Modern warehouse staff of the biggest delivery corporations like Amazon, DHL, UPS, or FedEx is made of actual heroes. These hardworking people are being challenged on everyday basis not only physically, but also mentally. The mix of logistic tasks: collecting and moving orders between predefined spots while following detailed guidelines, marking the right objects, and keeping count of certain types of products. And these are just a few generalities.
However, warehouse innovation for logistics quickly became an exciting issue, and one of the main focal points of our business interests. It’s a perfect environment for implementing augmented reality products, like those available in our original set of technical apps – IndustryXR.
But as we team up with our next clients, it’s becoming clear that modern warehouse management has developed new needs that are worth meeting. That’s why we want to address certain related topics and show how AR technology can workers reach another level of efficiency and comfort.
First of all, let’s focus on process management. Coordinating hundreds of people working in a warehouse is all about staying informed about the time measures and the assortment condition.
Collecting a great variety of forms, lists, and documents can be demanding, especially in terms of inputting and processing data. It’s hard to keep a real-time control of it, and yet – that’s what managers would ultimately want to achieve.
The time-saving quality of AR technology comes from the network connection that allows users to send and receive data remotely, without physically having to check out with co-workers. Every decision and action is being tracked and saved in the company’s servers, meaning every manager can have access to it whenever they need it.
At the same time, it’s very easy to communicate even between different areas and spontaneously exchange current information through the smart glasses, without the necessity of interrupting the work. Within the smart glass microphone and/or mobile device, AR users and supervisors can connect quickly with each other to stay informed.
Speaking of the workers and information – with the augmented reality solutions, any company can now invest in guideline-software for the warehouse staff, which can significantly enhance their performance by supporting memory-based tasks and showing specific patterns and other technical info straight to the eye of the employee. Instead of asking themselves, “where does it go” or “what should I collect first” all they need to do is stick to the pre-made checklists.
With that, we can effectively decrease the number of human errors – inaccurate labeling, disorganized collecting, swapping orders, and many others. Even with them appearing, AR can help supervisors find the exact task and moment that led to the error, and easily fix it, saving time and the money, eventually – all thanks to innovation like pick-by-vision systems (using QR codes or alternatives scanner), that marks the time and place of action.
Finally, the matter of training. With the newest AR gear, it became so obvious that new employees are able to learn much faster and more effectively when they can do the work by the tutorials prepared by the already working specialists, who can also verify the quality of their performance during their first steps.
It’s important to remember that incorporating good examples and smart patterns without sitting-down courses but during the practical sessions instead is now available for much more warehouse-owning companies. There are many case studies, like the ones by Coca-Cola and DHL, that have proved AR is worth investing in.
Thanks for reading. Make sure to check out other posts on our blog and find out about our wide offer of VR and AR solutions carefully tailored for business and education.