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Purpose of this paper:
Surveys have shown that most companies still use paper-based lists or RF handhelds to support picker-to-parts order picking. More modern approaches like Pick-by-Voice or Pick-by-Vision are gaining ground but have raised concerns about cognitive ergonomics. More recently, smart wearables for order picking with integrated or wirelessly connected barcode scanners have arrived on the market. The purpose of this paper is to discuss details of a smart wearable that uses Near-Field Communication (NFC) which allows confirming storage bins and order bins without any input from the order picker.
Design/methodology/approach:
Starting from a Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) concept of the order picking process and informed by both an analysis of existing smart wearables and a literature review of design guidelines for user interfaces on smart wearables, a smart wearable was designed from scratch. The technical design, which focuses on order pickers’ productivity, features (1) a novel approach to using NFC for order picking support, (2) a streamlined user interface, and (3) a fast middleware connecting the smart wearable to a Warehouse Management System (WMS).
Findings:
Industrial smartwatches often come with an NFC reader integrated into the display, requiring non-ergonomic movements of arm and hand when reading NFC tags on storage bins. Antenna extenders directly connected to the integrated NFC reader can be placed arbitrarily in more ergonomic positions (e.g., in a glove) but at the cost of reducing the reading distance substantially. An additional, separate active NFC reader, however, can smoothly identify storage bins while moving the hand at the usual arm operation speed of 2 m/s and retains the option of using antenna extenders. Careful design of the user interface is key to smooth and fast picking; the small screen size is a neglectable restriction.
Value:
This paper contributes to the still relatively small body of literature on smart wearables in order picking by discussing design features in detail – technical ones (such as the integration of an NFC reader) as well as the user interface.
Research limitations/implications:
The NFC-based smart wearable is a prototype and has not been tested in industrial applications yet.
Practical implications:
This paper increases the technical options available for supporting picker-to-parts order picking.