mobile light directed batch picking carts · the operator will proceed down the pick path. at the...

Integrated Material Handling Systems

Kuecker Logistics Group Ph (816)331-7070

801 West Markey Road fax (816)331-7888

Belton, MO 64012 www.kuecker.com

Mobile Light Directed

Batch Picking Carts

On the following pages, you will see a variety of Pick-To-Light /

Mobile Batch Cart systems Developed by Kuecker Logistics

Group, Inc.

The possibilities for cart design are endless and we are happy to

work with you determining the right solution for your

operation.





4 - Order Carts – Split case picking from shelving





8 – Order Carts – Split case picking from shelving





Bulk Carts – Split case & full case picking from

pallet rack





The picking process will work as follows:

Each operator will log into a Pick Cart and follow one of these scenarios. These scenarios will work in

conjunction with the numerous pick options available to operators to optimize the picking process.

These options are outlined on the following page.

1. When there are no stores on the cart, we will set them up so the first cart starts at the beginning

of the zone and the second cart starts at the end of the zone. We will continue this alternating

pattern for assigning carts, so that operators aren’t all starting at the same place. For situations

when additional pickers are needed, they will continue the alternating pattern, log into a cart

and follow the pick path.

2. When there are orders on a cart and an operator logs in, the process will continue on right

where it was left off. The operator will log in and proceed down the pick path to finish those

orders.

3. If the cart is empty and there is no log on process (first 4 stores are picked), the cart’s current

location will serve as their starting point. The WCS will assign four stores to the Pick Cart and

the operator will proceed down the pick path. At the end of the pick path, the operator will

proceed back down the pick path in reverse to finish picking those stores.

When loading the stores to the cart, the WCS will print labels one at a time. One store label will print

while one location on the pick cart will light up. The operator will put the label on the box and hit the

associated light button on the cart. This will signify that the label has been affixed and the box is in the

proper position on the cart. This will be done for each of the (4) boxes.

The WCS will then direct the operator to go to their first bin. The WCS will order these picks

sequentially by the sequence located in the zone. This sequence can be modified via the Pick Location

function (See Appendix C). Materials that are stocked in both locations, fixed and overflow will be

picked from the Overflow area. This will continue until the Overflow area is empty, checking all

possible locations for that product in the Overflow area first. At that time the overflow area will be

reset and all remaining picks will come from the fixed locations for that

product. Once the product is confirmed via scan, the WCS will light up the total quantity required for all of the

stores on the cart on the control module. The following is what the control module looks like.





As the operator puts the quantity in the store, the operator will push the task complete button for that

store. When that occurs, the light will go out. The operator will continue until all store’s lights, that

are lit, have been confirmed. If there is not enough quantity available, the operator will utilize the

down arrow button, on the light, to decrement the quantity. They will continue to decrement the

quantity until the quantity placed in the box matches the quantity on the lights. The Task complete

button is then pressed. WCS will then request a reason why the quantity was not properly picked.

This is done on the control module. The options available are:

1. Skip – Not enough product was available and the bin is located in the overflow area. All other

stores lit up are turned off on the cart, the overflow bin for that product is reset, and the next

product that has picks for the cart is lit up. The remaining quantity for the product will come

out of the next overflow bin until all overflow bins for that SKU are empty. Thereafter, the

remaining quantity will be queued to be picked out of the fixed location. Once this option is

selected, users cannot return to that order.

2. Skip – Not enough product was available and the bin is located in the fixed area. All other

stores lit up are turned off on the cart and the next product that has picks for the cart is lit up.

The remaining quantity for that product will NOT be queued to come out of the fixed location.

Once this option is selected, users cannot return to that order.

3. Split/Close – No more room in the box for the store. The operator closes the box and places it

onto the conveyor. The WCS automatically prints a new label, turns out all of the lights and

re-lights the light for the store where the split occurs. When the label is placed on the box and

the box is placed on the cart, the operator will then press the task complete light where the box

is placed. The system will then light up the total remaining quantity for the cart and the

subsequent quantities for each store and picking will re-commence.

4. Return – Not enough product was available and the bin is located in the overflow area or users .

All other stores lit up are turned off on the cart, the overflow bin for that product is reset, and

the next product that has picks for the cart is lit up. Product may exist in more than one bin in

the overflow area. System will check the entire overflow area for a SKU before queuing the

product to come out of the fixed bin location.

5. Return – Not enough product was available and the bin is located in the fixed area. All other

stores lit up are turned off on the cart and the next product that has picks for the cart is lit up.

