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Wearables on Your Wrist
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The global logistics has probably never taken any cues from Silicon Valley. However, the next wave of innovation in SCM, Warehousing and Logistics will come from the Internet of Things. Indeed, connected networks of
factory hardware are already enhancing process transparency and enabling
previously untapped analytics in several plants.
The next big advance in logistics technology could be augmented reality: wearable digital systems that promise to reinvent the costly and cumbersome picking process in warehouses. Many warehouses today still use a paper-based approach to stock picking, which is slow and error-prone.
Augmented reality systems currently being offered by companies such as Knapp, SAP and Ubimax consist of a smart-glasses display, a camera, a wearable PC and a battery pack. By using the augmented-reality system, workers can see the digital picking list in their field of vision through smart glasses.
With the help of indoor navigation capabilities, they can discern the best route to specific items, significantly reducing travel time by more efficient path planning. So-called “vision picking” software offers real-time object recognition, barcode reading, and data integration with the warehouse management system to ensure the correct items are being picked.
DHL recently concluded a pilot project that tested smart glasses and augmented reality systems in a warehouse in the Netherlands; the result was a 25 percent efficiency increase during the picking process. Please view Video on Vision Picking in Logistics & Warehousing
Wearable technologies have the
opportunity to further improve operational efficiency. Also known as
wearables, the term refers to devices, often connected to the Internet or to
other devices that are worn on the body and can be used to enhance communication
to and from the users. Wearables are likely to be adopted quickly, given the
potential benefits in communication, productivity, and safety - and depending
on the type of technology that’s employed.
For example, communication can be
improved through smart glasses or voice command devices. Step-by-step
manufacturing instructions can be transmitted visually through smart glasses,
while two-way audio headsets can give users real-time notifications pertinent
to their activities on the floor. Productivity increases from wearable voice
command tools can increase factory warehouse efficiencies up to 30 percent,
according to vendors of the technology. Other wearables can monitor health and
stress levels of employees through fitness trackers, while GPS and beacon
technology can easily locate employees and prevent them from entering a
dangerous zone, such as machine cages and boilers.
Work Metaphors in the Post-PC Era Optimized by Device
If you stretch your imagination
and go back a few decades, mainframe computers were the dominant form of
enterprise computing and occupied the physical space of a room.
During the next stage of the
computer evolution, mainframes evolved into a client-server architecture, with
clients running as desktops and servers running as towers or domes. Following
Moore’s Law, computers have become smaller while providing the same or greater
computational and memory capability.
Today’s tablets and smartphones
can fit inside a purse or pocket while providing greater capability than the
desktop computers of yesteryear. This process is comparable to the evolution of
timekeeping devices, which advanced from community-wide clock towers to
pendulum clocks to pocket watches to wrist watches to a point where many carry
no watch at all, but rely on mobile technologies.
The success of each version was
judged by how well each device helped users tell time. Just as clocks shrank
from giant towers to smaller devices on our wrist or phone, computers have
evolved from colossal size to a wearable design. This unrelenting march towards
miniaturization provides us with a new platform aiming to provide us with the
most pleasing and intuitive design to make our interaction with the computer
seamless.
This is the advent of wearable computing.
We will take a look at some of
the wearable technologies that are likely to change the way you operate on the
factory floor in the future.
Wearables On Your Head…
While smart glasses largely
remain a niche in the consumer market, many of their capabilities can be put to
good use in industrial settings. Smart glasses decouple operators from
stationary terminals and paper documentation. For example, pick-by-vision
provides benefits in operator safety and ergonomics by allowing operators to be
hands free. It also increases efficiency by eliminating paper or stationary
terminals, and increases accuracy by visually confirming via scanning.
Another
smart glasses application is remote video conferencing, which is emerging in
field service industries because it increases asset uptime and reduces support
cost by remotely supporting operators using cameras, instead of having them
wait on a technician to arrive. Smart glasses can also decrease training lead
times, improve quality rates, and reduce cycle times in assembly operations.
