Data capture: Multi-modal picking comes of age
End users don't have to be limited to one picking technology on a device.
By Bob Trebilcock, Executive Editor -- Modern Materials Handling, 7/1/2009
For years, picking has been an either/or proposition. Pickers were either directed by scanning a bar code with an RF scanning device or they were directed by voice recognition technology. In some applications, they might even be directed by RFID. Either way, you picked one technology, or mode, of data collection and then bought a device that delivered that solution.
That is changing. Today, the data capture industry is talking about multi-modal technologies. These are mobile computing devices that drop the either in favor of the or. In a multi-modal environment, one mobile computer can accept data that is keyed in, scanned in, or spoken into the device. Some devices may even work with RFID scanners and camera-based imaging technology.
What's more, these all-in-one devices might be used to enable processes that have been re-engineered to use more than one mode, or even to work with other technologies.
"This is an emerging trend that is being driven by end users," says Jeff Slevin, chief operating officer of Lucas Systems (724-940-7000, www.lucasware.com). "They're interested in migrating to multi-modal devices and applications that will allow them to use voice or scanning at different parts of a shift, or during different points of a process."
As Slevin points out, this is very much an emerging area, being led by a few early adopters in heavily regulated industries, like food and pharmaceuticals. In these industries, a company may have to capture more than just product information, including lot and batch data, serial numbers or the weight of a product (see sidebar, below) to meet regulatory requirements. Historically, that has been clumsy and prone to errors.
As users, the software community and device markets wrestle with these concepts, and three different approaches to multi-modal are emerging:
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Multi-function devices incorporate more than one data collection and communication technology, but not at the same time.
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Multi-modal software that allows these devices to seamlessly use multiple modes of data capture to enable a warehouse process.
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Multi-technologies, or processes, that are enabled by the combination of data capture technology, like voice or bar code scanning, with another automation technology.
The best way to think of a multi-function device is to imagine a Swiss Army knife for capturing data. In one sleek and compact package you get more than a cutting blade; you also get the equivalent of a corkscrew opener and a screwdriver, to name a few.
"When you're talking about multi-function, you're talking about the ability to have one device do multiple things," says Tom Upshur, vice president of product management and marketing for Vocollect (412-349-2515, www.vocollect.com). "It is the integration of multiple modes within the same application."
Today, the most common functions to be combined in an all-in-one device are manual data entry through a touch screen or keyboard, wireless bar code scanning, and voice technology, adds Mike Maris, Motorola's senior director of transportation, distribution and logistics (631-738-4751, www.motorola.com/staticfiles/Business/US-EN/EnterpriseMobility/homepage/index.html). In the future, those devices might incorporate an RFID reader or a camera for reading 2D bar codes or for capturing a digital image.
The catalyst behind the adoption of multi-function devices isn't productivity, but maintenance, repair and upkeep. "The primary attraction for end users today is to get more out of one piece of equipment, instead of maintaining an inventory of different devices for different modes," explains Doug Brown, director of product management, LXE (770-447-4224, www.lxe.com/us).
Facilities that have adopted multi-function devices may use a device as a wireless handheld scanner on the receiving dock in the morning, put it in a holster and connect a headset for voice-directed picking in the afternoon, then mount it in a cradle on a lift truck in the shipping area at the end of the shift. The payoff doesn't come from productivity but from reductions in maintenance, repair and service parts.
"If you have a multitude of devices, you also need multiple charging devices, more room for storage, and you have to have more replacements on hand in case you run over one with a lift truck," says Maris. "If you have one device, you reduce all of those requirements and all of your software programming revolves around one screen."
Multi-modal processes
Multi-functional devices have been available on the market for some time. In most applications, however, they only operate in one mode at a time, just like the model described above. Just as you probably close the cutting blade on the Swiss Army knife before opening the corkscrew, most end users aren't trying to operate in a multi-modal environment—say using bar code scanning and voice functionality at the same time.
The limitation to date has been the software. Most warehouse management systems (WMS) were designed when bar code scanning was the primary means of data capture, with voice engines bolted on later. Neither those systems nor the software developed by device manufacturers is designed to accept data from multiple modes simultaneously. That means an associate has to close out one application and open the other to switch between data collection modes. Or, the associate has to keep two applications open on the device and switch between them, much like keeping two programs open on a desktop computer at the same time. Of course, if an associate has to take time to switch between applications, most of the efficiency of multi-modal would be lost.
That is now changing. "Today, we're seeing a migration to true multi-modal software applications that allow the user to determine what is the most efficient process to capture data during that part of the picking process, all from one software application," says Slevin.
In that environment, the software has been programmed to be in a permanent listening mode for data to be entered through whatever method is available on the device, explains Donal Mac Daid, vice president of product marketing for Aldata (404-355-3220, www.aldata-solution.com). "At the end of the day, it's all bits and bytes to a computer anyway," Mac Daid says. That, in turn, enables users to rethink how they communicate with operators and order selectors across a process, rather than apply a single technology to one process. This concept is getting an additional boost through the introduction of more wearable devices, like ring scanners, which allow operators to continue to work in a hands-free, eyes-free environment whether they're in voice mode or scanning mode.