The remaining quantity for that product will be queued to come out of the fixed location after

all other picks for the cart are complete





6. Return – Enough product or not, it is necessary to move on. Users can use the return feature to

simply “move on.” The importance of selecting Return versus Skip is that when you click

Return, the WCS will bring them back to it before it is closed.

As each put/pack is confirmed by the operator, information will be sent from the WCS to WMS to

create and confirm a transfer order that is associated with that carton number. The system will be

configured so that when any of the four stores is complete, WCS directs the operator to put that store

onto the conveyor and the next store label in sequence will be printed and the light for that store will

be turned on.

Once cartons are full, they will be placed on the conveyor where they will integrate with cartons from

other sections of the system and follow the existing downstream custom processes.





1 PICKING OPTIONS

Operators will have the following options available to them:

Return – Operator will reset the quantities on 1 light to 0. Then they will press the task

complete button and on the control module they will be able to scroll down and select Return.

The user will then go back to that one product that was skipped.

Split/Close Carton – In the situation that there is no more room in the box for the store, the

operator will close the box and place it on the conveyor. The WCS will automatically print a

new label and it will turn out all of the lights and re-light the light for the store where the split

occurs. When the label is placed on the box and the box is placed on the cart, the operator will

then press the task complete light where the box is placed. The system will then light up the

total remaining quantity for the cart and the subsequent quantities for each store.

Skip – If not enough product was available and the bin is located in the overflow area, then all

other stores lit up will be turned off on the cart and the overflow bin for that product will be

reset. Then the next product that has picks for the cart will be lit up. System will check the

entire overflow area for a SKU before queuing the product to come out of the fixed bin

location.

Close Order – To close an order, you will select View Orders from the Batch Management

screen. The supervisor can then highlight the store and press the close button. At that point any

store loaded on the cart will be put on the conveyor after the next pick is completed on the cart.

This will likely be utilized in a situation like the truck is leaving and the pick needs to be

finished. When an order is closed in WCS it should also be closed in WMS and vice versa. The

ship schedule is to be maintained in-sync in WMS and WCS at all times.

Bin Empty (Overflow) – This situation will follow the skip process or return process

documented above.

Reprint Label – When loading the stores onto the cart, there will be a reprint barcode on the

cart. If it is unreadable, operators will be able to scan the reprint barcode so that it will reprint

the label.

Open New Order – This will be automatically done when one round of picking is complete.





Operator Log in/Log off – Operators will scan a user ID to log on and off of the Pick Carts.

This ID can match the current user ID used in WMS, but will need to have a barcode in order

to be scanned.

Zone Assignment of Cart – This will be done using the Cart screen. Refer to Appendix C for

information about the screen.

Swap Cart – On the swap screen (part of the Cart screen shown in Appendix C), the operator

will select a cart and press the swap button. The system will make sure that there are boxes on

the cart. The system will then display a dialog box with only carts that are not assigned to a

user and have no boxes assigned to it. They will then select the cart they want to swap, and

press the okay button. Additionally, two users will be able to swap carts at any point in a zone

by simply scanning their ID badge to log into a different cart. This will automatically log them

out of the other cart.





2 RF BATCH PICK HARDWARE INFORMATION

Pick-MAX²™ Advanced modules have several different options available to help you maximize the

efficiency of your picking process. These options include:

Seven colors for the indicator beacon for batch picking and allowing multiple pickers in a zone.

Colors available are Red, Blue, Green, Purple Orange, Aqua and White

Three colors available at the 4-Digit pick display for simple segregation of the pick display.

Colors available are Red, Green and Orange.

Each 4-Digit put display (see Figure) is equipped with a bright Pick-MAX²™ 4-digit numeric display

that can be easily read even in bright daylight. The Pick-MAX™ system provides more versatility than

any other system available at each pick face because each 4-digit display module has its own on-board

microprocessor. The microprocessor handles the major picking functions locally; thus response time to

picker commands via the buttons on the display is instantaneous. Each module is self-addressing and

the module address is stored in on board non-volatile memory. No dipswitches are required to

uniquely identify module IDs to the system, eliminating the possibility of picking mistakes because of

module Ids changing due to vibration or impact. This is common with PTL systems that utilize

dipswitches to set module Ids. Each module also includes its own on-board diagnostics, allowing users

to verify operation of each pick module at the pick face.





3 Display

The 4-Digit Pick Module utilizes a high intensity 4-digit, 7-segment numeric display to indicate

quantities and to send messages to pickers as required. It is equipped with long-life keyboard switches

rated in excess of 10 million cycles. It operates in two basic modes:

4 Quantity Display Mode

Up to four digits can be utilized for display of the quantity to pick. This mode can be mixed with the

message display mode described below. The maximum quantity that can be displayed on the module is

9999.

