Case 1 – Error Prevention
Before
- The company has difficulty increasing the number of operators, and so aims to increase operator productivity and reduce shipping mistakes.
- In light of the time it takes to respond to complaints about shipping mistakes, the company wants to prevent operators from inserting items into the wrong openings.
- The company does not want to use separate racks for drink crates and milk crates; they want to use the same racks for both.
- The company wants to use the racks wherever they are needed in the warehouse due to volume and timing. They also want to store the racks in a different place when they are not being used.
After
- Dramatic reduction of wrong-row insertion errors!
- Affixing a different color of LED tape to each row prevents operators from inserting items into the wrong row.
- The racks are movable, making it possible to use warehouse space effectively.
Solution
Put-to-light systems + LED Tape
- Movable racks that prevent inserting errors in all directions
- Blue, red, and green LED tape was affixed to the respective openings to prevent operators from inserting items into openings on the wrong row.
- Partitions were installed to prevent operators from inserting items into the wrong opening in a given row.
- The dimensions of the racks can be changed to accommodate both the drinks crates and the milk crates.
- Casters were added to the racks, and the Ethernet junction boxes were replaced with wireless systems. Now, the company is free to move the racks anywhere in the warehouse.
Workflow
- Wireless Put-to-light systems used for simultaneous sorting by multiple operators.
- Use a handy terminal to select one of four colors to use, and scan the merchandise. The gross weight is displayed on the handy terminal.
- The display panel for the block of the selected color lights up.
- The operator inserts the merchandise into the opening illuminated by the light module and LED lamp, and pushes down the display panel.
Case 2 – Increase Speed & Efficiency
Before
- Work efficiency could not be improved because single-color light modules, which can only be used by one person at a time, were used for large shipments.
- As a pass-through operation, delivery times are tight and work time is limited.
- Medium sorting between cases and cartons/pieces is done by hand; only veteran operators are able to improve efficiency.
After
Our system successfully simplified data management and shortened the work time
- When five people work simultaneously, each operator can process 2,400 pieces per hour, which successfully shortens sorting work time!
- Five-digit light module displays for cartons/pieces make it easy to understand assorting quantities—even large assorting quantities for single stores—at a glance! This helps improve work efficiency.
- Even beginners can perform the work with ease!
- Adapting our system to small quantities of a diverse array of products successfully improved productivity and accuracy.
Solution
Pairing a medium sorting system with put to light
- We created a system that pairs medium sorting performed with wireless handy terminals with a put to light system.
Case 3 – Effective Use of Space
Before
- Each vegetable requires a different opening size, so the company needed to be able to change the configurations easily.
- The company was using another company’s Pick to Light System, but was unable to change shelf pitch easily; they had to remove lamps from openings to make the changes when new items were added.
After
Pitch change work now requires only half as many operators
- Our light modules are easily removable without special tools, so pitch change work now requires only half as many operators as before.
- Part-time operators involved in pitch change work are now assigned to shipping and inspection work, reducing lead time to shipping.
Solution
A pick to light system with light modules that facilitate pitch and location changes
- We created a Pick to Light System with easily removable light modules that simplify the work of changing shelf pitch, which had been separate from daily shipping work in the past.
- High-volume items required three-digit light modules, while others required only two digits.
- Our system made it easy to change light modules in response to changes in shipping volumes.
