If robots are accompanied, the working life of warehouse staff will become easier. To understand how autonomous robots can change today's work that requires a high level of body and spirit, we must first understand the day of warehouse work.
A warehouse picker (we call him John) grabbed boxes from different storage locations, put them on pallets, and then moved these pallets from one place to another. At the transportation terminal, he will label and package the goods, write some paperwork, and then restart work for the next customer order. John started work at 5 p.m. and finished after walking 5 miles or more in a 250000 square foot warehouse eight hours later. During this time, he may only need two 15 minute breaks and one dinner break. He is often asked to work overtime.
John's day is physically demanding and may involve repetitive work. Therefore, any relief John gets will make his experience more pleasant and will make him a more productive and happier worker.
The important role of introducing robots
In the days before Amazon acquired Kiva in 2012, if we mentioned robots in the warehouse, we would talk about autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs). These are roaming robots that follow wires or tape or other visual markers on the ground to help guide their intended path. AGVs are popular because they are the first attempt to eliminate human manipulation of pallet elevators and similar devices to move pallets from one place to another. It completely eliminates the need for human drivers.
Today, a new generation of warehouse automation tools, such as Amazon/Kiva robot, bring goods to the picker, and many more. These are called autonomous mobile robots (AMRs).
AMR differs from AGV in infrastructure and intelligence. AMR uses a visual system, such as LiDAR (laser radar) or camera, to navigate from point A to point B safely and freely through a dynamic learning environment without human intervention. This technology is similar to an autonomous car.
Without changing the floor of the warehouse, AMRs can draw maps, shuttle freely (compared with the old technology), and take over a large piece of work done by people in the past (such as driving pallets or boxes from the shelf to the dock door). AMR is highly praised for its safety, ease of use and flexibility. It not only helps to improve the profitability of the warehouse, but also provides meaningful solutions for people working next to it.
Easy to implement and program, AMR is best used as a collaborative "worker" next to people. In these aspects, warehouse pickers like John will benefit from the following ways.
● Change the division of labor. Most of the work of the warehouse is to select products. Specifically, it takes time to deal with boxes. AMR can make the picking work more efficient, so that John can stay in the same aisle or a group of positions in the warehouse, so that he can focus on processing products. When there is picking in John's area, AMR will approach John. When John's picking is completed, AMR will take the product to the next area and meet a colleague of John. In this case, the robot is doing what it is best at. It walks around the warehouse, handling repetitive work accurately and without fatigue. John is doing what he is best at. He is solving the problem of how to handle the product and place it on the pallet or outbound container.
● Reduce workers' travel. Depending on the type of order and the size of the warehouse, travel can account for 30% to 70% of a person's day. AMR can take over travel in most warehouses and automate product movement. This reduces the burden of warehouse workers driving from one side of the warehouse (where the product is located) to the other side (where the order is packaged and transported), and also reduces the physical consumption of walking.
● Take control. Without knowing the programming language, John can assign tasks to his AMR in various ways to help him complete sorting tasks. One way is through John's interaction on the screen connected to the robot, click to start the next action, so as to prompt AMR to take action. In more complex operations, John follows the instructions on his handheld device, or uses voice interaction to capture the work he has completed. Through the warehouse optimization software, AMR automatically moves with him without John's command. John knew that his companions would not be tired or stop working, and his heart was calm.
The company is discovering and adopting this wise strategy
Companies around the world are discovering the value of such cooperation and investing in it. For example, fleet management company Ryder System Inc. (an American transportation and logistics company known for its commercial rental truck fleet) Recently, it announced that it has implemented various types of AMR in three different logistics centers to help its workers to reduce the burden of labor-intensive tasks and travel.
Two workers, one is a person and the other is a robot, share tasks effortlessly and harmoniously on the whole warehouse floor. This is not a science fiction scene. It is happening today. The key to making this elegant collaboration work smoothly is systems and software that integrate human/robot experience.
Integration means understanding how humans and robots should interact to accomplish 100% of the work normally done by humans, and how to make this experience as seamless as possible. How do robots know where to contact people next? How do people communicate with robots so that tasks are not repeated, or even worse, missed?
