As readers of my earlier piece on robotic task performance in warehouses and distribution centers know, I do not think that robots can yet equal humans, who are augmented with the latest voice and scanning technologies, as measured by KPIs (key performance indicators).
One of the most important KPI that warehouse and distribution managers use is task completion speed at the highest degree of accuracy possible.
There’s a crucial distinction to be made between robots that are mobile vs. those that are static, meaning “fixed in place” to where they logically need to be in a process flow. This is especially important when considering the current “state of the art” for robot mobility. Generally, “fixed in place” robots that do a single function within a process, such as moving a carton from one conveyor to another, or picking an item from baskets positioned around the robot, typically an “arm” like this:
These robotic arms execute the task much faster than a mobile robot (humanoid ones especially) tasked with moving a carton between two widely separated points in a warehouse or distribution center.
So, it came as a small surprise when I watched this humanoid robot doing a function (package sorting) that has been traditionally managed by fixed in place robots or technology-augmented humans.
Notice the speed at which the robot sorts the packages. Not bad.
Why do this with a mobile humanoid robot? One exceptionally good reason stands out: One robot can work 24/7 and with mobility, shift sorting lanes and then move to do other tasks like Receiving (unloading a truck), whereas three humans would be necessary over three shifts in a 24-hour period.
And, as this video points out, humanoid robots don’t require paychecks, take breaks or call in sick:
While robots have made progress in speeding up task completion, there’s still a way to go to meet or beat human speeds.
The determination to replace humans in warehouses and distribution centers depends greatly on an assessment of the ROI (return on investment) of the proposed, non-human technology. ROIs are a major component in a “go / no go” deployment decision, especially considering the significant costs of these non-human automation technologies.
It should come as no surprise that, in an ROI assessment, calculating the cost / benefit contribution of the proposed technology’s human-labor offset is an essential component of the assessment. The greater the offset, the faster the investment’s payback timeframe.
What needs to be considered in an effective ROI assessment? My next series of articles will address the critical components of a technology acquisition ROI.
If you are tasked with assessing a new technology’s deployment benefit in your warehouse or distribution center, then this “deep dive” may be helpful.
About the Author
Tim Lindner develops multimodal technology solutions (voice / augmented reality / RF scanning) that focus on meeting or exceeding logistics and supply chain customers’ productivity improvement objectives. He can be reached at linkedin.com/in/timlindner.
