DC Velocity - October 2018

FALL PROTECTION FOR YOUR ENTIRE FACILITY

Your trusted fall protection solutions provider...
innovating facility safety for over 30 years, inside and out.

Mezzanine Safeti-Gates, Inc.

Website: www.MezzGate.com E-Mail: Sales@MezzGate.com

174 WESTERN AVENUE ■ TEL (978) 768-3000

ESSEX, MA 01929-1110 ■ FAX (978) 768-1101

HANDHELDS AND TABLETS

The question of operating systems aside, the survey looked at other factors that influence users’ choice of mobile equipment. For instance, the questionnaire asked respondents what capabilities they consider most important in a handheld device. Far and away the top response was “data capture/scanning accuracy.” The next most popular responses were data capture/scanning speed and visual information display.

(See Exhibit 3.)

A question that often comes up with respect to handhelds in the warehouse concerns the grade of equipment used. Today’s DCs have choices: They can buy purpose-built ruggedized industrial devices or opt for consumer-grade smartphones with built-in scanners— which are generally lower-cost, but lower-scan-performance, units. Our survey indicated that despite the price advantage, consumer devices were not a particularly popular choice. The results showed that only 3 percent of respondents make widespread use of consumer-grade handhelds, while 35 percent do it only selectively and 62 percent don’t use them at all.

Digging into the subject a little further, the survey included a similar question about the devices provided to temp workers brought in during peak periods. Although logic might dictate that DCs would opt for lower-cost (and famil-iar-to-users) consumer-grade devices in this situation, that wasn’t the case. Among the DCs that bought or leased mobile devices for temp workers’ use, respondents showed a clear preference for ruggedized industrial devices. (See Exhibit 4.)

Of course, when it comes to mobile devices, handhelds aren’t the only units found in today’s DCs. Some facilities also make use of tablets. Our research indicated that these devices have yet to take hold throughout the DC, however.

Respondents reported that the most
widespread tablet use was found among
workers driving vehicles like forklifts,
who used vehicle-mounted devices ( 35
percent). Next on the list were ware-
house supervisors ( 32 percent), employ-
ees at pack stations ( 21 percent),
and order pickers ( 18 percent).

A MATTER OF TIME

With the mobile computing mar-
ket at a crossroads, the results
of our industry study make one
thing quite clear: Logistics man-
agers are fully aware of the poten-
tial held by the next generation
of handheld computers. Although
they may not be ready to give up
their legacy devices just yet, it’s
likely only a matter of time. The
allure of user-friendly interfac-
es, more accurate scanning, and
faster processing will eventually
win out, ushering in a new era
of mobile computing in the
workplace.