Processes being enabled by multi-modal technologies most commonly are those that require an operator to capture several different types of data to comply with regulatory requirements. An associate may use voice to direct picking, but use an integrated ring scanner to capture a 14-digit lot number for tracking purposes. Some examples in the market today include:
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In one pharmaceutical distribution center, associates confirm a location and a pick by speaking a location check digit and the number of items picked. They use a scanner to capture lot/batch information for e-pedigree requirements.
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Another pharmaceutical distributor does batch picking to multiple totes on a cart. To set up the cart, an associate marries a tote to a picking position by scanning bar codes on the tote and the cart. Picking processes are directed by voice.
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A gun distributor uses voice to direct picking in the warehouse and a ring scanner to capture the serial number information for the weapons.
Multi-modal technology is also being used for exceptions management, adds Mac Daid. In one retail warehouse, a pick list is delivered to an operator's handheld terminal. If the operator knows that she can build a better pallet by rearranging the picking order, she can use voice commands to re-sort the pick list. Once the list is in an order that optimizes the pallet, she goes into her normal processes, using a wearable ring scanner to confirm the cartons as they are picked.
The next step may be to combine RFID with other modes of data capture. One pharmaceutical company is piloting a solution that uses voice to direct picking and RFID tags on containers to confirm the shipment as well as the delivery to the customer. "We have customers who are experimenting with RFID and other technologies," Mac Daid says, but cautions, "At the moment, the technology is not quite there yet."
Multi-technologies: The next step
Using multiple modes of data collection at one time is one way to think about these technologies. Another way is to combine multiple technologies to optimize processes, says Steve Banker, service director of supply chain management for ARC Advisory Group (781-471-1000, www.arcweb.com). The advantage of these types of applications is generally a more accurate picking process. "No matter what type of automatic identification you're using, you're trying to get a highly productive and highly accurate pick," says Banker. "Companies trade these off in various ways. For some companies, being at 99% accuracy is good enough. Other folks believe they have to be 99.9% accurate and they'll combine modes or technologies to improve the accuracy."
Banker points to warehouses that are combining voice and pick-to-light technology, especially in instances where an operator may push a cart from one picking area to the next. "The voice system will tell the operator where in the warehouse to go for the next pick," says Banker. "When he arrives at that location or in that area, pick-to-light will tell him what bin to pick from and how many items or cartons to pick."
In bulk warehouses, where pallets are stacked on the floor rather than in racks, Banker is beginning to see the combination of real-time location system (RTLS) technologies that know that a lift truck is at the right location for a pick, and RFID to ensure that the operator is picking the right pallet in a vertical stack. "I've seen it done in a large bulk warehouse in New Zealand," he says, "and it was more accurate than I would ever have imagined."
Using voice and bar code scanning at Longos
Last February, Longos Brothers Fruit markets (www.longos.com), a 53-year-old family-owned grocery chain installed a voice-directed picking solution (Lucas Systems, 724-940-7000, www.lucasware.com) to improve productivity in its distribution centers in Mississauga, Ontario.
The result, says John Charleson, director of supply chain and information technology, for the 16-store chain has been a 14% increase in improved productivity—from 140 cases per hour to 164 cases per hour.
But Longos has taken the implementation of voice one step further, combining it with a wearable computer and ring-scanning technology, to capture check weights—the weight of a carton of product—in the meat department. "In the meat department, we sell product by the pound rather than by the case," Charleson explains. "But having an order selector read the weights into the voice system would lead to errors. Instead, the bar code label on a carton of meat contains the weight. Capturing that with a bar code scan is more efficient and accurate."
Longos took the first step of introducing voice when it implemented a new warehouse management system (WMS) system in February. "Prior to that, we were using an older WMS with RF-enabled scanning guns," says Charleson. "Increasing throughput in the facility was limited because our order selectors had to pick up and put down a scanning gun every time they completed a case pick. By implementing a new WMS (Qdata, 905-477-1367, www.qdata.com), we were able to add voice technology to our processes."
In most of the facility, Longos uses its mobile computers (Motorola, 866-416-8545, www.motorola.com/Business/US-EN/Business+Solutions/Product+Solutions/Warehouse+Management) as multi-function devices: In receiving, putaway, replenishment and pallet picking, the devices are used for bar code scanning; order selectors use them in voice mode to drive case picking.
In the meat area, on the other hand, it's important to capture not just the type of product being picked, but also the weight of the product being picked, since that's how the product is tracked and sold. For that reason, order selectors are outfitted with a wearable computer that includes a headset and a ring scanner. The selector is directed to a pick location and told how many cases to pick with voice. The ring scanner is used to scan a bar code label on a case of meat to capture the weight. Using a wearable computer means that the selector is still able to operate in a hands free/eyes free environment as with voice.
The result: "When we did the budget, we allocated three months before we would start to see benefits from voice and the wearable scanners," says Charleson. "Instead, we began to see an increase in productivity within three weeks. We were told we can get up to 20% improvements, we budgeted a 10% improvement, and three months later we're up to 14%."
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