with smaller, more frequent picks because of e-com-
merce and direct-to-consumer orders,” says Mark
Wheeler, director of supply chain solutions at Zebra
Technologies. “With this changing order profile, the
case for hands-free computing remains solid.”
Ironically, logistics managers tend to look at
wearable computing devices only after they’ve
tweaked everything else in the DC, such as the lay-
out or the fulfillment process, Wheeler says. When
they finally look at ergonomics, they quickly discov-
er that arm-mounted or voice-directed devices that
free up workers’ hands can go a long way toward
helping them pick faster.
The use of wearable computers can also pay off in
preventing mispicks and mistakes—a crucial attribute in an e-commerce environment, where online
retailers are rushing to deliver individual items to
buyers’ homes overnight.
“The value of wearable tech is as much about
accuracy as productivity. In e-commerce, it has to
be 100 percent right; there’s a premium put on order
accuracy,” Wheeler says. “So you have to be sure
that technology is not getting in the way of (
accuracy) because a user is distracted by handling the device.”
JUST ONE PART OF THE PICTURE
That’s not to say that managers can automatically boost
productivity simply by dropping wearables into a DC
operation. As with any technology, wearable tech has to
be judiciously incorporated into the process, experts warn.
“There are process changes the customer has to accept
to make the improvements come to life,” says Jim Gaskell,
director of global technology business development at
Crown Equipment Corp. “Everybody on the consumer
side buys wearables because they’re cool. But it takes a little
more than that to use them effectively in the warehouse.”
For example, a warehouse manager may distribute voice
headsets to workers on the floor, but the system won’t boost
a team’s picking speed if the WMS is running on a slow or
buggy computer.
“I’ve seen people hit the button after making a pick and
then stand around waiting for the next command. You have
to make sure there’s no latency in how the WMS spits out
the next order. Otherwise, there goes your improvement,”
Gaskell says.
Even if everything is working properly, DCs may find they
have to make tweaks to their operations to get the most from
their investment in wearables. For example, in order to capitalize on the speed made possible by wearable devices, some
facilities may have to re-slot fast-moving goods with an eye
toward cutting down on order pickers’ travel distances.
Similarly, facilities that handle case picking may find they
have to re-slot inventory items to facilitate the building of
optimal pallet loads. Just as baggers at a grocery store place
the heaviest items on the bottom so a water jug doesn’t
crush a loaf of bread, warehouse pickers have to stack cases
on pallets so that the lightest goods are on top. To get the
biggest return on its investment in high-speed wearable
computing devices, a DC may have to rearrange its goods in
a pattern that allows workers to follow this principle.
In addition to that, DCs may find that once they begin
using wearables for order picking, they have to update
the time standards in their labor management systems.
Wearable devices usually enable users to get tasks done
faster, but unless the LMS is updated to reflect higher performance targets, employees may simply use the technology
to reach their quota faster and then slack off.
And finally, though it may sound obvious, implementing wearable computers works best when customers think
about why they’re buying the tools before choosing a new
“toy.” Finger-trigger controls for semi-autonomous lift
trucks are neat gadgets, but sometimes a simple headset is a
better fit for the job.
NEW AND IMPROVED
Just as happens in the world of consumer electronics, users
of wearable computers in the workplace are never quite
satisfied. As soon as they become accustomed to using the
devices, they start looking for upgrades. As for what they
want, vendors say the requests include calls for lighter,
more comfortable designs as well as longer-lasting batteries.
However, many of these upgrades are harder to make in
devices used in the warehouse than for consumer electronics, Zebra’s Wheeler says. For instance, when wearables are
used constantly throughout the day and through successive
work shifts, their batteries run down much faster than a
basic smartphone’s would. The drag on the battery is even
greater when users operate the mobile device in a cooler or
freezer, or when they use a voice-directed function.
And the user demands don’t stop there. Vendors of wearable computers also report that they’re fielding requests for
enhanced wireless performance that can keep up with order
pickers who are constantly on the move, as well as keypads
designed to allow users to operate the devices without stopping to look at them.
And it almost goes without saying, users want all this in a
device that’s rugged enough to survive a tough double shift.
“If a computer is wearable on the hip or arm, it probably
won’t be dropped,” Wheeler says, “but on the warehouse
floor, it is certainly in harm’s way. It will get smacked
around quite a bit, so it should still be able to break away
for safety.”
