Free Your Hands with Wearable Technology

After reading this blog article, take a look around your warehouse and see if you can identify a few work processes that could be made better if transformed into a hands-free operation. Although wearable technology has been around for decades, today devices are much easier to integrate, and they’re lighter, faster, smarter and more comfortable to wear.

When it comes to increasing worker productivity and increasing operating efficiency in the warehouse or DC, wearables are a smart choice – and a huge labor saver. Here are just a few activities that enhance performance when executed with a wearable scanning or computing device:

• Parts picking
• Packing
• Package handling
• Sorting
• Loading
• Shipping
• Receiving

For the user, industry leaders like Honeywell have designed their wearable devices to be lightweight – making them easier to move freely throughout each task. Accessories are also available to increase the comfort and cleanliness of the device. For example, the rubber watchband straps are comfortable, reducing instances of sliding or rotating on the user’s arm, and it doesn’t absorb perspiration. All components of the accessories are break-away for safety, easily swappable for left- or right-hand operation and easily cleaned.

For your IT department, the notion of having fewer, interchangeable devices is a huge time-saver, easier to track and maintain. In the past, dedicated wearables forced a re-design of the application and process in order to utilize the limited user interface. Now, leaders like Honeywell have designed wearable accessories to easily adapt to a number of mobile devices to make it a snap to convert from hand-held to hands-free operation.

When using the rugged, enterprise class Dolphin™ 70e or Dolphin 75e mobile computer, for example, the large display, flexible touchscreen keypads, and architecture make it a versatile device. If you’re looking for even more productivity-boosting features, then consider wearable accessories such as a Bluetooth® ring scanner or audio interface, with the ability for your IT department to quickly deploy applications and leverage features that lead to a very high ROI. This gives you device flexibility without the hassle. And with a charging cradle and four-bay battery chargers, you’ll never miss a beat between shifts.

Not only do wearable devices save your employees time and energy, it saves you money through increased productivity and reduced errors typically associated with interruptions in flow of the activity (having to traveling to another area for data entry, picking up and setting down a device each time an item is being picked or packed, etc.) In a nutshell, hands-free operation is the key to improving demanding warehouse applications.

For more information on the advantages of a wearable device, or if you’d like to learn more about automating some of the processes in your warehouse, contact us today!