Order fulfilment is the most labour intensive activity in a warehouse operation. To enable companies to organise their distribution process in the most efficient, cost effective way, Vanderlande Industries developed the PICK@EASE. This is a high-performance ergonomic order picking workstation.
Traditional order picking can be physically difficult, making it hard to find and retain good staff. Order pickers often suffer from fatigue, muscle pain and other work related injuries. To improve operator working conditions, companies are stepping away from the traditional “man-to-goods” order picking process and turn to a “goods-to-man” process. With this process products, stored in standard-sized plastic containers, are retrieved from storage racks by automatic cranes (AS/RS systems) and brought to the operator via a conveyor system. The operator picks the required amount of products out of the product container and places it in another standard-sized plastic container, representing a customer order. The operator workstation plays a crucial role in such a system.
Beneficial for order picker and employer
The PICK@EASE workstation, recently introduced by Vanderlande Industries, forms the heart of a high–performance automated goods-to-man order picking process. This is an ideal concept for slow-moving products in retail and wholesale distribution centres. It is also beneficial for distribution centres handling parts and components and automotive products, which face a large product range and very high service-level requirements. This system is not only beneficial for the order picker, but also for the employer by delivering a proven high picking performance. A single order picker working with the new system can replace up to 9 ‘traditional’ order pickers. The new system also improves the performance of the overall warehouse, as it significantly improves picking accuracy, ensuring the customer gets the correct order at the right time.
The PICK@EASE workstation was developed in close cooperation with TNO, Europe’s largest Institute for technological and strategic research and consultancy with expertise in ergonomics. TNO and Vanderlande conducted a real-life operator that proved that operators can work with PICK@EASE for an entire shift without loss of production and without risk of physical injury. Furthermore, the test proved that operators can maintain a consistent pick performance of above 800 order lines per hour. In a traditional warehouse, this number lies between 150 and 175 order lines per hour. PICK@EASE forms the heart of an integrated warehouse logistics and material handling solution, which enables retailers and manufacturers to organise their distribution process in the most efficient, cost effective way, from Goods Receiving to Shipping.
For more information about warehouse automation solutions, visit Vanderlande Industries at www.vanderlande.com
Vanderlande Industries profile
Vanderlande Industries specialises in designing and building intelligent IT-driven material handling systems and related services, which cover the entire warehouse process, from Goods Receiving to Shipping. The company has successfully automated more than 1,000 warehouses and distribution centres worldwide.
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