Informed and timely operational decisions can make all the difference. In a warehouse, to know which work process performs well – or, alternatively, poor – allows you to react quickly. For example, you could adjust parameters in real-time, or move operators from one area to another, to ensure performance is at an optimal level. For this, you need to track performance at different levels. That’s why we developed teamKIOSK and the Performance Dashboard – features capable of providing real-time intelligence.
Increased transparency
What were the total man hours required to complete the shift, and which processes required them? How much do we spend per specific customer, per pick at each workstation? What is the average performance for each process, area, and warehouse? Our customer, a global player in the beauty industry, needed answers to these questions. Even though they had reports in place to capture some parameters, none of those gave real-time actionable insights. People had to pull information from different systems, and it took quite some time to create the required lists.
To ensure efficient operations our customer wanted more transparency about which individual activities people in their warehouses spend their time on. But non-system-based activities (e. g. empty pallet sorting or pallet consolidation) are not tracked by a warehouse management system. Also, most time-recording systems do not offer job tracking. In other words, some operations have a massive amount of data, but have difficulty unifying it in a meaningful way. On the other hand, some operations have processes that are not effectively tracked by their current software solution, and there is not a lot of value in investing capital into changing what their current provider offers. Rather, teamKIOSK can bridge that data gap in a very cost efficient way, eliminating the need to upgrade the WCS/WMS.
Simple data capture
The teamKIOSK is an app that runs on tablets which can easily and quickly be installed on the shop floor. Operators log into the application with their credentials or a QR code on their staff badge. Then they choose the activity they will work on. This can be done activity by activity or in batches, e. g. at the end of a shift.
Real-time operational intelligence
The activity logs are directly transferred to redPILOT where they are displayed in near real-time in the Performance Dashboard. Now, the shift leader and warehouse managers can monitor all warehouse operations with a performance overview of every single process.
Getting insights into operational issues as they occur, allows management to react immediately. If they need to reallocate operators or goods, close or open production lines etc. they can do so quickly to remedy any obstacles that limit performance. Operations may even elect to deploy large monitors to different functional areas, to ensure line managers have the proper insights for their specific area at any given time.
Our customer also required a view on the progress of performances per operator. So, the Performance Dashboard also shows the quantities processed per operator, per order, at a certain point in time. This means, it is now possible to track performance at a user, team, department and warehouse level.
In-depth performance insights
redPILOT not only offers an interface to already existing systems like warehouse management or warehouse control systems (WMS/WCS), but also to the operators in the warehouse. Our customer gets in-depth performance insights on different levels in real time. They can react really fast if any inefficiencies occur. From this data they can also derive where the biggest opportunities for improvement are. By using this real-time intelligence, they can optimize their planning and operating and ultimately, optimize performance.
Sneek a peek
Our software consultant, Manuel Ebner, gives you a short introduction to teamKIOSK and the Performance Dashbord.
Contact us for more information.