Gaining efficiency at the point of task

As a leading U.S.-based manufacturer of rugged and versatile mounting solutions for nearly any application and device, RAM Mounts knows the value of applying optimal technology at the point of work. Their mounts are often used to mount devices including GPS systems, laptops, marine electronics, printers, and radios in convenient, ergonomic locations.

Within its internal distribution operations, RAM Mounts was using handheld scanner devices for data collection and to support work processes, but was finding traditional handhelds were impeding productivity at several stages of its production at its headquarters in Seattle.

The handhelds integrated with RAM Mounts proprietary enterprise resource planning (ERP) system and warehouse management system (WMS) and were adequately capturing data, but the company felt it could increase productivity at the point of use with an updated approach.

It began looking for solutions, including wearable data capture devices that could gain efficiencies by keeping workers hands-free and focused on production tasks. This desire to improve work efficiencies lead to a solution leveraging Android tablets, RAM Mounts’ own mounts, and wearable bar code scanners (ProGlove).

The company found the ProGlove wearables paired to Samsung tablets on a RAM Mount optimized workflows and contributed to fast, accurate scanning and inventory tracking. Spanning dozens of processes and touch points, RAM has seen a nearly 100% increase in daily scans/pick transactions since deploying the solution in 2020.

To make its products, RAM Mounts handles all aspects of production from the smallest component connectors to the largest bases and brackets whether milled or molded or soldered together. Building a mount—starting from a batch melt of plastic pellets, for example, to a completed order ready to ship—is a process requiring roughly 30 scans along the way. These scans help capture production vitals, prepare assembly steps, populate inventory and track fulfillment. Small efficiencies can add up to significant productivity gains in such an environment.

Handheld scanners posed certain challenges, either with the technology itself or its use. The biggest challenge was reliability. This manifested in dropped connection, in some cases, and in others, weak batteries. Both these challenges disrupted workflows.

Technical issues with legacy scanners weren’t the only disruption. The mere act of using a handheld is an impediment to the flow of work compared to a wearable. To scan items with a handheld bar code scanner often means a pause to locate the scanner, remove it from its holster, scan the item and replace it in the holster. This sequence is typically four seconds.

Given RAM Mounts product focus, the value of good ergonomics was well understood. When warehouse manager Tristen McClellan approached COO Chad Remmers with a ProGlove demo device, he knew the value in piloting the solution throughout the different use cases in the production process as well as with mobile team members and those working at fixed workstations.

“Our team asked for a more reliable and efficient scanner to pair with their Samsung tablet: Since we deployed ProGlove wearable scanners our warehouse team’s productivity has increased 15%,” says Remmers. “The value proposition of ProGlove is an easy cost-benefit analysis to work through.”

With input from frontline workers, the company rapidly deployed the wearable scanner kits everywhere scanning was done. Each employee involved in scanning received their own personal wearable Index Trigger hand wrap, paired to a Samsung tablet for easy access to the management system. In each case, the optimum RAM Mounts technology was deployed to meet the needs of the individual workstation or mobile workflow.

The scanners are rugged and featherlight with a slim profile and an easy fit that make them a comfortable extension of the wearer’s capabilities. “We’re glad for the new wearable scanners and appreciate RAM responding to our suggestions,” says picking team lead Rosie Silvas. “The wearable scanners are more reliable and much more efficient.”

Ultimately, the company saw a 15% increase in overall warehouse efficiency, and an 100% average increase in pick transactions (scans) by the picking team. The team experienced zero drop-offs in connectivity. Battery life increased 100%, from less than one shift of coverage previously to more than two shifts on a single charge.