New varieties of software
A software solution called Warehouse Optimization Suite is applied to bridge the gap and seamlessly coordinate warehouse work. These software solutions understand all the work in the warehouse and manage the completion of these tasks. When the tasks are completed in the workshop, the results are captured electronically in real time. This process is more complex than the traditional warehouse control system, because it provides the intelligence of how to arrange these tasks dynamically, rather than the static work plan that is set in advance and executed in a simple order. This ensures that the correct work sequence is completed at the right time to ensure that all customer needs are met, especially when warehouse conditions change, such as trucks being rearranged, the work priorities may need to be rearranged.
These systems include AMR and people to understand the real-time location of work. When an urgent order enters the warehouse, it is immediately assigned to the next AMR. In view of the system's understanding of all the products required for the order, the warehouse optimization software will guide AMR to the first area to be picked, and also notify John to go to the same location to automatically pick up. When John finishes picking goods and captures the results electronically, AMR will go to the next warehouse location, where John will also be guided by the software. This situation continues until John finishes the last picking in his area, AMR enters the packaging, completes and ships out as soon as possible. This is commanded through complex coordination software.
Under such circumstances, the daily life of warehouse workers has been greatly improved. You might think, when will this dynamic duo make sense?
● Rich products (SKU). In order to achieve the best ROI, enterprises should already be managing a large number of SKUs or related products, which in turn requires a large warehouse to store. A large number of SKUs (inventory units) are likely to require a considerable number of trips in the warehouse, which can be reduced through AMR.
● Workers must support this model. The workforce should welcome this AMR+people approach. The management doubts whether the use of robots will transfer skills from warehouse workers and minimize their future employment rate. I think the opposite is true. Assigning repetitive tasks to robots will make people free up their hands to undertake higher level problem solving tasks, hone their skills and improve their own personal productivity. This can provide them with more economic opportunities in the future. According to a recent study by Harvard Business Review, which focuses on the views of warehouse workers, if technology can help them be faster, safer and more efficient, respondents are enthusiastic about the use of technology.
● This is not a replacement. Some people in the industry expressed concern that robots would completely replace the role of employees. I believe that this theory of substitution is a myth. There is a lot of work to do. Considering that the United States is experiencing a national labor shortage - especially among delivery drivers and warehouse workers. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of job vacancies in the warehouse and transportation industry has doubled in the past six years from 200000 in 2015 to a record 490000 in 2021. If seasonal workers are added, and considering that retailers, manufacturers and distributors have warehouses, they may not be included in these original figures, and the actual number of open jobs is even higher than this. The growth rate of the industry minimizes the effectiveness of the displacement theory.
Better life for warehouse workers
Warehouse work always needs people to do, because it requires particularity and judgment. For example, people (not robots) are best suited to deal with products that differ in size, packaging, and texture. Even rigid packaging may require a custom approach. A tray may be slightly off center, or the boxes may be stacked in the wrong order, or some boxes may be sunken. The solution of these problems needs people to ponder and solve.
In addition, as consumers turn to more online ordering, e-commerce has created complex problems in picking, which are ideal choices for people. For example, workers may not pick boxes, but single items with unique geometric shapes, such as a cylinder of two liters of soft drinks or a long strip. It is much easier to do this today by people than by robots.
New labor=workers+robots
AMR and people working together effortlessly on the warehouse floor is a scene of future warehouse work. Investing in this kind of modern collaboration can not only help you get better productivity, accuracy, security and efficiency, but also provide more meaningful work for people like John.
Reassign tasks and let people and robots do what they are best at. This will help improve the job satisfaction of warehouse workers. In this era of labor shortage, worker satisfaction is the key to retention and recruitment. Adding AMR to your workforce may help you solve the overall labor shortage and maintain business continuity when millions of American workers leave their jobs.
Robotic technology is only a natural extension of all automation that has transformed warehouses and distribution centers over the past two decades, and it is a way to improve the overall cycle time and throughput, because all companies are striving to compete with Amazon's promises of one day transportation and next day delivery. It should be welcomed because it brings intelligent efficiency to every participant.
The technology to support robots/people is ready and available. In the case of Ryder Systems, they generated 25% productivity growth simply by reducing the travel time in the warehouse.
Robot/human collaboration is rapidly becoming a focus and may become your competitive advantage in the coming year. Consider it to fine tune your operations and provide meaningful work for your employees.