Voice control headsets are one of
the oldest wearable technologies and have been in use in industrial settings
for more than a decade. Today, this technology is used almost exclusively in
warehousing applications such as piece picking; verbal commands direct
operators to a picking location, tell them what quantity to pick, and where to
place the picked items. Often, the device software links with existing ERP
software, allowing real-time inventory updates and progress.
So it’s not a big leap for these
warehouse applications to make their way into a manufacturing environment such
as an automotive plant. Where older devices rely on radio frequency (RF), newer
generations of voice control headsets can use WiFi so that, combined with
location detection, they can provide for much more flexible applications (for
example, materials handling in plants).
Because WiFi modules are now
inexpensive, allow for easy setup of applications, and integrate easily with
existing network security, they will most likely be the better option for
manufacturers looking to “get their feet wet.”
Wearables on Your Wrist
The recent explosion of fitness
bands and smart watches lets users better monitor their health and fitness
levels and communicate with the world around them. The fitness bands on the
market today use biometrics that detect and monitor a user’s heart rate,
determine how many calories the user burns, or how well the user sleeps.
Smart watches share many of the
capabilities of fitness bands, but with more communication functionality
because they’re typically integrated with a smartphone and can display text
messages, e-mails, and calls without needing to access the phone. They also
operate many of the same applications as smartphones.
Both of these devices present
interesting opportunities for the factory floor. For example, the pedometer
technology in the fitness bands can measure efficiency and ergonomics by
tracking the steps required to execute particular operations.
This data can then be used in simulation
software to further optimize the storage locations of tools and parts in order
to minimize movement, similar to how you once videotaped changeovers to reduce
setup times. The GPS functionality in these devices may prove increasingly
useful from a safety point of view as location-based applications can
automatically shut down robots or machines when employees are in danger,
including stopping a forklift that is rounding a blind corner.
In addition, employee biometrics
could be monitored to identify which operations or situations cause excessive
exertion on an operator that could result in future injury. QR codes on parts,
ingredients, or along process steps may provide traceability and help maintain
inventories. Or, instead of using clunky barcode scanners, employees could use
their smart watch to easily update locations and quantities of inventories.
Finally, transactional operations
that typically require computer terminals or barcode scanners may now be
performed in-line.
HOW WEARABLE COMPUTING TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING WAREHOUSING
Wearable computing technology is changing the way work gets done in fulfillment centers and distribution centers and transforming traditional approaches to warehouse automation. It’s a technology that has the potential to increase the efficiency of your workforce, enhance the productivity of your warehouse, and lower the costs associated with fulfillment and distribution center operations. And what’s more, it’s not one of those technologies that’s looming out there on the horizon somewhere just out of reach. It’s here now.
In a nutshell, what it does is to enable your workforce to interact with various forms of wireless wearable computer devices while performing a wide array of physical tasks requiring the use of both hands.
Instead of having to hold a tablet, laptop, radio, or smartphone, workers are now able to gain access to, and interact with, rich data, graphic visual displays, audio, video, and, depending on the device, even live remote expertise — all while going about their normal operational activities. Wearable computing technology enables workers to interact with body-borne devices through the use of vision, voice, gesture, and/or minimal touch, depending on the task and application.
The wearable computing headset fits beneath a hard hat, is outfitted with a micro screen, and runs on voice and gesture commands. That means workers are being empowered with greater accessibility to information and knowledge without the burdens of traditional computing technology. As a result, wearable technology is enabling workers to:
- Accomplish tasks with greater efficiency.
- Achieve higher levels of accuracy in executing tasks.
- Use greater flexibility and mobility in completing tasks.
- More easily acquire the information needed to accomplish a task correctly.
- Complete tasks in less time than traditional methods allowed.
Wearable technology is also enabling management to better:
- Visualize and monitor operations without having to be on the floor.
- Anticipate and tackle problems that might affect productivity.
- Communicate and collaborate with workers in the process of completing tasks.
- Adapt to continuing improvements in technology.
