdue item and fees or fines. People love this
-significantly fewer hostile and indignant people who returned their
items on time and want to argue the matter. By the time they get to the
Accounts desk they have cooled off.

Our SelfCheck machines are right in our checkout area, so there are
usually staff there with an open Millennium session anyway--which, so
far, is the one saving grace for when there's a problem.

>>9] Staff attitude:  Nobody lost their job so staff doesn't feel
threatened by the machines. If they want it to work it will work, if
they don't, they will sit back with their arms crossed and say "told ya
so".  Positive, can do, it does work attitude on part of supervisors is
required.

I hear you on that.  I've trained staff a number of times, but there
seems to be either a "generational gap" or a "competency gap" (not that
anyone's incompetent, just that they don't get to use the skills often
enough to reinforce them) that limits the number of staff who actualy
try to fix the machines to about 3 or 4, with about 1 of those (me)
being "the one" whenever I'm around.

>>10] 3M Service:  I have had good results but for the cost of the
annual maintenance contract it should be. 

In my mind, we should've been given a whole new replacement machine a
long time ago. They have no problem swapping computers out, but they
don't seem to want to consider that there may be other hardware in the
machine having an impact (bad wiring, power supply, whatever).

Thanks for the tips, Eric,--I much appreciate it.

--Will

-----Original Message-----
From: Krimm, Debi [mailto:DKrimm at aclibrary dot org]
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2005 9:55 AM
To: IUG INNOPAC List
Subject: RE: 3M Self-Check 6210--hints, tips or tricks to making it more
reliable?


Will,
   We've not had our 6210 machines as long as you have but early on we
had some problems very similar to yours.  What our tech finally
discovered was that the printer had to have a ground wire added.  Once
this was in place our problems are within normal limits.  Hope this
helps. 

-----Original Message-----
From: innopac-bounces at innopacusers dot org
[mailto:innopac-bounces at innopacusers dot org] On Behalf Of William Gray
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2005 8:30 AM
To: IUG INNOPAC List
Subject: 3M Self-Check 6210--hints,tips or tricks to making it more
reliable?

 
This will come off as a bit of a rant, and I apologize in advance (not
to 3M though)... If you feel you must skip the rant portion, I've
delineated the non-rant portion toward the bottom. The following are my
experiences and opinions in terms of operating and maintaining the
machines, and should in no way be considered the official stance of my
library (just the guy who has to fix them all the time).

And just in case you're wondering, I'm no newbie when it comes to
computers--I've been using them since I was in fifth grade, and I am an
A+ Certified Professional (PC technician). If there was an obvious
solution to the following problems, I like to think I would have seen
it.

***Rant on***
For the few years we've had our 3M 6210 SelfCheck machines, they have
been very undependable. I'm talking about frequent program freezes,
paper jams, items failing to check out (when there's nothing wrong with
them), etc.

Just now I was in the middle of giving a patron a tutorial on using the
machines; I had to skip our first machine because the start screen was
frozen and would not respond to keypresses (I later restarted the
program). With the second machine, we managed to check out her first 3
books okay, then the machine indicated a problem with the fourth book
(nothing very descriptive, mind you, just "bring it to the desk"). So, I
go to check the item out to the patron using a Millennium session, and
there's nothing wrong with the book at all.  This happens a *lot*.

Never mind that one machine has had 3 (perhaps 4--I've lost count)
computers swapped through it because each one failed for whatever
reason, as well as three printers (also, could be 4...) because of
printer hardware failures. If that machine was a car, it would be a
lemon, and after all our complaints about it a reputable dealer would
have replaced the whole machine (yes, we have a current service
agreement).  One machine came with Windows 95; the other we got later
and it came with Win2K. The Win2K version crashed about 5 times as often
as the Win95, so we had that machine downgraded to Win95, which reduced
the number of crashes significantly.

We've followed 3M recommendations, i.e. shut the machines down at night
and start them again in the morning--I did this for a number of weeks,
and it resolved nothing.

To top it all off, at the IUG last year, when I (as well as some of you)
were attending a session on getting the most from our 3M SelfChecks, one
of you indicated some of the problems you'd had with your machine(s).
Then another spoke up, and another, and I did as well. At which point,
the 3M rep in the room stood up and asked for people's names and contact
info so he could follow up with all of us and resolve our problems. Were
any of you ever contacted? Because I sure as heck wasn't.

The 3M-designated service people who come out to fix the problems I
can't (or am not allowed to) fix, are great. I have no quarrel with them
or their abilities. But 3M corporate seems to care less now that they
have our money. After every time I have to place a service call, I end
up getting one of those "how are we doing" surveys and I give high marks
for the service people and low ones for the equipment. I've been
contacted once by a 3M sales rep, who wasn't able to do anything for us.
We're talking 3-4 years here.
***Rant off***

My question now, is, have any of you (who have had the same types of
problems with their machines) come up with any fixes or workarounds to
get them to work more dependably? If so, I'd love to hear from you (you
may want to post to the list so we can all benefit). As it stands, we've
been trying to encourage more use of the machines, but I can see that
all it's going to do is cause more problems for our patrons (and us) if
they have to come to desk staff every time they go to use one of the
machines because the machines failed in one way or another.

Thanks in advance.

--Will

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