Vending Machines

Topic
The idea of a vending machine is to vend or sell goods to the consumer without intervention of a cashier. Vending machines are easily accessible and a part of today fast pace environment. Vending machines are able to provide products to consumers in an easy accessible way without having to wait in a line up or go through a cashier. Products dispersed by vending machines include a variety of different beverages, snacks, hygiene products and other essentials which consumers prefer easy access to. The inventory sold in vending machines varies depending on country and region.

Group Members

 * Jayleen Wisnoski


 * Muhammed Hassanali


 * Jamie Luu

Initial Statement
As a group, we researched vending machines. Through our collected information, we will produce a complete overview of vending machines by presenting the history, ownership, pros, cons, social and economical impact, and how they malfunction.

General History:

 * The first recorded vending machine was invented by a Greek mathematician, Heron of Alexandria, in 251 B.C. This vending machine was located throughout many Egyptian temples that could dispense Holy water with the insertion of bronze coins. A deposited coin would fall onto an inclined pan attached to a lever. The lever would then open; allowing water to flow out. As the coin began slipping off the pan, the weight would shift and once the coin fell off, a counter-weight would snap the lever back up. With the lever back in place, the water valve was shut off.


 * Many vendors were made after. Including pencil vendors created by the Chinese in A.D.1076 and coin-controlled tobacco box vendors within many English taverns in the 1700s.


 * In 1886, patents could be granted through the United States government for coin-activated vendors. It was then in 1888 that the first vending machines were introduced to the United States by Thomas Adams Gum Company.  These dispensed Tutti-Frutti gum with the insertion of a single penny and were installed on subway platforms in New York City.


 * In 1926, the invention of cigarette vendors by William Rowe would initiate a movement toward higher priced goods. These included soft drink and candy machines that have advanced during the late 1920s and 1930s.  During the 1930s, vending machines would further advance with the use of slug rejecters which is when the inserted coin is moved within the machine through a series of gripper grasps.


 * Further advancements include the in 1960 with the acceptance of dollar bills in vending machines, the introduction of electronic components in vending machines by Wurlitzer & RMi in the 1970s, glass fronts for vending machines by Polyvend in 1972, the creation of credit/debit card vending machines in 1985 and most recently in 1987 with vending data being captured through computers within vending machines.


 * Basically anything can be vended including cigarettes, cameras, DVDs, snacks, cassettes, baseball cards, clothing and even more. Vending machines offer convenience, options and low prices and have been here for hundreds of years.

Ownership
There are many varieties of vending machines. Common ones are full line vending machines located in a majority of schools including from Elementary to Universities. In full line vending, products include a wide range of chips, candies, cookies, beverages like pop, milk and coffee, and even sometimes ice cream. However, depending on the type of product you are purchasing, costs vary. For beverages such as Powerade, Gatorade, Pepsi and Coca-Cola vending machines, prices range from $1195-1495. As for snack machines which include an assortment of chips, cookies and candies, prices range from $1495-1795. Prices all depend on the type of product you are purchasing where usually 10% of profits usually go back to the provider.

Cost/Profit:

 * Any person, school, or company who owns a vending machine will receive a profit from it. This is a great way to make a little extra money.
 * Healthy options are typically less expensive than unhealthy options. By doing this, it encourages customers to lean towards healthy options but still makes a profit for the owner.

Health:

 * With healthy options, vending machine can encourage and support healthy eating. They also enforce modern concern of obesity.
 * Schools that have healthy options in their vending machines usually receive a good reputation.
 * Milk was introduced to vending machines recently. It offers a healthy option instead of pop, and high sugar juices.

Convenience:

 * Very simple to use: after entering money and pressing a few buttons, the product dispenses.
 * Vending Machines are usually placed in high traffic areas which gives the owner more profit but also makes it more convenient for customers to use the machine.
 * Offers a wide variety of food and beverages that may not be available at cafeterias.
 * With a vending machine, there is always an opportunity to purchase food or beverages.

Environmentally Conscious:

 * Vending machines are now required to have a low-power mode for when the machine is inactive for an extended amount of time. This cuts down on the cost to power the machine.

Manipulation:

 * Vending machines can easily be manipulated. While doing research I found a website, through one search on Google, which gave videos of how to manipulate machines to get extra products while only paying for one. This causes the owner to lose money.
 * They are prone to vandalism.

Lack of Convenience:

 * Some schools require that vending machines are shut off during lunch time so students must buy food and beverages from the cafeteria. This makes getting a specific snack very inconvenient.
 * Some healthy options can't be kept in the vending machine. An example of this would be apples. It would be too difficult to have an apple, sliced or not, in a vending machine due to how quickly apples can go bad.