5 Message Display Mode

This mode allows the module to display messages consisting of alphanumeric characters. Please note

that some characters cannot be displayed (K, M, V, W, X, & Z) because of the limitations of 7-

segment displays. Also, note that some characters are displayed as upper case and others are displayed

as lower case. This mode can be mixed with the quantity display mode. When mixed, the message will

be left justified and the quantity will be right justified.

6 Pick/Put Indicator

The pick/put indicator is a High Intensity Red LED with a large red transparent diffusing dome to

disperse light 360 degrees. Because the light is not a filament type bulb, power consumption is

minimal and burnout’s are rare. The LED can be programmed to flash fast, flash slow, light steady, or

not illuminate at all.

7 Increment Button

The increment button serves multiple functions, depending on the situation. If the increment button is

pressed while the original requested quantity is being displayed, the quantity displayed will

immediately be changed to zero (0), the most common return pick. If it is pressed after the quantity

has been changed from the original requested quantity; it will function as an increment button and will

increase the quantity displayed. The button can be held down until the desired quantity is on the

display.

When modifying the displayed quantity, the module will accelerate the rate of change the longer the

button is held down. This allows major quantity changes to be made in a short amount of time.

8 Decrement Button

This button decreases the quantity displayed. The button can be held down until the desired quantity is

on the display.

When modifying the displayed quantity, the module will accelerate the rate of change the longer the

button is held down. This allows major quantity changes to be made in a short amount of time.





9 Both Buttons

If both buttons are pressed simultaneously, the display will return to the original requested quantity.

This is helpful when either of the buttons is inadvertently pushed.

10 Task Complete Button

This button is used to indicate that the current pick/put is complete. The display and pick indicator are

immediately extinguished after this button is pressed. This button is also used to "recall" a completed

pick when that mode is enabled.

11 Special Functions (can be enabled or disabled from main program)

The 4-digit pick module also has the built in capability to allow the picker to request specific line

information, notify the system that stock is getting low at that location (Stock Low) or "Recall" the last

pick for the location. These functions are available locally depending on parameters selected in the

WCS. Stock Low and Information requests are made by decrementing the quantity displayed to zero

by pressing the increment button once, then decrementing the quantity beyond that point with the

decrement button. For each time the decrement button is pressed, a keyword is displayed to indicate

the special function in the following order:

“StLo” = Stock low

“Info” = Information request for =item at that location

Stock Low - If the task complete button is pressed with the “StLo” prompt displayed, the module will

report to the system that the location is getting low on stock and requires replenishment. This

command usually places an item on the master replenishment list as a “B” priority. Items are placed on

the “A” priority replenishment list by shorting a pick at a location.

Information Request - If the task complete button is pressed with the “Info” prompt displayed, the

module will respond with the prompt “Inf4”. The user then modifies the display to the desired

information field using the increment and decrement buttons on the module and then presses the task

complete button to initiate the command. The following options are defined:

Inf4 = Request item’s SKU at that location

Inf3 = Request item’s description at that location

Inf2 = User Defined information for that location

Inf1 = User Defined information for that location

Inf0 = Exit information request mode





12 Diagnostics Mode

This mode allows the user to determine if a module is functioning properly. To activate on board

diagnostics, the user must press all three buttons: up, down, and task complete on the desired module.

The display will indicate “diag.” The user can then press the increment and decrement buttons to cycle

through the following diagnostic options: “ID”, “rel”, “test”, and “quit.” When the desired function is

displayed, press the task complete to activate it.

ID – Selecting this displays the module’s ID, set when locations were assigned. The ID can be

changed manually at this point by using the increment and decrement buttons. Care must be taken in

this mode to prevent accidentally setting the ID to an undesired value. Press the task complete button

when the desired ID is displayed to exit back to the diagnostics menu.

Rel – Selecting this displays the version number of the software on the module.

Test – When this is selected, the module will begin turning on each segment in turn. Use this function

to make sure that all segments turn on correctly. To exit this function, press and hold the task complete

button until the test stops, which will exit diagnostics completely.

Quit – Select this to get out of diagnostics and return the module to its original state. This can also be

done by pressing the task complete button when “diag” is displayed.

Please note that these tests only verify that the module is functioning properly. It does not verify that

the communications with the Bay Controller are functioning properly.





