S&P Computersysteme GmbH

Design mobile ergonomic workstations

There are many devices and technical innovations for intralogistics - so choosing the right technologies is often difficult. For a coherent concept, the technology used should support existing processes in the warehouse and not the other way round.

To find the right technical support, processes must be defined and existing requirements must be recognised. For example, it can be important that an order picker has his hands free or a forklift driver can scan pallets from the forklift. By using the appropriate devices and software on mobile workstations, travel times can also be saved and error rates reduced. Everything sounds good in theory, but what does such a mobile workstation look like in practice?

In the following we present some examples that we have designed for one of our customers:

Mobile Goods Receiving Cart

Warehouse management Planning of incoming goods trolleys with terminal and scanner
Mobile goods receiving cart with terminal and scanner

Requirements:

Receive goods directly from the ramp to minimise travel times and work steps.

Implementation:

The goods receiving cart is equipped with an industrial terminal (UTC-515 from Advantech-DLoG) and a wireless scanner (DS3608/DS3678 from Zebra). In this way, the pallets or articles can be scanned directly on the ramp during unloading and recorded in the warehouse management system. The devices are powered by a Li-Ion battery, which is also mounted on the trolley. The terminal offers the functions and performance of a PC, but allows mobility and is much more robust than a conventional laptop.

Mobile Picking Cart

Warehouse management Planning Order picking trolleys with tablet and ring scanner
Mobile picking cart with tray and ring scanner

Requirements:

Hands free for pickingall relevant information clearly legible at a glance
flexible use of the equipment.

Implementation:

The order picking trolley is equipped with an industrial tray (PWS-870 by Advantech-DLoG), which is detachably mounted in a fixed bracket. Thus, one tray can be used for several trolleys. The tablet offers a 10.1" HD widescreen which, in combination with the touch interface of the warehouse management software SuPCIS-L8, not only enables intuitive, user-friendly operation but also provides all information clearly and legibly for the order picker. The integration of product photos can also reduce error rates.

The tablet is complemented by a wireless Bluetooth ring scanner (RS5100 from Zebra), which leaves the hands free for picking.

Thanks to an integrated scanner, the tablet can also be used separately for other warehouse management tasks, such as stock transfer or spontaneous stocktaking.

Here too, both devices are powered by rechargeable batteries.

Ergonomic Forklift Workstation

Warehouse management, software, stacker Terminal Scanner Pallets
Ergonomic mobile forklift workstation with terminal and scanner.

Requirements:

ergonomic workstation that enables all picking and replenishment tasks to be carried out from the forklift.

Implementation:

An ultra robust, touch-enabled forklift terminal (DLT-V83 from Advantech-DLoG) was mounted in the forklift with a special vehicle mount - a ball arm allows flexible alignment for the perfect viewing angle. To avoid unnecessary recharging times for the terminal, the power is drawn directly from the truck. The terminal is complemented by a robust wireless scanner (DS3608-ER from Zebra). Housed in a cradle directly on the truck, the DS3608 enables omnidirectional scanning from a long distance.

Optionally, the stacker workstation can be equipped with a mobile printer (ZQ630 from Zebra), which makes it possible, for example, to relabel articles directly at the shelf.