This field study reports on a wireless, wearable, automated voice-directed system where truck loaders at a distribution center wear a headset to listen to instructions and speak into a microphone to load pallets of product into delivery trucks accurately. The system was designed to provide immediate and corrective feedback to load pallets in reverse-stop sequence for all multi-stop routes. The voice-directed system intervention was instrumental in reducing the number of pallets loaded out of sequence to 0.015%, based on approximately 175 weekly routes, amounting to a decrease of an out-of-sequence percentage error by 99%.
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2.
GoomasD. T.LudwigT. D. (2007). Enhancing incentive programs with proximal goals and immediate feedback: Engineered labor standards and technology enhancements in stocker replenishment. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management27(1), 33-68. https://doi.org/10.1300/J075v27n01_02
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GoomasD. T.LudwigT. D. (2023). Ergonomic improvement using natural language processing for voice-directed order selection in large industrial settings. Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries, 33(6), 537-544, https://doi.org/10.1002/hfm.21009
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GoomasD. T.YeowP. H. P. (2010). Ergonomics improvement in a harsh environment using an audio feedback system, International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2010.08.005
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LudwigT. D.GoomasD. T. (2007). Performance, accuracy, data delivery, and feedback methods in order selection: A comparison of voice, handheld, and paper technologies. Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, 27(1), 69-107. https://doi.org/10.1300/J075v27n01_03
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McCraeB. (2022, April). Voice stands tall in the warehouse. Modern materials and handling.
