Pick-to-Light: Improved Accuracy with an Automated Storage System

Suppose you have been considering an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) to enhance your manufacturing, warehouse, or materials handling operations. In that case, you are likely well aware of these systems’ advantages to many other organizations.

However, if you are in the early stages of determining the benefits of ASRS, perhaps a recap of the primary ways that these systems have been helping other manufacturing companies might be of value to you:

• Increased storage using your existing space: ASRS can take advantage of wasted vertical space, eliminating the need for an expensive redesign or expansion.
• Reduced labor costs: By doing away with the need to expand your workforce, ASRS saves ongoing labor costs, such as salary, training, healthcare, and payroll taxes.
• Enhanced safety: Humans make mistakes, and when they do, accidents happen. If the accidents involve heavy equipment such as forklifts, humans, products, and equipment are all at risk.
• Fewer constraints from labor shortages: ASRS allows automation to take the place of workers, who can then be shifted to higher-value tasks, eliminating the need to hire.
• The flexibility of modular design: If a complete automated storage system is too costly to install all at once, companies can add inventory segments one at a time.

The Benefit of Increased Accuracy is Sometimes Overlooked

Improved pick accuracy can sometimes get lost amid all these excellent benefits listed above. However, no matter how well-trained or conscientious an employee may be, the fact that humans are error-prone cannot be altered. Eventually, mistakes will happen.

Furthermore, these mistakes can result in safety issues, damaged products, customer complaints, workflow issues, and overall inefficiency. For example, delivering a pallet of the wrong product from storage causes turmoil, traffic jams, and an interruption of order processing until the mistake is corrected.

Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems are comprised of computer-controlled systems that automatically place and retrieve loads with accuracy, speed, and precision. Order processing and order picking mistakes are significantly reduced because of this intelligent software.

Using pick-to-light technology to send an operator to the location of a stored item, ASRS enables manufacturers to achieve a 99.9 percent pick accuracy rate. By allowing ASRS to manage their storage and retrieval operations, companies have removed virtually all inefficiencies, reducing waste, increasing output, and ultimately becoming more profitable.

What is Pick-to-Light Technology?

Pick-to-light uses light devices to guide workers to the correct product locations and quantities required to fill an order. Sometimes called pick-by-light or light-directed picking, these systems increase pick rate productivity and order accuracy by minimizing the walking and reading of paper-based picking methods.

The secret to pick-to-light technology is its simplicity. Workers scan a bar code on a tote or shipping container to start an order. Illuminated LEDs direct pickers to the right product location and display the required quantity. After picking all the items, the worker confirms the completed activity by scanning a bar code to update the system.

Kardex Storage System’s Experienced Team can Help You Get Started

Bringing our multitude of experience to your automated storage project, our team will support your project from the planning stage well into the future. Contact us today for a system that will improve your storage efficiency and picking accuracy to help you reach your goals.