13 PICK-MAX™ 12-DIGIT ALPHANUMERIC ORDER/CART CONTROL MODULE

Each 12-Digit Alphanumeric Order/Cart Control Module (shown below) is equipped with a bright

Pick-MAX™ 12-digit alphanumeric display that can be easily read even in bright daylight. . It is

equipped with long-life keyboard switches rated in excess of 10 million cycles. This module is

typically positioned centrally at an ergonomic level within each bay or cart. Its purpose is to display

the tote number while picking, display “PASS” or “DONE” at the end of an order in a zone, direct

pickers to warehouse locations, and bay/cart diagnostics. For systems that track productivity, this

module is also used for picker login/logout.

14 PASS/DONE and Picker Logout (Pick to Light Systems)

Whenever all the picks for an order are completed in a zone, the Order Control module at the end of

the zone displays “PASS” if there are more picks in the system, or “DONE” if there are no more picks

in the system, indicating the box can be moved onto the central conveyor. Whenever either of these is

displayed, the picker can press either the increment or the decrement button on the OC module to

change the display to “Loff.”

Pressing the task complete button at this point will log the picker out of the zone. The OC will now

display “Login 9999” indicating that no more picks can be made until someone logs in. To log in, a

picker should adjust the ID from 9999 to their Picker ID using the increment/decrement buttons and

press task complete.





15 LABELS

This is an example of the label that will be printed using the Pick to Light carts. It will work in

conjunction with the current labels so that it can be scanned onto a pallet in the downstream processes.





16 KEYCHAIN FRAMEWORK

17 High lights of the KEYCHAIN Framework

A common look and feel for all applications at the deployed site.

A single application using a common code base, to support and maintain.

Fast integration of additional functionality, for phased developments and upgrades.

A built in authentication system.

A built in mechanism to support user policies.

Integrated multimedia help system.

An agent system.

Integrated reporting facilities.

Available maintenance contract where upgrades to the Framework are presented free.





18 Cart

The Manage Cart screen will be used to assign carts to zones. You can query the database by typing in

the cart identifier of the cart you are working with and the zone you want to assign it to.

You can assign a car to a zone by entering in the cart identifier information and the zone information.

When you click save, you will be saving that information into the system and that cart will be assigned

to that zone.

Cart Screen

19 Pick Locations

The Manage Picking Locations screen will be used to define the sequence of picking. This can be

modified by SKU, quantity, sequence and distance.

For example: You can define the movement in the Prestige zone by defining bay 1, bay 2, bay

3, etc and defining the sequence with which the pickers will move to each bay.

Distance will be measured from each sequence number to the next. The WCS will find the sum of

distance traveled between sequences and maintain this information for statistical purposes.

Pick Location screen





20 User Management

The User Management screen is used to add, edit, or delete users. Basic information about users may

be edited, such as names and user types.

The Insert function will be used to insert a new user into the system. Fill in the required fields and hit

OK to save the user in the system.

The Edit function will be used to make changes to existing users. This may be used if a birthday is

wrong or a last name needs to be changed, etc.

The delete function will remove a user from the system.

User management screen

21 Report Manager

The Report Manager is used to select a specific report for output using the Crystal Report Engine to

generate visual and hardcopy reports. The report engine within the Framework takes the parameters of

what information is to be included in the report, and passes them to Crystal Reports. Crystal Reports

then takes over the tasks of retrieving, formatting, printing and exporting the data.

Report Manager Screen





22 REPORTS

The following are the reports that will be associated with the Pick to Cart project.

23 Zone Productivity

The Zone Productivity reports will provide data on the number of picks occurring in each zone during

specified time periods. The example below shows lines picked per hour on 5/21 for a Cosmetics

Line/Zone. It provides both table and graphical data about the number of picks that occurred each hour

for the date specified. This report can also be run for any zone that is defined as a picking zone. In

addition, when we talk of days, the report takes into consideration the start time of the day. This

means if the first shift starts at 6:00 on 5/21, the report for the day of 5/21 will start at 6:00 am on 5/21

and goes to 6:00 am on 5/22. In this way the reports show a true reflection of what occurred on the

proper shifts/days.





The example below shows lines picked per day for the last 7 days for a Line/Zone. It provides both

table and graphical data about the number of picks that occurred each day for the time period

specified. This report can also be run for any zone that is defined as a picking zone.





The example below shows orders picked per hour on 5/21 for a Line/Zone. It provides both table and

graphical data about the number of picks that occurred each hour for the time period specified. This

report can also be run for any zone that is defined as a picking zone.





24 User Productivity

The User Productivity reports will provide data on the number of picks for each user occurring in each

zone during specified time periods. The report example below is a user productivity comparison report

that shows the number of lines picked by day in a Line/Zone on 5/21 for a specific shift. This report

can also be run for any other time period defined as a shift and/or any other picking area defined as a

zone.

mobile light directed batch picking carts · the operator will proceed down the pick path. at the...

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