MEDICAL APPAREL MAKER HEALING HANDS
Scrubs is using collaborative robots—or cobots—to manage the ups and downs that come with increasing demand
for its products. According to Sid Lakhani, CEO of the East
Rutherford, N.J.-based company, steady growth as well
as seasonal surges no longer add up to headaches for the
apparel maker’s managers
and warehouse associates,
thanks to “Chuck,” a collaborative fulfillment robot
designed by Waltham,
Mass.-based 6 River
Systems.
Built from the same technology that powers autonomous vehicles, Chuck uses
machine learning and artificial intelligence to help
associates work faster and
more efficiently. The system
uses cloud-based technology to manage the flow of
orders combined with autonomous robotic carts that guide
workers through the warehouse or DC, minimizing walking time and helping workers stay on task. For a growing
business like Healing Hands, that means faster, more accurate picking—and the peace of mind that its fulfillment
process can evolve right alongside its business.
FROM HAND TRUCKS TO ROBOTIC CARTS
Healing Hands has its roots in New York City’s Garment
District. Founded 40 years ago as a sportswear company,
the firm began designing fashionable scrubs for nurs-
es about 10 years ago, and the business has since taken
off, according to company leaders. Explosive growth, as
Lakhani describes it, caused the company to move from
New York to the larger New Jersey facility, which could
house the equipment, employees, and inventory needed
to meet rising demand. But that wasn’t all; new technol-
ogy was a must as well. Lakhani said he had heard about
advances in robotic fulfillment solutions and immediately
began researching products that could help Healing Hands
better manage its larger space and growing business—and
ultimately get orders out the door more accurately and
efficiently.
Chuck solved the problem by automating Healing Hands’
manual picking process. At 60,000 square feet, the company’s new facility was more than double the size of its previous location, creating more
work for associates, who
had to cover greater distances and search through
a larger inventory of items
while pushing a hand truck
through the facility, filling
one order at a time. Today,
a fleet of Chucks— 12 in
all—guides workers along
the most efficient picking
path, providing enough
room on the cart to accommodate up to five orders at
a time.
The result? Walking time
through the warehouse has been reduced, and order vol-
ume and accuracy are up: Associates can now pick up to
300 pieces per hour, more than doubling the facility’s pro-
ductivity, according to company leaders.
A FLEXIBLE AND SCALABLE SOLUTION
Lakhani says flexibility and scalability are the greatest
advantages the Chucks have brought to the table. Six River
Systems’ rental program allows the company to add Chucks
when needed to handle peak volume, and it can also pur-
chase additional Chucks to meet longer-term demand.
And because Chucks are portable, they can move with
Healing Hands if it finds that an even larger location is
needed to accommodate growth down the road.
“Ultimately, what [this] means for us and our customers
is [that] the orders are getting picked accurately, they’re
getting out the same day, and our business is going to
continue to grow because of this solution,” Lakhani says.
“This is going to take us into the future, for the next 10
years.”
Medical apparel maker Healing Hands Scrubs meets growth demands with “Chuck,”
a collaborative robot.
Collaborating to improve
productivity
