As automation gains
traction globally
in the warehouse
space, innovation
in wearable user devices
cannot be ignored as the
fusion of technology with the
human labour force increases
in South Africa.
“We are going to see a
proliferation of wearable
devices adding competitive
advantage to processes and
forging a technological and
human partnership that
could boost productivity,”
said professor Andre Calitz
from the Department of
Computing Sciences at
Nelson Mandela University.
He explained that much
like collaborative robots
(cobots) that worked with
humans, wearable devices
were another example of
technology used to assist
and enhance human
workers instead of replacing
them entirely – a welcome
alternative in a country with
over a quarter (27.7%) of its
workforce unemployed.
Global research company
Tractica recently predicted
that businesses would deploy
75 million wearables between
2014 and 2020, growing
annual worldwide investment
in enterprise wearables from
$218 million in 2015 to
$6.3 billion by 2020.
Calitz, who also works as a
research partner with global
enterprise
resource
planning
(ERP)
provider
SYSPRO,
pointed to
the use of
wearable
Google glasses
which allow
workers to see
ahead of them
but also gave
them a heads
up display on
the status of
the manufacturing process
and supply chain.
“Manufacturing businesses
are also experimenting
with the HoloLens in the
warehouse and production
environment, finding
new applications for these
wearable technologies and
improving productivity,” he
said.
According to him, the
industry is also already using
heads up display glasses
(HUD) which interact with,
and inform, workers on the
factory floor of warehouse
conditions regarding the
supply chain.
“These include
stock and
inventory
levels, alerting
workers ahead
of time of
peak rush
hours and any
possible choke
points,” Calitz
highlighted.
Managing
director of
SYSPRO
Africa, Mark
Wilson, added
that wearable devices and
radio frequency (RFID)
readers could geo-locate
where workers were in
the warehouse and track
their movements which
could optimise shifts and
production processes.
California-based company,
RFGen _ a software
development company _
released a white paper last
month, titled ‘Making the
Case for Wearable Tech in
the Warehouse’. The paper
outlines five key drivers for
the adoption of wearables.
Speed —
wearables reduce
warehouse
transaction times
significantly over
barcode scanning alone. With
a wearable device, workers
may only gain seconds per
transaction, but in large
distribution centres, seconds
add up to minutes and hours
of increased throughput.
Accuracy
— wearables can
improve accuracy
as much as, or
more than, barcode
scanning and are more
accurate than paper-based
processes in the warehouse.
Safety —
wearables reduce
user fatigue and
create fewer repetitive
motions. Wearable technology,
combined with sensors around
the warehouse, can help track
the location of workers and
equipment on the plant floor or
warehouse, alerting to potential
dangers.
Ease of use —
wearable technology,
running well-designed
mobile applications, is
easy to learn to use. Warehouse
managers can reduce training
time and associated costs when
new workers come into the
warehouse.
Better
management
decision making
— wearable technology
enables management to
collect far more information
about how well the warehouse
is running and make
adjustments to optimise
productivity and safety.
INSERT & CAPTION
We are going to see
a proliferation of
wearable devices
adding competitive
advantage to
processes.
– Andre Calitz