Wearable Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) Solutions
To understand how wearable technology is affecting the world of intralogistics, think about how warehouse operations have improved through the years with the addition of visual and voice directed technologies. Pick-to-light, put-to-light, voice, and RF have all improved worker efficiency and accuracy. Receiving, stocking, sorting, and shipping have benefited from visual and voice directed solutions as well. Now, ponder the kind of improvements that can be made when you replace or complement existing warehouse automation technology with wearable technology. There is a potential for efficiency and accuracy improvements in all of the following areas:
- Incoming receiving, item identification, and PO reconciliation
- Sorting, staging, palletizing, and transportation to storage
- Directed and non-directed inventory put away Inventory management, lot control, and serialization
- Forward replenishment and pick line slotting
- Order management and pick line optimization
- Order selection either by order or by batch
- Outbound consolidation, unit sortation — either automated or manual
- Packing, void fill, and collateral materials insertion
- Transportation management, shipping labeling and manifesting
- Sortation, shipping, staging, and carrier loading
- Inventory management including cycle counting
- Quality control
As a result, workforce could utilize wearable computing devices to aid in warehouse automation activities and expedite tasks associated with fulfillment and distribution center operations. In the process, we have to adapt the task directed functionality of Warehouse Execution Software to be delivered via apps to be used in conjunction with wearable technology for best results.
Security Concerns
As wearables gain a foothold in
manufacturing, security concerns will have to be addressed. The same security
concerns inherent in other digital applications apply, including phishing,
malware attacks, and network overloads. Wearables collect specific data for manufacturing
use, but they never turn off, collecting extraneousdata that could be harmful
if used incorrectly. Privacy is also a concern because wearables can be used to
collect data on personal habits, behaviors, and the health of employees.
Making this data secure, and
abiding by government standards, is of paramount concern if wearables are to
become widespread. Addressing these includes a variety of tactics, starting
with secure software and hardware development, and by creating proprietary
tools that cannot easily be infiltrated. The judicious deployment of devices
(including role-based access and specific user privileges) is another way to
improve security.
Opportunities – Are you Ready or Not ?
There is an opportunity for
manufacturers to achieve both tangible and intangible benefits from leveraging
wearable technology. However, there are several considerations before
implementing a wearable solution in your factory.
Wearable devices are still
relatively new. The consumer applications in this space have only emerged in the
past three to four years, and the limited products that are available still
have some shortcomings that need to be addressed to make them suitable for
industrial applications.
First of all, consumer products
are not designed or tested to endure the everyday wear and tear of industrial
operations, so wearables need to be adapted to ensure structural integrity.
Battery life is also a concern as some of these devices, particularly smart
glasses, do not currently have enough battery life to last a full manufacturing
shift.
Finally, many factories do not
have full Wi-Fi coverage on the factory floor, or may not have the bandwidth to
handle full-scale wearables deployment, so manufacturers should ensure their
network infrastructure is prepared to accommodate new devices.
Wearables suppliers also need to
address cost. Because most of today’s devices are designed to accommodate
consumer preferences and needs, their functionality is probably exaggerated for
the shop floor and developers should “de-scope” functionality to reduce the
price. But, with the proliferation of the Internet of Things, most
manufacturers will already have the systems, resources, and knowledge in place
to accommodate at least some wearable technologies.
Future is Wearable technology - Unlock the Benefits !
Wearable technology will become as popular and common as smart phones. The adoption of wearable
technology on the shop floor has the potential to tap new areas of improvement
across industries. Smart glasses, voice control headsets, fitness bands, and
smart watches are only the beginning of this next phase of industrial
modernization.
To realize the full benefits,
manufacturers need to look at wearables not just as a gimmick to modestly
improve upon activities that are already done with other tools and
technologies. Instead, they should be seen as a tool to capture a combination
of connected data (for example, location info, biometrics, and product data)
that is otherwise hard to come by.
Analyzing this data for trends
and improvement opportunities has the potential to unlock otherwise
hard-to-identify benefits, both for employees and employers.
