How It Works - Pick by Voice
A pick by voice system literally talks a worker through a process, and the worker interacts with the pick to voice system by confirming their actions and indicating they are ready for the next pick/step. These processes can range from selecting products for a customer order, to assembling a piece of equipment in a manufacturing plant. The worker hears and responds to interactive voice cues using a lightweight headset, which is attached to a small, wearable pick by voice computer. Meanwhile, the solution is easily integrated into ERP or other host systems. New tasks can be requested by the host system, workers can send back process data such as quantities picked or parts consumed triggering an alert or question to warehouse management as tasks are updated and completed. This type of real time communication enables real time triggering of replenishment or cycle counting or other actions which lead to a more efficient warehouse operation.
These pick by voice systems are used in a wide variety of industries and environments and are tailor-made to fit existing company processes and procedures. Pick to Voice systems are especially ideal for use in the extreme freezer environments. The hands free operation yields real productivity improvements as gloves hamper workers’ use of paper labels or RF scanning systems. Special headsets have been designed for hard hat and high noise manufacturing or warehouse environments as well. And the abundance of variant language, dialect and accents frequently found in distribution centers pose no difficulties with today’s pick by voice recognition technology. Click here for a white paper discussion on the basics of computer-based speech recognizers and the economics of maximizing performance. Training time is significantly reduced with pick by voice solutions. The worker is told precisely what to do step-by-step. As such, the average worker can be trained and completing tasks at a high level of productivity in only one to two hours with pick to voice systems. The economics of this reduction in training time is particularly relevant for seasonal businesses or those with cyclical labor requirements.
Vocollect: Voice vs pick-to-light
