workers’ eyes and hands for picking tasks.
Trinks was also persuaded the technology
would help cut down on picking and labeling errors.
The system Trinks eventually chose is the
topVOX voice solution. Today, about 300
workers use the system daily to pick orders
as well as conduct inventory and cycle
counts. The company has installed the same
systems in all 16 of its DCs, Brettin says. The
decision to stick with a single system has
brought “nothing but advantages” from an
IT perspective, he adds.
FAST-FLOWING ORDERS
Operations at the 75,350-square-foot
Niederbrechen warehouse are fairly typical
of those throughout the Trinks network.
Some 1,300 SKUs of beverages are picked as
case quantities at Niederbrechen each day
during two or three shifts, depending on the
season and demand. Inventory at the site
turns swiftly, with the entire building turning every four days and top movers turning
in just half a day, so the facility needs a
quick, responsive system.
Typically, 12 workers on each shift are
equipped with topVOX’s VOXter hardware,
Picking is directed by the topSpeech-Lydia voice picking
software, which interfaces in real time with the company’s
warehouse management system (WMS). Workers can select
a male or female voice and are able to easily adjust the speed
of the spoken directions.
“Lydia” directs a worker to the location of each pick and
instructs the picker to select the appropriate number of
cases from a bottom rack level. Upon arrival at the location,
the worker must read off a check digit displayed at each
rack position to verify he’s in the correct spot. He selects the
required number of cases, placing them onto a pallet jack
capable of holding two pallets.
Once a pallet is full or the order is complete, the worker
uses the voice system to direct the WMS to print a pallet
label, which he collects from a printer next to the shipping
area. This label, which he attaches to the pallet, contains
basic shipping information, including how many cases
should be on the pallet. The worker counts the cases and
verifies that the number is correct. The pallet is then staged
until it’s ready for loading onto a truck.
NO TRAINING REQUIRED
One particular advantage of the topVOX solution for the
Niederbrechen site is the “speaker independent” nature of the
Lydia software. Speaker independent means there’s no need
to create a template for each user, as is the case with some
voice systems. That’s important at this facility, which relies on
a temp agency to staff its picking operations. Though many
workers return day after day, the agency can always assign
new workers who are not familiar with warehouse work.
“There is absolutely no training required to use the voice
system,” says Brettin. “Once we show someone where the locations are, we can have them up and running within minutes.”
The voice commands are simple, and the system has
proved to be exceptionally good at recognizing the workers’
responses, according to Brettin. That is extremely important,
as all of the current workers provided to Trinks are Latvian.
“The pickers do not even speak German,” Brettin says.
“They learn the few commands they need in German and
learn to respond in German. And even with their heavy
accents, the system is able to understand them.” Should a
worker require any extra assistance, the Lydia software
includes a feature called Co-Pilot that allows managers to log
in on a computer to listen to a worker receive and respond to
voice commands so they can provide additional coaching.
The system has proved so reliable that picking accuracy
currently stands at 99.99 percent, according to Brettin. That
represents a 20-percent reduction in errors since the facility
moved from paper to voice.
The system also provides real-time data on picking, so that
managers and the workers themselves can track their daily
progress. That is significant, because workers are paid a
bonus for any cases they pick above a threshold of 213 cases
per hour. Currently, workers average around 300 cases per
hour on the system. About 30,000 total cases are picked each
day at Niederbrechen using voice, selected from 1,400 picking locations.
And the results? By all accounts, the new system is achieving exactly what the distributor had hoped. Brettin reports
that productivity is up 18 percent over the paper-based system. “Everything with the voice system works impeccably,” he
says. “We like the VOXter hardware, and we see the results.
The voice system has been a huge improvement for us.” ;