Unhealthy Options:

 * Vending machines used to have options with little to no nutritional value. Such options would be potato chips, chocolate bars, pop, etc.
 * With approximately one third of students being at risk of being overweight or already overweight and approximately two thirds of adults being overweight or obese, it doesn't make sense to have unhealthy food and beverage options very accessible.

Environmental Cost:

 * They require huge amounts of energy. With an estimated 200 000 vending machines in Canada, they require about 2 million kWh of electricity every day

Maintenance:

 * It cost a lot of money to maintain a vending machine because there is a cost for parts and a fee for the labour.

Malfunction
A malfunction is most common when the vending machine cannot recognize the form of payment. The types of payment and the errors that can occur are explained below. The vending machine can also malfunction due to internal malfunctions. The internal malfunctions are also explained below.


 * Coins or Tokens:


 * Vending machines read coins and tokens based on the physical properties of each individual piece of currency. Such properties include; diameter, thickness, ridges of the edge, and weight. The chemical composition of the coin is also considered in some machines. A token machine works similarly however usually a token as a signature grove or weight that the vending machine recognizes as unique. It can then be implied that a malfunction in reading a coin can be due to a calibration error in the machine or a defection in the coin.


 * Paper Money:
 * Many countries currencies, especially those of developed nations, use, in addition to numerous visible security features, magnetic fielding, fluorescent recognition to secure and represent their currency distinctively. Although rarely is it the case that the bill reader is malfunctioning however it does occur. Most of the time it is the bill that is problematic for example, if the bill is; outdated, winkled, oily, or has been exposed to strong magnetic fields the reader may not be able to recognize the interested bill therefore causing a inability for the consumer to purchase a good.


 * Credit Cards:
 * Vending Machines that vend high priced products and more advanced machines may offer the option of purchasing a product via credit card. The machine supports a mag-stripe reader and uses this device to measure the orientation of the tens of thousands of magnets which make up a stripe on the back on a card. If the stripe of the card is exposed to a strong magnetic field the strips unique orientation will be disordered and the machine will no longer be able to validate the purchase.


 * Internal Malfunctions:
 * There are many internal reasons for machines to malfunction; many are maintenance and re-stocking errors can be fixed economically and in a time efficient manner. For example a product may be placed in the slot not allowing the machine to dispense the product properly. Belts springs.

Student Survey
1. How often do you use a vending machine in a week?


 * a)Once


 * b)2-4


 * c)+5


 * d)Never

2. Which machine would you consider the most frequently use?


 * a)Beverage (Pop, water, Sports and energy drinks, etc. )


 * b)Dairy (milk, cheese, ice cream, etc. )


 * c)Snacks (chips, chocolate, etc. )


 * d)Hygiene (Condoms, tampons, etc. )

3. Do you think vending machine prices are fair given the product they provide and their convenience?


 * a)More than fair


 * b)Fair


 * c)Could be better


 * d)Over priced

4. The oldest recorded vending machine is how many years old?


 * a)72


 * b)121


 * c)309


 * d)2224

5. If there was one item you would like to see in a vending machine what would it be?

Argument
Vending machines are a benefit to society. We recognize that vending machines do have negative effects on society however the benefits and overall convenience outweigh the negatives.

Conclusion
Vending machines have come a long way since the first holy water dispensing machine. They now offer a variety of products as well as many different types of payment options. Vending machines are accessible, affordable and convenient to use. With the many advantages vending machines bring, it definitely compensates for any disadvantages. They have been here for a long time, and will certainly advance for many years to come.

Jayleen Wisnoski:
http://www.healthysd.gov/Documents/Vending.pdf

http://www.phi.org/news_LEAN/marketing_report.pdf

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/regulations/vending-machines_oct2005.cfm?attr=8

http://chd.region.waterloo.on.ca/web/health.nsf/4f4813c75e78d71385256e5a0057f5e1/3831BD889D28097A85256F97006A15DF/$file/Vending%20Machines.pdf?openelement

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_of_Alexandria

Muhammed Hassanali:
http://ask.yahoo.com/20030414.html

http://www.calmis.ca.gov/file/occguide/VENDING.HTM

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4572360_vending-machines-read-money.html

http://www.answerbag.com/articles/How-Do-Vending-Machines-Read-Money/9e8cf138-46f0-5018-ec00-a7d4009c0163

Jamie Luu:
http://inventors.about.com/od/uvstartinventions/a/vending.htm

http://ezinearticles.com/?Brief-History-of-Vending-Machines&id=119797

clean up my mac

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-7/Vending-Machine.html

http://www.vending.org/industry/history.php

http://www.vendingconnection.com/snackvending.html